Broncs capture first league title since '95
| Thursday, Nov 12 2009 11:14 PM
Last Updated Thursday, Nov 12 2009 11:14 PM
LEBEC -- With its first outright league championship since 1995 in sight, Kern Valley left little up to chance Thursday night.
The Broncs forced four turnovers and rushed for 425 yards, scoring on eight of their first nine possessions, en route to a 50-6 victory over Frazier Mountain to capture the High Desert League title.
"I'm overjoyed," Kern Valley coach Ben Goffinet said "This has been the best football season in my 11 years here."
Senior running backs Warren Pappas and Mark Eisenhauer did much of the damage, combining for 322 yards rushing and five TDs.
Pappas rushed for 145 yards and three touchdowns on five carries and also scored on an 89-yard pass play from Kyler Emery to give Kern Valley (9-1, 5-0) a 31-0 lead just before half.
He opened the scoring with a 2-yard TD run, and later scored on an 89-yard run and 24-yard run in the first half.
Eisenhauer had 177 yards rushing and two TDs, scoring from 8 and 38 yards out.
"I'm really surprised by the outcome of this game," Goffinet said. "Our plan was to the run the ball. We thought they would be susceptible to the run, I just didn't know to what extent."
The Falcons (7-3, 3-2) played the game without their leading rusher, Robert Burns, who entered the game with 945 yards and 15 TDs on the year. Burns twisted his knee in practice Wednesday and watched from the sidelines on crutches.
Frazier Mountain moved the ball well in the first half, but stalled deep in Broncs territory.
Alec Gotts, who finished with 89 yards rushing, was stopped for a loss on a fourth-and-goal from the 4 in the first quarter, and Frazier Mountain quarterback Mike Morgan threw the first of three interceptions with his team at the Broncs' 9 yard line.
Morgan was 15-of-38 passing for 185 yards, including an 8-yard scoring pass to Max Arteaga with 2:25 left in the game. The score was setup by a fumble recovery by Brian Graff.
