Independence (Bakersfield) at Tehachapi
October 10, 2014
Independence receiver Tylan Williams braces for a tackle by Tehachapi's Noah Whitlach (6) during the first half of Friday night's game
at Tehachapi. The Warriors won the league opner for both teams, 24-18. Photo by John Harte, The Bakersfield Californian.
Posted on October 14, 2014 by Tom Shea, The Tehachapi News Mountain Football Wins League Opener
Warriors Defeat Falcons At Home, 24-18
Led by the strong play of running back Chris Rhodes and an opportunistic defense, the Warriors muscled their way to a 24-18 victory in their league opener over Independence last Friday night.
Rhodes finished the game with 164 yards rushing and two scores in the ground game, along with a team-high 47 yards receiving on three completions.
The game’s first touchdown came on the opening possession for Tehachapi (4-2; 1-0 SYL). Rhodes capped a nine-play drive with a seven-yard touchdown run, putting the Warriors up, 7-0.
Down 12-7 in the second quarter, the Warriors retook the lead when Willy Urciel scored a one-yard touchdown on fourth and goal with just 34 seconds remaining before halftime.
Mountain Football padded their lead in the third quarter when Rhodes took a counter run 57-yards for a touchdown, set up off a 25-yard kickoff return from Keyron Scott.
On the Independence (3-3; 0-1 SYL) ensuing possession, Nathan Collier recovered a fumble deep in Falcon territory, which eventually led to a 31-yard field goal by Abraham Katona and a 24-12 Warrior lead.
Independence scored their third touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter to pull within six points, but a turnover on downs and a Nick Steele sack on the next two Falcon possessions, respectively sealed the win for the Warriors.
Other highlights for Tehachapi included Urciel finishing with 35 yards rushing and a touchdown run, Scott with 31 yards rushing, Chris Llamas five completions for 57 yards and Connor O’Neal two catches for 10 yards. Defensively, Angel Garcia and Collier had fumble recoveries and Ethan Averett and Steele recorded sacks.
Katona also had a masterful performance in the kicking game.
Along with the field goal, Katona went 3-3 on point after attempts and booted all five kickoffs through the endzone. One of Katona’s kickoffs actually went through the uprights in the fourth quarter, sending the crowd into cheers. The kick would have been the equivalent of a 70-yard field goal if the Warriors would have been on offense and lined up for the attempt.
Tehachapi will continue their league march this Friday night at home against East. The Blades lost in overtime to West last week, 24-17. Kickoff against the Blades will be at 7:30 p.m.
South Yosemite League Scores
Tehachapi 24, Independence 18
Ridgeview 55, Golden Valley 17
West 24, East 17 (Overtime)
Independence quarterback Jordan Wiley is wrapped up by a group of Tehachapi defenders, including Luke Potter (76) and Thomas Blewett (5)
during the first half of Friday night's game at Tehachapi. The Warriors won the league opener, 24-18. (Photo by John Harte, The Bakersfield Californian.)
Posted on October 11, 2014, by Tom Shea, The Bakersfield Californian Tehachapi Runs Past Independence
Rhodes Scores 2 TD's, 164 Yards Rushing
TEHACHAPI -- The Tehachapi Warriors fed off the strong running and receiving of Chris Rhodes to post a 24-18 victory over Independence in the South Yosemite League opener for both teams.
Rhodes had 164 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 20 carries, and also caught three passes for 47 yards.
Tehachapi (4-2, 1-0) scored on a 7-yard touchdown run by Rhodes to open the game, capping a nine-play, 53-yard drive.
Jordan Wiley helped Independence (3-3, 0-1) answer the Warriors' opening touchdown with two scoring strikes of his own.
The first touchdown came on a fourth-down completion to Tylan Williams for a 37-yard score, with the second coming on a 63-yard connection to Fred Weaver to help the Falcons grab a 12-7 lead.
Wiley was 11 of 19 passing for 203 yards, with 193 in the first half.
With less than a minute remaining in the second quarter, the Warriors took a 14-12 lead when Willy Urciel punched in a 1-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal.
Tehachapi padded its lead after the second half kickoff when Rhodes sprung loose for a 57-yard touchdown run and Abraham Katona connected on a 31-yard field goal on the Warriors' next possession, making it 24-12.
Wiley suffered a leg injury on the ensuing possession by the Falcons, leaving the field under his own power but did not return.
The Falcons were also hampered by the loss of starting running back Jaylan Somerville, who also left with a leg injury and did not play in the second half.
Weaver finished with 107 yards on five receptions, Williams had 70 yards on four catches and Christopher Lopez had 62 yards on five receptions.
Kobe Stancil led Independence with 113 rushing yards on 15 carries, including a 12-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Independence 0 12 0 6 18 Tehachapi 7 7 10 0 24
The Scoring:
First Quarter:
T--Rhodes 7 run (Katona kick)
Second Quarter:
I--Williams 37 pass from Wiley (kick blocked)
I--Weaver 63 pass from Wiley (run failed)
T--Urciel 1 run (Katona kick)
Third Quarter:
T--Rhodes 57 run (Katona kick)
T--Katona 31 field goal
Fourth Quarter:
I--Stancil 12 run (pass failed)
Tehachapi vs Independence Stats
THS IHS First Downs 11 18 Rushes-Yards 42-225 30-172 Passing Yards 57 239 Comp-Att-Int 5-6-0 14-29-0 Total Yards 282 464 Punts 3-32.7 1-35.0 Fumbles-Lost 3-1 4-2 Penalties 3-25 6-40
Individual Statistics:
RUSHING — Tehachapi: Rhodes 20-164, Urciel 13-35, Scott 7-31, Llamas 2-(-5).
Independence: Stancil 15-113, Weaver 5-26, Wiley 5-20, Somerville 5-13.
PASSING — Tehachapi: Llamas 5-6-0 57. Independence: Wiley 11-19-0 203, Singh 3-6-0 36, Weaver 0-4-0.
RECEIVING — Tehachapi: Rhodes 3-47, O'Neal 2-10. Independence: Weaver 5-107, Williams 4-70, Lopez 5-62.
Varsity – Tehachapi (4-2; 1-0 SYL), Independence (3-3; 0-1 SYL)
Junior Varsity - Tehachapi 33 Independence 06
Frosh-Soph Game - Tehachapi 14 Independence 13
