SOUTHERN SECTION FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS : DIVISION IX : Whittier Christian Shut Out by Tehachapi

Whittier Christian’s hopes for a second consecutive Southern Section Division IX championship were dashed Friday night when Tehachapi defeated the Heralds, 9-0, in a quarterfinal game at Whittier College.

Tehachapi (9-3) got its fifth shutout of the season as the Warriors got revenge for last season’s 35-21 loss to Whittier Christian (9-3) in the Division IX championship game. Tehachapi meets St. Bonaventure next Friday in the semifinals.

“You’ve got to hand it to our defense tonight,” said Warrior Coach Steve Denman. “We had the chance to put the points on the board, and we did it when we needed to. And then our defense took it from there.”

Tehachapi’s defense provided the Warrior offense with good field position all night. Tehachapi’s first touchdown was set up by a 38-yard punt return by Ben Creason, which gave the Warriors the ball at the Whittier Christian 32-yard line. Two plays later, quarterback Joel Nash completed a 27-yard touchdown pass to Josh Rathbone to give the Warriors a 6-0 lead with 6 minutes 3 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

Rathbone kicked a 21-yard field goal with 10:33 left in the second quarter. The Warriors started the drive on the Whittier Christian 48-yard line after Herald punter Juan Rios couldn’t get the kick away because of a bad snap and was tackled for a one-yard loss.