BRAVES TIE RAMBLERS IN COMEBACK THRILLER

THE GAME HERO - With only 13 seconds left in the game, #20 Kelly Lorenz returned a kickoff 80 yards to the Garces 5-yard line to set up the tying score in the game.

TEHACHAPI NEWS - The game was over. So it seemed.

On the Tehachapi side-line, the look of disappointment seared through the Braves on a homecoming night loss. On the visitors’ side, jubilation on the apparent 9-7 victory over Tehachapi on the Mountain conjured pumped fists, high-fives, and cheers from the visiting Garces crowd.

Running off the momentum of the soon-to-be victory, Garces elected to go for an exclamation touchdown with 13 seconds left on the clock. 

The decision would cost the Ramblers a win. What was initially thought to be the dagger in the heart of the Braves turned out to be the beginning of one of the biggest comebacks in Mountain Football history.

After missing the extra point attempt, Garces kicked off to the Braves up 15-7. Kelly Lorenz accepted the kickoff at the Brave 5-yard line, and in a flash, with the time winding down in the fourth quarter, churned with all his might eluding Ram tacklers before getting caught from behind at the Garces five yard line. Lorenz pulled off an 80-yard kickoff return much to the shock of the Rambler faithful.

The clock showed that time had expired, and the Garces sideline erupted with victory seemingly in hand. But, the referee’s deliberated on the field and elected to place two seconds on the clock, which was deemed to be the time on the scoreboard at Lorenz’s tackle on the referee whistle.

Fourth quarter, two seconds left, ball on the five yard line down by eight points. One play.

The Braves went under center and took the snap, initiating a fake-handoff bootleg reverse with Brave Quarterback Ehren Ochsenrider flanking down the left hash mark. With no time on the clock, Ochsenrider then floated the football in the endzone to Gabe Naboa, who caught the pigskin amid an erupting Tehachapi sideline.

With emotions at their peak, down 15-13, the Braves would still need to connect on the two-point attempt to salvage the tie. In a play with similar mechanics to the scoring TD, Ochsenrider would find Naboa again, this time on the other side of the endzone, to give the Braves the 15-15 tie and final score.

The game’s thrilling end was a testament to the fine play of both football teams, with the first half a defensive slugfest that relinquished a 24-yard fake punt return by Lorenz to account for one of the few bright spots in a 3-0 Garces advantage at halftime. Defensively, the Braves would limit Garces to only 23 rushing yards overall through the first two quarters.

In the second half of play, the Ramblers would go up by 9-0 at the 2:48 mark of the third quarter with a 58-yard run, but Tehachapi would respond in kind with an Ochsenrider to JJ Balkar pass play midway through the fourth quarter to help put Tehachapi in position for the late game thriller.

With the tie, the Braves will take their 1-3-1 record on the road this Friday to Wasco in their first SSL game of the season. Kickoff for the game will be at 5pm.