Tehachapi at Independence - Bakersfield
October 9, 2015
Warrior defender Daniel Wight #23 grabs on to an Independence player jersey. The Warriors would go on to defeat the Falcons, 42-26,
in Bakersfield this past Friday, October 9. The Warriors host East High this Friday night at Coy Burnett Field. Varsity game time is 7:30 pm,
JV's start at 5:00 pm. Photo by TBC Media Group.
Posted on October 11, 2015 by John Nelson, The Tehachapi News Warriors Win League Opener
For Denman's 293rd Victory
With its first South Yosemite League victory in the bag, it’s hard not to look ahead to unbeaten defending champion Ridgeview.
Still, that’s three games down the line, and before that Oct. 30 showdown, the Warriors have a homecoming game against East Bakersfield on Friday night, Oct. 16, and Golden Valley a week later. “We can forget Ridgeview if we don’t get past East Bakersfield and Golden Valley,” head coach Steve Denman said.
On Friday night, Oct. 9 in Bakersfield, the Warriors beat Independence 42-26 in their league opener, earning Denman his 293rd career victory, fifth most in state history. “It’s not about me,” Denman said. “It’s about the coaches that have been with me all these years and the kids that come through the program.”
The Warriors dominated Independence as Keyron Scott rushed for 253 yards and three touchdowns. It was Scott’s third 200-yard game of the season and boosted him over 1,000 yards. Noah Whitlach ran for another 144 yards and Tehachapi’s other two rushing TD’s as the Warriors amassed 415 of their 470 total yards on the ground. Scott also threw a 55-yard touchdown pass to Carson Bethany late in the first half as Tehachapi (5-1) led 35-14 at halftime.
Scott’s performance gave him 1,018 total yards rushing, for an average of 10.9 yards per attempt, with four games left in the season.
“Our kids blocked really well for Keyron, but he runs hard for a kid his size,” Denman said. “The next four weeks will tell the tale. Other teams will be keying on him. It’ll be harder for him to run, harder to block for him.” Scott, who is listed at 5-foot-9 and 165 pounds, rarely takes credit for his own performances. “Our offensive line played great, and we had each other’s backs tonight,” Scott said.
Defense shines
Angel Garcia had a huge game on defense, coming up with 16 solo tackles and a fumble recovery, as the Warriors’ stingy defense held Independence to single touchdowns in each of the four quarters.
“We thought we had a chance to shut them down,” Denman said, “but credit to them. They kept coming at us. We knew they had a lot of speed, and they have some weapons offensively. They had some long drives in the second half.”
The Warriors jumped to a 21-0 lead. Scott scored first on a 1-yard run, and Whitlach followed with one of his two long TD runs, a 54-yarder. A 23-yard touchdown run by Scott made it 21-0 before Independence got on the board late in the first quarter.
Scott opened the second-quarter scoring with a 70-yard touchdown run for a 28-7 lead, and after Independence made it 28-14, Scott threw a halfback pass of 55 yards to Bethany to close out scoring in the first half. Whitlach scored Tehachapi’s only points of the second half on an 80-yard touchdown run as the Warriors began to substitute freely.
Jon Layman threw for 11 completions and 153 yards for Independence, including a 23-yard TD reception to Damaris Herron. Layman also had 73 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown.
Denman will go for win No. 294 as the Warriors entertain East Bakersfield in their homecoming game. East Bakersfield is 1-5 and 0-1 in league.
Only four coaches in California history have more victories than Denman: Bob Ladouceur with 399, Marijon Ancich with 360, Herb Meyer with 338 and John Barnes with 319. Barnes is the only one of the four still active, at Anaheim Magnolia.
Warrior Carson Bethany hauls in a pass from running back Keyron Scott on a track pass play that resulted in a 55 yard scamper to the end zone
as the first half came to an end. The Warriors defeated Independence, 42-26, in the South Yosemite League opener for both schools.
Photo by TBC Media Group.
Posted on October 9, 2015 by Tom Shea, Bakersfield Californian Tehachapi's Running Game Carries
Them Past Independence, 42-26
Led by a punishing ground game that churned out 408 yards rushing, the Tehachapi put a damper on the Independence homecoming festivities with a 42-26 victory in the South Yosemite League opener for both teams.
Keyron Scott finished with 253 yards on 21 carries for Tehachapi (5-1; 1-0 SYL), reeling 226 yards rushing and three rushing touchdowns by halftime, including a 55-yard touchdown pass to Carson Bethany as the second quarter clock expired. “Our goal is to always keep it steady and have a strong performance on every drive. Our offensive line played great and we had each other’s back tonight,” said Scott. “We are are happy with this win, but we still need to get back on the ball and keep it rolling.”
Noah Whitlach also had a strong game for the Warriors, finishing with 144 yards on the ground and two rushing touchdowns of 54 yards in the first quarter and 80 yards in the third quarter.
Independence (2-4; 0-1 SYL) was led by Jon Layman, who had 153 yards passing on 11 completions, including a 23-yard touchdown completion to Damaris Herron. Layman also had 73 yards rushing and a rushing touchdown.
The Falcons’ leading rusher was Kobe Stancil, who had 121 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Taryn Young was the leading receiver on the night with seven completions for 80 yards.
“In the first half defensively we were pretty solid and had some big plays on offense,” said Tehachapi head coach Steve Denman. “Independence has a lot of speed. Offensively they have some weapons and they were able to get some long drives going in the second half. “We thought we could slam the door on the game but hand it to them for battling back.”
With the victory, Steve Denman earned his 293rd win, moving him to no. 5 overall in the history of California. Denman’s all-time record is 293-110-4 and has coached Tehachapi since 1982. “It is not about me, it is the coaches that have been with me all these years and the kids that come through the program. That is what keeps me going,” added Denman.
Coaches currently ahead of Denman are Bob Ladouceur (399 wins - Concord De La Salle 1979-2012), Marijon Ancich (360 wins – Santa Fe Springs St. Paul, Tustin 1961-1992), Herb Meyer (338 wins – Oceanside, El Camino 1959-2003) and John Barnes (319 wins – Anaheim Magnolia, Los Alimitos 1979-present).
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Tehachapi 21 14 7 0 42 Independence 7 7 6 6 26
The Scoring:
First quarter:
Teh—Scott 1 run (Lins kick)
Teh—Whitlach 54 run (Lins kick)
Teh—Scott 23 run (Lins kick)
Ind—Stancil 1 run (Navarro kick)
Second quarter:
Teh—Scott 70 run (Lins kick)
Ind—Stancil 2 run (Navarro kick)
Teh—Bethany 55 pass from Scott (Lins kick)
Third quarter:
Teh—Whitlach 80 run (Lins kick)
Ind—Layman 3 run (kick blocked)
Fourth quarter:
Ind-Herron 23 pass from Layman (kick failed)
Tehachapi vs Independence
THS IND First Downs 7 20 Rushes-Yards 40-408 55-279 Passing Yards 55 153 Comp-Att-Int 1-3-0 11-21-1 Total Yards 463 432 Punts 5-24.6 5-30.2 Fumbles-Lost 2-0 4-1 Penalties 3-35 8-80
Individual Statistics:
RUSHING—Tehachapi: Scott 21-253, Whitlach 8-144, Macon 5-34, Ledesma 1-3, Stephens 1-(-4), Olofson 3-(-15), TEAM 1-(-7).
Independence: Stancil 26-121, Lee 13-85, Layman 16-73.
PASSING—Tehachapi: Scott 1-1-0-55, Olofson 0-2-0-00. Independence: Layman 11-21-1 153.
RECEIVING—Tehachapi: Bethany 1-55. Independence: Young 7-80, Herron 4-73
Varsity – Tehachapi (5-1; 1-0 SYL), Independence (2-4; 0-1 SYL)
Junior Varsity - Tehachapi 27 Independence 00
Frosh-Soph Game - Tehachapi 08 Independence 13
