Taft Union High School’s Thursday Night Lights, Football, and Cheer is back, and the community came out to support the Wildcats’ varsity and JV football teams, as well as the cheer squad, at Marion Martin Field. On September 4, the stands were packed in 92-degree heat, and the crowd’s spirit, excitement, and energy could not be denied. While the outcome on the home field was not ideal, the evening was a success on many levels. In football, however, the Wildcats were defeated 49-7 by a strong Tehachapi High School team, allowing six long, big-play scores.
Both schools entered the game with 1-1 records, but the Warriors improved to 2-1 while Taft fell to 1-2. A swarming and aggressive Warriors defense frequently hit Taft ball carriers behind the line of scrimmage, and Tehachapi scored on several long touchdown plays to dominate the first half. Tehachapi led 7-0 after one on a 49-yard sprint TD, and then pulled away to lead 28-0 at halftime, thanks to a 3-yard run into the end zone, a 65-yard air TD, and a 74-yard punt return touchdown.
Taft improved in the second half, going 7-7 in the third quarter to trail 35-7 entering the fourth, but was undone by another long play, a 36-yard touchdown pass for Tehachapi. Down 35-0, Taft scored on a long drive that culminated in a one-yard run by Garrett Massey with 3:46 remaining in the third quarter.
The Warriors made two more big plays in the fourth quarter, a 69-yard touchdown pass and a 44-yard run for the final scoring play, and they won 49-7.
Game notes
Taft Union HS varsity football coach Brian Durkan described it as a difficult night. “We felt, going into the game, that our lines matched up well with theirs, and that was going to give us a chance in the game,” said the coach. “I believe that played out for the first 15 minutes of the game. The game slipped away from us in the second quarter. We gave up big defensive plays, including a punt return for a touchdown in that quarter. It’s difficult to rally against a really good team when you give up 21 points in a quarter.”
Coach Durkan stated that there were advantages to the Taft game. “I think a positive for us is that we got production in our passing game,” the quarterback said. “Tehachapi shut down our run pretty well (limiting us to 41 yards on 20 carries), but quarterback Chris Bethel and his receivers had some success through the air (145 yards on 12 completions). That is significant for us because we still consider ourselves to have a strong running attack. We reviewed the film Friday after school, and the boys noticed that we were missing blocks here and there despite having a good night running the football.”
Coach Durkan saw the Warriors as formidable opponents. “Tehachapi deserves all the credit Thursday night,” he told me. “They are a tough Division II football team that will play playoff games in November. Their quarterback (Colton Michael) and wide receiver (Thaddeus Dyer) will pose problems for all of their opponents. We are still a young Division 5 football team attempting to establish consistency. The score from Thursday does not reflect the type of team we have. We will grow up, work hard, and improve.”
The victory was Tehachapi’s 20th against Taft in 27 meetings dating back to 1990. Under head coach Ray Newton, the Wildcats won the first game 25-8.
On the statistics sheet
Tehachapi outgained Taft 233 yards to 41 on the ground and 201 yards to 145 in the air, for a 434-186 yard advantage.
Taft junior Garrett Massey led the Wildcats in rushing with 25 yards on six attempts, while junior Joe Weber added 24 yards on six carries.
Junior quarterback Bethel completed 12 of 23 passes for 145 yards and was intercepted once. Weber was Bethel’s top target, catching four passes for 51 yards, including a 40-yarder. Junior Hunter Melton caught two passes for 39 yards, including a 33-yarder, while senior Chris Blaswich gained 33 yards on three receptions.
On defense for Taft, Massey forced a fumble, and junior Xander Griffith and senior Cesar Ponce each recorded a tackle for loss.
Next week
Taft will face Arvin on the road on September 12, and Coach Durkan stated, “Arvin is going to be a great test for us. They like to throw the ball, so we need to improve in the secondary quickly. The Arvin-Taft rivalry dates back decades, and this game is always enjoyable to play.”
The Bears are 1-2 and on a two-game losing streak. After defeating Lindsay 31-13 in the season opener, they were routed by Shafter 55-18 and Boron 46-25. Arvin’s offense has been a toss-up, making it difficult to predict. In the Boron game last week, they were outgained 332 yards to 70 yards in the air – on 4-of-20 pass attempts – and 190 yards to 165 yards rushing. However, in the Shafter game, Arvin gained 242 yards in the air but only 28 on the ground, while Shafter gained 289 yards passing and 161 rushing.
Taft’s rivalry with Arvin dates back to 1951, when the Wildcats won 41-20, beginning an 11-game winning streak in the series. Arvin’s first win over Taft came in 1962, when the Bears won 33-6. Avin has won the previous two meetings between the schools, 19-6 in 2023 and 29-18 in 2024. Taft leads the series 40-28 overall.
