Tehachapi at Tulare Western
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Warrior running back Connor Timm bulls his way for tough yardage against a number of Mustang defenders. Timm led the Warriors with 80 yards rushing
and 1 touchdown. It wasn't enough though, as Tulare Western defeated the Warriors 9-7 in Tulare. Photo by Felix Adamo, The Bakersfield Californian.
Posted by John Nelson, The Tehachapi News, on Nov. 19, 2016. Warriors End Topsy-Turvy Football Season
In Playoff Nail-Biter
They started the season 0-4. Then, they won five in a row, and Steve Denman earned his 300th career victory. They lost fullback Chase Podratz to a broken leg, but Keyron Scott returned with a vengeance from his injury. They won their first South Yosemite League title, then ran into last year’s nemesis, Tulare Western.
The Warriors’ 2016 season was a roller coaster ride of surprises and disappointments, highs and lows, mistakes and lofty accomplishments.
To say the least, the season had its ups and downs.
A lot of those ups and downs came from playing some really good teams early on,” said Denman, who earned his 300th coaching victory on the final day of the regular season, making him only the eighth coach in California scholastic history to reach that plateau.
“Two of those games, we could have won, and we just didn’t finish it at the end. When you get into the red zone and don’t come out with points, you usually lose those kinds of games,” he said. “That’s what we did the other night.”
Three times, Tehachapi got inside the 12-yard line against Tulare Western, and three times they came away without points in a 9-7 loss in the quarterfinals of the CIF Central Section Division III tournament on Thursday night, Nov. 17, in Tulare.
Tulare Western, which beat the Warriors in the quarterfinals in 2015 too, was once again the arch-villain, this time of a topsy-turvy season that saw the Warriors start 0-4 and 1-5, then win five in a row for a share of the SYL title along with Independence and Ridgeview.
Podratz, who had become invaluable to the Warriors as Mr. Inside to Keyron Scott’s Mr. Outside, broke his leg on Oct. 28 as Tehachapi was handing Ridgeview its first league loss since 2013.
He missed victories over West to end the regular season and Delano in the first round of the playoffs, and his absence could have played a part in Tehachapi’s inability to score in the red zone against Tulare Western.
“I don’t know. It was just one of those things,” Denman said. “We had chances, we just couldn’t get it done in the red zone. Connor Timm did a heck of a job running the ball, too, but they played well in the red zone, and we just couldn’t quite finish it.”
The first half was a textbook example of two stingy defenses locked in battle, and it ended 0-0. Tulare Western got on the scoreboard first with a 30-yard field goal with 1:07 left in the third quarter.
On their next possession, the Warriors went on a classic mountain football drive, nine plays covering 64 yards, using four different running backs, for a 7-3 lead on Timm’s 6-yard scoring run.
The Warriors’ 2016 season was a roller coaster ride of surprises and disappointments, highs and lows, mistakes and lofty accomplishments.
“We finally got it in the end zone there in the fourth quarter, and I thought we kind of turned the corner,” Denman said.
Unfortunately, when they did turn the corner, they found Tulare Western quarterback Andre Aguilar in the middle of the road. Equally adept at passing and running, Aguilar had trouble throwing against the Warriors, completing 7-of-18 passes for just 73 yards.
This time, he did most of his damage running, carrying 20 times for 118 yards against the Warriors, but he also completed a 6-yard touchdown pass to Keshon Butler with 4:23 left that gave Tulare Western the victory.
“That was great,” Aguilar told The Californian. “A game-winning touchdown. Wow!”
The Warriors got into Tulare Western territory with three minutes left, but quarterback Chris Garcia threw his second interception of the game.
“The problem with the whole thing is we didn’t score when we were in the (red) zone,” Denman said. “If we score, it changes the whole concept of the game. If we don’t, then we leave them in the game, and that’s what happens with a good football team.”
Timm led the Warriors with 80 yards rushing on 11 carries, and Carson Bethany had three catches for 55 yards, including a 37-yard running back pass from Scott.
Tanner Herman led the Tehachapi defense with a sack, two tackles for losses and broke up a pass on third down before Aguilar’s game-winning touchdown pass for Tulare Western.
“The kids played with a lot of spirit,” Denman said. “We had one of our best offensive outings of the season, except for when we got into the red zone, and I was really proud of our defense.”
Tulare Western will play host to No. 3 Hanford in the semifinals on Friday night, Nov. 25. The Bullpups beat Kingsburg 36-21 in the quarters.
For the Warriors, meanwhile, the season was over, but they certainly had reason to look ahead to 2017 with optimism.
While the Warriors relied heavily on seniors this year, they will have several returning underclassmen at key positions, including the sophomore Garcia, who won the starting quarterback job about a month into the season, and Timm, a junior.
“Chris got better and better as the season went along, and Timm is a real hard runner who’ll do a good job in there,” Denman said.
“We didn’t have a whole lot of juniors, but the ones we had will be able to contribute quite a bit.
“Next year, they’ll step into major leadership roles and take over where the seniors left off.”
Warrior QB Chris Garcia scrambles for yardage against Tulare Western defenders. The Mustangs defeated the Warriors, 9-7,
in a defensive battle to eliminate the Warriors from the CIF sectional playoffs. Photo by Felix Adamo, The Bakersfield Californian.
Posted by Trevor Horn, The Bakersfield Californian, on Nov. 17, 2016. Tehachapi Falls In DIII Section Playoffs
To Tulare Western, 9-7
TULARE — A season in which Tehachapi experienced a big high with Steve Denman’s 300th win and a big low with an 0-4 start all came down to a game of what-ifs.
Tehachapi failed to score three times after getting inside the 12-yard line and ended its season with a 9-7 loss to Tulare Western on Thursday at Bob Mathias Stadium in the Central Section Division III quarterfinals.
“We had our opportunities in the first half,” Denman said. “When you get down there and don’t score inside the red zone … good things don’t happen.”
The two teams went into halftime in a scoreless tie before Tulare Western (8-3) finally got on the board with a field goal with 1:07 left in in the third quarter.
“We left points on the board and didn’t get it done offensively in the red zone,” Denman said. “The kids played hard. We moved the ball up and down.”
After the field goal, Tehachapi (6-6) used a 9-play, 64-yard drive with four different runners touching the ball and took a 7-3 lead on a 6-yard run by Connor Timm.
“We finally got it in the end zone there in the fourth quarter there, and I thought we kind of turned the corner,” Denman said. “Their quarterback did a heck of a job.”
That would be Andre Aguilar, the Mustangs’ senior signal-caller, of whom Tulare Western coach Ryan Rocha said, “when he runs, he’s hard to bring down.”
Aguilar came into the game with 1,913 passing yards, but Tehachapi’s defense held the Mustangs senior to 7-of-18 passing for just 73 yards. But it was the ground game that did it for Aguilar, who rushed for 118 yards and 20 carries.
Aguilar then found Keshon Butler on a 6-yard swing pass on fourth down for the game-winning score with 4:23 left.
“That was great,” Aguilar said. “A game-winning touchdown. Wow.”
Tehachapi drove into Mustangs territory with three minutes left, but Chris Garcia threw his second interception to Ryan Tucker, sealing Tulare Western’s victory.
“The problem with the whole thing is we didn’t score when we were in the (red) zone,” Denman said. “If we score, it changes the whole concept of the game. If we don’t, then we leave them in the game, and that’s what happens with a good football team.”
Tanner Herman led Tehachapi with a sack and two tackles for loss and had a pass breakup on third down before the game-winning touchdown pass for the Mustangs.
Timm led Tehachapi with 80 rushing yards on 11 carries, and Carson Bethany had three catches for 55 yards, including a 37-yard pass from running back Keyron Scott.
“(Tehachapi) played tough,” Rocha said. “There’s a reason why we call them the ‘Mountain Boys.’”
Tulare Western will host No. 3 Hanford in the semifinals after the Bullpups beat Kingsburg 36-21 on Thursday.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final Tehachapi 0 0 0 7 07 Tulare Western 0 0 3 6 09
The Scoring:
3rd Quarter:
TW: Dealba 30 FG
4th Quarter:
T: Timm 11 run (Graham kick)
TW: Butler 6 pass from Aguilar (kick failed)
Tehachapi vs Tulare Western Stats
THS TWHS First Downs Rushes-Yards 42-204 40-198 Passing Yards 63 83 Comp-Att-Int 4-7-2 7-18-0 Total Yards 267 281 Punts 2-32.0 2-27.5 Fumbles-Lost Penalties
Individual Statistics:
RUSHING—Tehachapi: Timm 11-80, Metzler 6-56, Garcia 11-39, Scott 13-27, Powell 1-2.
Tulare Western: Aguilar 20-118, Alcantar 19-76, Crisp 1-0
PASSING—Tehachapi: Garcia 3-6-2 26, Scott 1-1-0 37. Tulare Western: Aguilar 7-18-0 73.
RECEIVING—Tehachapi: Bethany 3-55, Timm 1-8. Tulare Western: Alcantar 1-23, Portillo 2-21, Butler 3-7, Sanquintin 1-12.
Varsity Records: Tehachapi 6-6. Tulare Western 8-3.
