Drillers pull away for 38-20 victory over Edison

Sep. 24—Trailing by 14 points early, Bakersfield High was struggling to find its footing against visiting Fresno-Edison on Friday night.

Fortunately, the Drillers didn't have to wait long to locate it.

On its next possession, Bakersfield hit the Tigers with a powerful 1-2 punch in the form of seniors Tybo Rogers and Tye Monteiro, scoring 24 points in the second quarter to take the lead for good.

When the dust settled, the tandem had combined for more than 300 yards in total offense, sparking the team to a 38-20 victory — the 800th in school history, according to records compiled in Rick Van Horne's book about BHS football, "Friday Night Heroes."

"It was definitely not the greatest start, but we're happy the way when we were hit with adversity we battled back," said Bakersfield coach Rashaan Shehee, whose team improved to 2-3 heading into next week's South Yosemite River League opener at Bakersfield Christian. "Our guys continued to fight, and that's been a challenge for us. We didn't meet that challenge earlier in the season, but that's how you know we're growing as a team, and we answered that call today."

Rogers gave his team the lead for good with a 69-yard pass play from Monteiro, but most of his damage came on special teams where he helped move his team into scoring position with kickoff returns of 66 and 63 yards. He also rushed for a game-high 67 yards on nine carries, and backed the Tigers up deep in their own territory with a 44-yard punt for good measure.

"He loves the game and everybody can see the passion that he plays with," said Shehee of Rogers, who rarely comes off the field. "So we're going to keep using him as much as we can. If he needs a break here and there, we'll take him out, but ...

"He's just a football player. I don't want to pigeon-hole him and put him in a certain position. We put him on the football field and we know somewhere he's going to make a play."

Monteiro, the state wrestling runner-up at 182 pounds last year, had his hand in all five Driller touchdowns, finishing with 132 yards passing and three touchdowns and rushing for 56 yards and two scores.

"Oh my goodness, he dealt with some adversity early on, a couple plays here and there that didn't go our way," Shehee said. "Tye's a fighter and he's never going to stop fighting. We know he's going to be in it with his boys to the very end. That's my guy."

And, oh ya, the two also intercepted a pass.

The Drillers struggled to get started early in the game, and Edison (3-2) made them pay.

On their opening drive, Monteiro's pitch to Rogers was too high and Tigers' lineman Nick Ball picked up the ball on a bounce and rumbled 63 yards for a touchdown. Edison made a two-point conversion to take an 8-0 lead and then added to its cushion on a 2-yard scoring run by John Eubanks just 15 seconds into the second quarter to make it 14-0.

But BHS scored on five of its next six possessions, capitalizing on a pair of turnovers and five sacks to put the game out of reach.

After Edison's second scoring drive, Bakersfield struck back quickly on the ensuing kickoff when Rogers sprinted 66 yards before being tackled on the Tigers' 20. Two plays later, Monteiro connected with Bryson Campos on a 15-yard scoring pass to make it 14-7 with 11:22 left in the half. Campos finished with four catches for 45 yards.

It was the first of four scores in the quarter for the Drillers.

Rogers made a leaping interception to halt Edison's next drive and returned it 41 yards for an apparent score. A holding call nullified the touchdown, and freshman Mekai Dallas missed a 42-yard field attempt.

But the momentum had shifted in Bakersfield's favor.

After forcing the Tigers to punt, BHS took over at midfield and Monteiro guided his team to the tying score, a 14-yard touchdown pass to Rogers' sophomore brother, Harvey, at the 5:44 mark.

Monteiro intercepted a pass to halt Edison's next possession, and two plays later, connecting with Rogers on the go-ahead score with 2:21 left in the first half.

The Tigers countered with their own scoring drive, capped by a 30-yard TD pas from Ya'J Vance to Ray Brown, but the conversion failed and Bakersfield still led 21-20.

Rogers returned the ensuing kickoff 63 yards, and Dallas nailed a 34-yard field goal to end the half with a 24-20 Drillers' lead.

BHS had four rushers with at least seven carries, with Brison Abbott finished with 56 yards and Drahcir Mackey adding 37.

Defensively, the Drillers limited the Tigers to just 73 yards in offense in the second half, with Damon Brown and Anthony Rivera tallying two sacks apiece.

"It's about continuing this into league," Shehee said. "I'm happy we got the win today, in the fashion that we got it, with them having to deal with some adversity and fight through it, so now we're ready for league."