Snyder Leads Tehachapi Past Montclair Prep, 17-7

This town is known for only a few things.

About 90 years ago, more than 3,000 Chinese workers were brought in to build a railroad that would link Tehachapi with the rest of the world. It also is known as offering the last opportunity for a meal on Highway 58 until Bakersfield.

Now, it is also known as the home of Patrick Snyder, whose dream as an 8-year-old was to win a football championship for his hometown high school.

Saturday night, in front of nearly 3,500 people, Snyder rushed 40 times for 140 yards and 2 touchdowns to lead the Tehachapi Warriors (11-2) to a 17-7 victory over Montclair Prep (10-4) for the Inland Conference championship.

“This is the best I have ever felt,” Snyder said.

It was also the first time he had faced television cameras and reporters.

“I’ve wanted this to happen ever since I was eight, and now I have it.”

At Montclair Prep’s expense.

“It’s one of those things,” Montclair Prep Coach John Hazelton said. “You live by the sword and you die by the sword. And it’s double-edged.”

The favored Mounties let several scoring opportunities slip away as they gave in to an aggressive Warrior squad.

In the first quarter, Montclair Prep saw a first and 10 on the Tehachapi 19 turn into a first and 10 for the Warriors on the 17 when Montclair Prep’s Riche Swinton, who had rushed for more than 2,000 yards and 25 touchdowns this season, dropped the football and Tehachapi recovered.

“It’s tough when you have a great running back who is a major college prospect and he drops the ball that close to the score,” Hazelton said.

Swinton rushed 20 times for 102 yards. He had gained more than 500 yards in the previous playoff games.

Lest Swinton be seen as the goat, Montclair Prep’s offense gained only 207 yards, its worst showing in its last 10 games.

The Mounties scored before halftime to come within a touchdown of the Warriors, but were unable to produce anything in the second half. On the other hand, the Warriors played superb defense in shutting Montclair Prep down, and showed an offense worthy of the CIF-SS trophy.

“This is great,” Tehachapi Coach Steve Denman said. “I’m really proud for our kids. They really played their hearts out. They wanted this so bad and now they have it. They deserve it.”

Earlier Saturday, as Tehachapi players arrived on their campus, they were asked about a probable outcome of the game. Most expressed displeasure that their team was being taken too lightly by the “city folks.” They spoke of how they would stop Swinton and company, and receive their just reward.

Said Denman: “This is the town of Tehachapi and this is championship football.”

Indeed. Like true champions, the Warriors wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. On their first drive, quarterback Bret Oberg took the Warriors 53 yards on 11 plays, with Snyder taking it in from the one to put the Warriors up, 7-0. Tehachapi stopped four offensive sets by Montclair, including the drive when Swinton fumbled, before it scored again.

This time, Oberg directed the Warriors 72 yards in only seven plays and Snyder took it in from the six, 14-0.

Montclair scored its only touchdown late in the first half. A pass interference call gave the Mounties the ball on the Tehachapi 30. Nine plays later, Swinton muscled his way in from the one and it was 14-7.

Tehachapi’s defense stifled the Mounties in the second half, and its offense put the game out of reach when Marcos Curiel kicked a 29-yard field goal with less than five minutes left in the game.

In the first quarter, Montclair Prep’s Eric Treibatch was injured and taken off the field by paramedics. He was transported to Tehachapi Hospital, and a team physician later said he had a broken ankle.