The Broncs defense surrounds the Oakland ball carrier as they attempt to bring him down in the first game of the season. Submitted Photo.
You could tell Friday was the first game of the football season for the Broncs varsity team. This was evident by the sloppy play, the missed opportunities and the failure of the special team in the end.
Kern Valley opened their season at home playing the Oakland Wildcats. Two long touchdowns sunk the Broncs as they gave up a 62-yard scoring toss and a 71-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Those two plays and the fumbles, the interceptions, the missed tackles and taking penalties at the most inopportune time cost the Broncs a chance of getting the win. The first four possessions of the game for Kern Valley were filled with giving the ball back to their opponents. The first time the Broncs had a chance to get the ball a muffed punt turned it back to the Wildcats. The second time and interception stalled the drive and gifted back to Oakland. The next two possessions they would turn it over on downs.
The Wildcats took advantage of both the Kern Valley miscues. The game was only a little over six minutes old when the scoreboard lit up for the visiting team. After the Kern Valley fumble on the punt, Oakland used four plays to go the 30 yards to find the end zone. A four-yard pass capped the scoring drive and gave them the lead. Going for two was unsuccessful, but the score stood at 6-0.
Getting the ball back, the Broncs were on the move when they were short circuited by the INT. They went 39 yards in five plays, but the Kern Valley quarterback was picked off. The Wildcats player returned it to their own 38-yard line. Two plays and a penalty put the ball back at the original line of scrimmage. On the next play, the Oakland QB hooked up with a receiver who raced the 62 yards to find the end zone. This time the two-point PAT was good and with just over a minute left in the first quarter the Broncs were looking at a 14-0 deficit.
The Broncs had good field position to begin their next drive. They were set up at the 50-yard line. Kern Valley ran off six plays before they turned the ball back on downs. The defense stepped up and forced the Wildcats to punt. They tried a fake, but was sniffed out by the Broncs and they had worked field position back in their favor. They were sitting at the Wildcats 39-yard line. They moved it to the seven, but were stopped and turned it back over to Oakland. The first half ended without any other fan fare and the score remained at 14-0.
The Broncs battled back in the second half as they were able to knot the score at 14-14. The two teams alternated possessions and it was now KV ball. They started this drive at their own 35. Seven plays later the Broncs were knocking at the door on the 22-yard line of Oakland. On the next play, Zane Carver and Bryce Smoot hooked up for the 22-yard touchdown pass. The two-point PAT was no good, but the Broncs cut the lead to 14-6. The third quarter would end with this score.
Kern Valley’s defense stopped the next Oakland drive. They forced the opponents to fumble and took over on the plus 28-yard line. A couple of penalties on the Wildcats moved it to 18-yard line. Another penalty on Oakland extended the drive. It took two plays to cross the goal line. Carver went three yards to raise the officials’ arms. Going for two, the Broncs were successful and the score was tied at 14-14 with 4:45 left in the contest.
The ensuing kick off broke the Broncs as they surrendered a 71-yard return for a touchdown to put the Wildcats back on top. The extra try was no good, but the tie was broke. The scoreboard read 20-14 for the visiting Wildcats. The Broncs had two more possessions. One ended with a sack on fourth down. Kern Valley got the ball back with 1:57 on the clock when the Wildcats coughed it up. An interception ended the last-ditch effort and the Wildcats went into victory formation to send Kern Valley to the loss.
The Broncs had a total of 143 yards of offense. They rushed for 110 and the one score. They threw for 33 yards and one touchdown. On the ground they were eld by Carson Parks with 55 yards on 16 carries. Carver went for 47 yards on 16 touches. Tavin Watts rushed for eight yards with a pair of carries. Carver was 4-of-17 with the pair of interceptions for the 33 yards.
Note: Individual defensive stats were not made available. This was a mix up between the head coach and this writer.
Head coach Scott Tedrow commenting on the game said, “That was tough one to watch. We made a lot of mistakes. I felt like we were the better team, but we just made too many mistakes. We were able to move the ball at will, got a lot of stops on defense. We just ended up shooting ourselves in the foot. A lot of mental errors that we have to clean up before next week.”
Kern Valley (0-1) will be on the road next week as they travel to Reedley to take on Immanuel High School. They will look to get in the win column.
