For Bakersfield High, winning the biggest game of the year meant making Stockdale uncomfortable.

Uncomfortable as in making the Mustangs throw the ball when their wing-T offense is designed to run. Uncomfortable as in putting pressure in the passer's face every time he did throw. Uncomfortable as in making the Mustangs walk off their own field, a 24-12 loser Friday to the Drillers in the Division I Central Section quarterfinals.

"We figured if we could force them to throw, we were going to be all right," BHS coach Paul Golla said. "In offenses that run 80 or 90 percent of the time, you don't spend a lot of time (in practice) on passing."

The sixth-seeded Drillers (9-2) move on to the semifinals to face No. 2 Fresno-Bullard (11-0), which beat Clovis West 35-9 on Friday.

Bakersfield (9-2) held the Mustangs' potent offense to just 17 rushing yards, a total which was held low by the Drillers' eight sacks of Stockdale quarterback Efren Venegas.

"Just intensity and aggression," defensive tackle Anthony Davis said.

The Drillers led 14-0 early in the second quarter on touchdown runs of 37 yards by Walter Hunt and 5 yards by Alfonso Jackson. It could have been worse, considering BHS' first drive was stopped on the Stockdale 4-yard line on a fourth-and-inches play. Still, the defense held the Mustangs (9-2) to negative-1 yard in the first quarter, and the Drillers scored on their next two possessions.

"It wasn't our night," Stockdale coach Mike Snow said. "... They controlled the line of scrimmage, and they were blitzing everybody. It's tough to block nine with five. So, yeah, they controlled it."

Stockdale did respond, getting a 19-yard touchdown pass from Venegas to Malik Henderson to cut the lead to 14-6 midway through the second quarter after the Mustangs' own drive was stopped on fourth-and-goal.

But when Stockdale was forced to punt to begin the second half, BHS took control. Junior quarterback Brian Burrell kept the ball on five straight plays to move the first-down chains a couple of times, then hit Wesley Drummer for a 43-yard rainbow touchdown pass to make it 21-6.

Burrell finished with 106 passing yards and 75 rushing yards.

"Stockdale forced us to do things we normally don't do," Golla said. "We're lucky we have a quarterback who gets it and can make adjustments."

After another Stockdale three-and-out -- the Mustangs' fourth of the game -- Bakersfield scored again on Craig McMahon's 52-yard field goal to make it 24-6 and essentially put the game away, especially with the way the BHS defense was playing.

"(Stockdale) has a great offense, and (Snow) is a great coordinator," Golla said. "Our kids played extremely well. And I'm really proud of them."

The first time the teams played, heroics were necessary in Bakersfield's come-from-behind 32-31 victory. This time, the Drillers dominated from the start.

"We had a lot more confidence this time," Davis said. "We knew what we had to do."

Stockdale had won eight straight games since that one-point loss, but they couldn't even get that close when it counted.

"We won nine games, we won our league championship," Snow said. "But you don't win your last game, you're disappointed."

Several times, Bakersfield had more players in Stockdale's offensive backfield than the Mustangs did. Eventually, the Mustangs were forced to abandon their running game.

"You can't just say you're going to stop the run; it's a lot harder than that," Golla said. "But we were able to do it."

Venegas did finish 9-of-20 passing for 147 yards and two touchdowns, and Cory Dillard had three catches for 83 yards, but Stockdale also had 12 negative plays.

"Our offensive line did well, and our defensive line did amazing," Burrell said.

And now the Drillers take their show on the road to Bullard, where their season ended in last year's quarterfinals. It's also the team they beat for the 2005 section championship, their first of two under Golla.

"It's a lot like 2007 and 2005," the coach said. "Every week, we continue to get better. It's upbeat, up-tempo. A lot of times it's hard to find a team like that, but our kids really have a mission to be the best they can be."

And that's enough to make any opponent a bit uncomfortable.