Football Preview: Golden West Trailblazers vs. Tehachapi Warriors
After each having a week off, the Golden West Trailblazers and the Tehachapi Warriors will dust off their jerseys to square off against one another at 7:30 p.m. on Friday. Expect the scorekeeper to be kept busy: if their previous games are any indication, both will really light up the scoreboard.
Golden West's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed two weeks ago. They blew past North 48-0 at home. Given the Trailblazers' advantage in MaxPreps' California football rankings (they are ranked 192nd, while the Stars are ranked 502nd), the result wasn't entirely unexpected.
Jayden Najera was his usual excellent self, throwing for 356 yards and four touchdowns while picking up 17.8 yards per attempt. He is on a roll when it comes to passing touchdowns, as he's now passed for four or more in the last four games he's played dating back to last season. Cadillac Pina also helped out as he racked up 130 receiving yards.
Meanwhile, Tehachapi blew past Wasco, posting a 36-8 victory on the road. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Warriors.
Tehachapi's success was the result of a balanced attack that saw several players step up, but Andrew Aguirre led the charge by rushing for 96 yards on only seven carries, while also catching a touchdown. Aguirre's longest rush was for an impressive 56 yards, which helps to explain his lofty yards per carry total. Kaidon Hagerty was in the mix too, providing Tehachapi with two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, Tehachapi was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 262 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 157 rushing yards in 16 consecutive matches dating back to last season.
The win (which was Golden West's third in a row) raised their record to 3-1. As for Tehachapi, their record now sits at 3-1.
Here's a few offensive stats to keep an eye on ahead of Friday's game: Golden West has been excellent in the air this season, having averaged 282.5 passing yards per game. It's a different story for Tehachapi, though, as they've been averaging only 39.2. How will they fare against such a dominant passing game?
Golden West was dealt a bruising 41-7 loss at the hands of Tehachapi in their previous meeting back in September of 2023. Can Golden West avenge their defeat or is history doomed to repeat itself? We'll find out soon enough.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
