Taft Wildcats at Tehachapi
Friday, October 26, 2001
Posted By Scott A. mayes, The Bakersfield Californian on October 27, 2001 Easttom, Bennett Lead Warriors Over Taft
TEHACHAPI-- The Tehachapi High football team doesn't have much of a passing game.
But with the Warriors' running attack, it's simply not needed.
Derik Easttom ran for 126 yards on just nine carries and Chad Bennett had 118 yards on 14 carries as Tehachapi (6-1, 4-0 South Sequoia League) shut out visiting Taft Friday, 22-0. The Wildcats fell to 3-4 and 1-2.
Both running backs had big first-half plays, propeling the Warriors to a 15-0 halftime advantage. Bennett opened the scoring with a 69-yard score and Easttom scored on a 77-yard scamper.
"Our defense played well, except those two plays," Taft coach Tim Mash said. "Our offense just didn't do anything tonight."
Tehachapi quarterback Jared Warner completed just one pass for 14 yards in the run-oriented Wing-T offense. But the team ran for 306 yards on 46 carries.
Both long touchdown runs appeared to be stopped at the line of scrimmage, but hard running and broken tackles provided the early lead.
"Our coach works us real hard in the weightroom," Easttom said. "We work a lot on our legs and it helps us break tackles. We made some mistakes here and there, but when the going gets tough, we know how to buckle down and put it in the end zone."
And the Warriors' defense was just as good, limiting the Wildcats' to 125 total yards. Chet Goff led the Wildcats' offense, running for 32 yards on 17 carries while also catching a Brandon Carlton pass for 16 yards. Wide receiver Teddy Patterson caught three passes for 59 yards.
"They really controlled the line of scrimmage and that's what really hurt us," Mash said. "That's where most games are won and lost. They spread out to play the pass and we just couldn't run against them."
With the exception of a first-quarter drive, which was stalled by a turnover, the Wildcats got no closer than the Warriors' 39-yard line.
Kevin Sanchez recovered a fumble at the Tehachapi eight-yard line with two minutes, nine seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
Bennett scored four plays later on his 69-yard run. Easttom caught a pass from Warner for a two-point conversion and an 8-0 advantage.
On the next Tehachapi possession, Easttom scampered 77 yards on a reverse, putting the Warriors ahead 15-0 with 9:47 remaining in the opening half.
"(Coach Steve Denman) really set up the plays good tonight," Easttom said. "It was a fake (block) on the end and I got the ball on a reverse. From there, I just put it in sixth gear and kept on going."
Tehachapi outgained the Wildcats 227-61 in the opening half, holding Taft to four rushing yards. All of the Warriors' first-half yardage came via the running game.
The second-half was a defensive struggle for both teams.
Danny Vandeventer scored the game's final touchdown, a two-yard run with 6:47 remaining in the game.
The scoring drive covered 80 yards and stole Taft's final breath, as Tehachapi held the ball for nine minutes, 21 seconds. The drive was kept alive by Warner's 14-yard pass to Christy on a third-and-11 play.
With the Warriors sitting atop the South Sequoia League standings, Easttom and his teammates are mindful of upset attempts.
"We can't overlook anybody," Easttom said. "We've just got to keep play hard-hitting, mountain football and stay on top."
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Taft 0 0 0 0 00 Tehachapi 8 7 0 7 22
Scoring Summary:
Teh: Bennett 69 run (Easttom pass from Warner)
Teh: Easttom 77 run (Sullivan kick)
Teh: Vandeventer 2 run (Sullivan kick)
Taft THS First Downs 10 9 Rushes-Yards 26-41 46-306 Passing 6-15-2 1-4-0 Passing Yards 84 14 Total Yards 125 320 Fumbles-Lost 2-1 0-0 Penalties 7-55 11-100 Indivisual Statistics:
Rushing -- Taft: Goff 17-32, Patterson 1-4, Carlton 3-4, Veach 1-2, Salazar 1-1, Upshaw 3-(-2).
Tehachapi: Easttom 9-126, Bennett 14-118, Evans 11-25, Nunez 5-20, Randall 1-10, Troffer 2-5, Anderson 1-2, Vandeventer 2-0, Warner 1-0.
Passing -- Taft: Carlton 6-15-2-84, Upshaw 0-2-0-0. Tehachapi: Warner 1-3-0-14, Easttom 0-1-0-0.
Receiving-- Taft: Patterson 3-59, Goff 1-16, Downey 1-8, Streich 1-1. Tehachapi: Christy 1-14.
Records-- Taft (3-4, 1-2 SSL). Tehachapi (6-1, 4-0 SSL).
Junior Varsity: Tehachapi 28, Taft 6
Freshman: Tehachapi 38, Taft 0
