INDIANS CLOSE OUT SEASON WITH 50-0 WIN OVER GOLDEN VALLEY

TEHACHAPI NEWS - Ending the season on a good note is the goal of any football team, and Tehachapi (7-3; 4-1 SSL) did just that and more with a 50-0 victory over Golden Valley (2-8; 1-4 SSL) last Wednesday night.

The Indian offense scored on their first four possessions of the game, totaling 201 yards of total offense, to put the game away early. The first touchdown came on a 75-yard drive that ended with a Paul Castro 16-yard run to put Tehachapi’s first points on the scoreboard. Ehren Ochsenrider would find Corey Finley for a successful two-point pass after the score for an 8-0 lead.

“I think over the course of the season our players matured a great deal,” said Indian Head Coach Chris Olofson. “Some of the mistakes that we were making earlier in the season we shored up in our final games, so that’s extremely satisfying to know we finished off strong.”

Tehachapi’s defense would record a pick on Golden Valley’s opening possession of the first quarter, the first of four total interceptions in the game. The turnover would give the Indians possession at their own 34-yard line, where they proceeded to chew up nearly six minutes of game clock before Byron Herman scored from one yard out for the second TD of the game. Ochsenrider would connect on his second consecutive two-point pass play after the score, connecting with Trevor Hayes for the 16-0 advantage.

The Indians continued the scoring onslaught in the second quarter when Josh Schulgen and Louie Olofson thwarted two drives with an interception apiece, giving Tehachapi field position deep in Golden Valley’s territory on both occasions.

Castro would record the first touchdown on a 1-yard run, and Steven Miller would record the second TD with a quarterback sneak. After the Castro run, Joey Montez would add the two-point conversion with a run up the middle of the Golden Valley line. The Castro score would be his final of the game, leading the THS offense with 184 yards rushing and two TDs.

Tehachapi would take the four first-half scores into halftime with a 30-0 lead.

In the second half, the Indians would reel off 195 total yards to bring their totals up to 419 overall in the game. Scoring in the second half for Tehachapi would be Gabe Noboa with a 22-yard run, Joey Montez with a 38-yard run, and Kelly Lorenz with a 22-yard run in the fourth quarter. Ochsenrider would add successful extra point attempts after the Noboa and Lorenz runs for the final 50-0 score.

On defense, the Indians dominated on the line of scrimmage and in the secondary against the Freshman Bulldogs, holding Golden Valley to only 41 total yards of offense and forcing four turnovers. Jake Taylor and Ben Sheahan would record sacks against Golden Valley, while Joey Montez and Byron Herman lead the Indians with five tackles each. Castro, Lorenz, Greg Bloom, Corey Finley, Matt Roussel, and Tucker Kill would all record multiple tackles for the Indians as well. Along with Schulgen and Olofson, other Indians recording interceptions were Jacob Booth and Ochsenrider.

The Indians close out their season in second place in the South Sequoia League. Wasco won the league title with a 47-0 victory over Shafter last Wednesday to bring their final record to 9-1 and 5-0 in the SSL.

“Even though we didn’t win a league title this season, I’m extremely proud of our players,” said Olofson. “They developed into a very fine football team and they’ve come a long way in five years, we (the coaching staff) are very proud of them.”