North High Stars (Bakersfield) at Tehachapi
September 30, 2016
Warrior running back #24 Zion Dean fights for yardage Friday night against North High. Dean and the offense erupted for 28 points against
the Stars to earn victory #1 this season. The Warriors begin league play this Friday night against Independence in another home game.
Photo by John Nelson, The Tehachapi News.
Posted on October 1, 2016 by John Nelson, The Tehachapi News Warriors Earn Win #1 On Homecoming Night
It couldn't have come at a better time. It was homecoming, it was their last game before league, and the Warriors were off to their worst start in 75 years.
Now, 0-4 is just a fading memory. Faith has been restored.
The Warriors didn't just win. They did it convincingly, piling up 300 yards on offense and holding North scoreless until the final second ticked off the clock in a 28-6 victory Friday night, Sept. 30.
Connor Timm rushed for 74 yards and two touchdowns, and sophomore quarterback Chris Garcia passed for 70 yards, throwing for one touchdown and running for another.
They did it with a balanced attack, getting significant rushing yardage from four different players, and they did it with a dominant defense, intercepting North quarterback Bailey West twice and sacking him four times.
Although the first quarter was scoreless, Tehachapi started its first scoring drive of the game with 3:15 left in the first after an interception by Troy Noda. It started on the Warriors 22-yard line, took 14 plays and lasted nearly 5˝ minutes in typical grind-it-out Tehachapi fashion.
Timm ran the ball seven times on the drive, which also included two 15-yard penalties against North, and Timm scored the touchdown on a 5-yard run off right tackle with 2:06 gone in the second quarter.
That gave Tehachapi a 6-0 lead after the kick failed.
North was then forced to punt after consecutive sacks left the Stars facing a fourth-and-18 at their own 38. The Warriors took over on the Tehachapi 42 after a 17-yard punt return by Carson Bethany.
Garcia came off the bench on the drive, which ended 4˝ minutes later on a 27-yard scoring pass from Garcia to Bethany down the right side on fourth-and-goal. Garcia threw to Timm for the 2-point conversion, and the Warriors led 14-0 with 37 seconds left in the half.
It was a scoring drive that nearly never happened.
Garcia hit Tyler Metzler with a 43-yard pass to the North 5 with 2:43 left in the half, but two holding penalties and an illegal procedure forced Tehachapi all the way back to the 38. On third-and-goal, Garcia ran the ball to the 27 before hitting Bethany with the scoring pass.
Tehachapi took the second-half kickoff and marched 54 yards for Garcia's 1-yard TD run with 5:56 left in the third quarter, giving the Warriors a 21-0 lead. The drive was aided by a facemask penalty on North.
Just 1:27 later, Logan Snider intercepted a pass deep in North territory, and Tehachapi took over on the 11. Four plays later, Timm scored from the 8, and the Warriors led 28-0 with 2:42 left in the third quarter.
The lone North touchdown was more or less a gift. The Warriors lined up to punt with less than a minute to play, and when the snap went over punter Eddie Graham's head, the Stars wound up with possession on the Tehachapi 11.
As time expired, West connected with James Johnson on a 9-yard touchdown pass into the far left corner of the end zone.
Garcia completed 2 of 3 passing attempts, and starting QB Paul Stephens also had a completion in two attempts, hitting Metzler with a 16-yarder.
Garcia had eight rushes for 49 yards. Anthony Powell rushed for 46 and Zion Dean for 41.
The victory was the 296th of head coach Steve Denman's 35-year career at Tehachapi. The Warriors need to win at least four of their final five games to get Denman an historic 300th victory, making him only the fifth head coach ever to reach that plateau in California.
The Warriors (1-4) begin their South Yosemite League season on Friday night, Oct. 7, at home against Independence (1-4). North fell to 1-5.
Tehachapi's junior varsity Braves lost 13-12 to North, and the freshmen Indians lost 38-8.
Warrior defender Tanner Herman goes high in the air in an attempt to block a North High pass. Tanner and the Warriors deeated North, 28-6,
Friday night at Coy Burnett Field. The Warriors play at home again this Friday against Independence in the SYL opener.
Photo by John Nelson, The Tehachapi News.
Posted by Tom Shea, The Bakersfield Californian, on September 30, 2016. Warriors Beat North For First Win, 28-6
TEHACHAPI – The Warriors amassed 300 total yards of offense to record their first victory of the season in a 28-6 homecoming victory over North.
Connor Timm paced the ground game for Tehachapi (1-4) with 74 yards rushing and two touchdown runs of five and eight yards, respectively. Sophomore Quarterback Chris Garcia also provided a spark for the Warriors with 70 yards passing and a touchdown strike to Carson Bethany on a 27-yard connection in the second quarter.
Garcia also had 49 yards rushing and a 1-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, while Anthony Powell and Zion Dean combined for 87 yards on the ground. Tyler Metzler led all receivers with two receptions for 59 yards.
Defensively, Logan Snider and Troy Noda both recorded interceptions for the Warriors.
For North (1-5), Bailey West connected with James Johnson on a 9-yard touchdown pass as time expired in the fourth quarter. Jozef Davidson was the leading rusher for the Stars with 39 yards on the ground.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final North 0 0 0 6 06 Tehachapi 0 14 14 0 28
The Scoring:
2nd Quarter:
T – Timm 5 run (kick failed)
T – Bethany 27 pass from Garcia (Timm pass from Garcia)
3rd Quarter:
T – Garcia 1 run (Graham kick)
T – Timm 8 run (Graham kick)
4th Quarter
N – Johnson 9 pass from West (no kick)
Tehachapi vs North Stats
THS NHS First Downs 13 Rushes-Yards 52-214 26-42 Passing Yards 86 47 Comp-Att-Int 3-5-0 7-15-2 Total Yards 300 89 Punts 2-25.0 Fumbles-Lost Penalties 9-70
Individual Statistics:
RUSHING—Tehachapi: Timm 17-74, Garcia 8-49, Powell 10-46, Dean 8-41, Mata 3-15, Metzler 3-11, Vachon 2-7, TEAM 1-(-29)
North: Davidson 7-39, Romero 3-19, Reed 4-16, Johnson 1-3, West 10-(-17), Mouser 1-(-18).
PASSING—Tehachapi: Garcia 2-3-0 70, Stephens 1-2-0 16. North: West 7-14-1 47, Mouser 0-1-1 0.
RECEIVING—Tehachapi: Metzler 2-59, Bethany 1-27. North: Johnson 3-34, Garnett 2-9, Davidson 1-2, Berumen 1-2.
Varsity Records: Tehachapi 1-4. North High 1-5.
JV: Tehachapi Braves 12, North JV's 13.
FROSH: Tehachapi Indians 8, North Frosh 32.
