2000 Warriors
The 2000 Warriors include #1 Richard Munoz, 3 Justin Glass, 4 Jason Koelsch, 5 Doug Randall, 6 Ron Christy, 7 Darren Tripp, 8 Chris Denman,
9 Matt Schaefer, 10 Ian Steel, 11 Jerad Romo, 12 Jared Warner, 15 Cody Schmidt, 18 David Reed, 20 D. Vandeventer, 21 Derik Easttom, 22 Chad Bennett,
23 Billy Young, 25 J. Hernandez, 28 Gary Evans, 30 Connor Morris, 32 Bobby Unger, 33 Tony Troffer, 35 Ryan Lange, 38 Ronnie Knudsen, 40 Nic Booker,
41 Josh Barker, 42 Dustin McBride, 44 Jake Steele, 45 Mark Tarin, 50 Andy Grantham, 51 Kevin Sanchez, 52 James Harris, 53 Joe Erwin, 54 Kevin McKay,
55 Todd Eilers, 56 Jacob Perry, 57 RJ Prestwich, 58 Anthony Alvarez, 59 Ben Willer, 60 Josh Christy, 64 Padraic Campbell, 65 Jason Dusel, 66 Kyle Ethridge,
68 Chad Ohl-Trlica, 70 Matt Whitlock, 71 Travis Plumlee, 72 James Sandoval, 76 Brandon Asher, 77 David Creason, 78 Daniel Cisneros, 80 Travis Wells,
81 Tony Gonzales, 85 David Biggs, and 88 Kyle Dock. Attention Warrior Alumni: We are seeking a color photograph for this team.
Warriors Share SSL Crown With Taft & Shafter
Sierra Tops Tehachapi in CIF Finals
The Warriors began the new millennium in grand fashion by winning a tri-championship in the South Sequoia League (SSL) and advancing to the finals of the San Joaquin Valley Central Section playoffs. The Warriors finished the season with an impressive 10-3 overall season record; 5-1 in league play. The Warriors shared the league title with Shafter and Taft.
In Week 1, the Warriors demolished Bishop 56-6 in Tehachapi. Derik Easttom set the tone for the game by running back the opening kickoff 92 yards for a TD. Dustin McBride ran for 139 yards and scored 2 TD's and Chad Bennett added 82 yards rushing and scored 2 TD's as well.
In Week 2, the Warriors improved to 2-0 with a 42-13 victory over Rosamond. Dustin McBride sparked the special teams with a 90 yard punt return for a TD. McBride also scored two more times, rushing for 120 yards; Bennett rushed for 108 yards; QB Jerad Romo rushed for one TD on a 27 yard scamper, and threw a 36 yard TD pass to wide receiver Richard Munoz.
In Week 3, the Warriors moved to 3-0 with a 34-7 win over previously undefeated Foothill, 34-7. McBride exploded for 131 yards rushing, scoring four TD's; QB Romo also connected on three passes with Munoz, one good for a 41 yard TD.
In week 4, the Warriors began SSL play in Bakersfield against new school Liberty. The Warriors defeated Liberty, 21-10. McBride scored all three Warrior TD's.
Tehachapi improved to 5-0 in Week 5 with a 41-14 stomping of Arvin on the mountain. Junior Gary Evans ran for 116 yards with TD runs of 53 and 5 yards; McBride rushed for 95 yards and one TD run; amd QB Romo connected on 6 of 7 passes including two short TD strikes to Chris Denman.
In Week 6 against Shafter, Evans had a record setting night by returning two kickoff returns for TD's. The first TD return was 75 yards and the second return was 64 yards. McBride rushed for 179 yards, scoring 2 TD's; QB Romo connected with Munoz on TD passes of 31 and 41 yards.
The Warriors suffered their first loss of the season in Week 7, dropping a heartbreaking 35-34 game to Taft in the oil town. Evans scored on a 2 yard TD run with 1:57 left in the game but the 2 point PAT conversion failed, leaving the Warriors 1 point short of a win. Evans scored on another short run of 1 yard; McBride scored on a 4 yard run; Danny Unger scored on a 15 yard run; and QB Romo was 8-19 passing for 135 yards and Evans threw one pass for a 55 yard TD strike to Munoz.
Tehachapi dropped their second game in a row in Lancaster, losing to the Paraclete Spirits in another heartbreaker, 29-28. Unger rushed for 168 yards; Vandeventer scored on three short TD runs; and QB Romo scored on a 4 yard run.
The Warriors returned to the win column in Week 9 with a 32-14 victory over Wasco. Vandeventer rushed for 94 yards and scored three TD's for Tehachapi; Easttom scored on a 60 yard run; and Johnny Sullivan chipped in with a 30 yard Field Goal.
In the regular season finale, Tehachapi traveled to Bakersfield to whip rival Garces 34-10. QB Romo had his best rushing game of the season, collecting four TD's on 79 rushing yards; McBride rushed for 78 yards, scoring one TD; and Unger added 53 yards.
In the first round of the playoffs, Tehachapi played host to SSL foe Arvin. The Warriors would previal again over the Bears, this time winning 36-6. McBride tied a school record for the most TD's in one game by scoring five TD's, rushing for 64 yards. Unger led the Warriors in rushing with 121 yards.
In the second round of the playoffs, the Warriors again met another SSL rival, this time Shafter. The Warriors delighted the hometown crowd by defeating the Generals, 28-13. The Warriors collected 313 yards rushing with Unger running for 104 yards, scoring twice, and McBride rushing for 98 yards, also scoring twice.
The win setup another playoff match-up between Sierra and Tehachapi. The trip to Sierra (located in the foothills northeast of Fresno) would be the fourth in five years for Tehachapi. The Warriors were eliminated by Sierra in the first round of the 1998 playoffs and in the semifinals of the 1999 playoffs.
In 2000, Sierra would once again prevail by defeating Tehachapi in a rugged defensive game, 14-7. The game ended with Tehachapi threatening inside the Sierra 10 yard line. The Warriors only managed 119 total yards rushing on 47 carries. McBride led the Warriors with 61 yards rushing. Romo was 6 for 14 passing, good for 76 yards, connecting with three different Warrior receivers. Sierra finished the season with a perfect 13-0 record.
In 13 games, the Warrior offense behind quarterback Jerad Romo racked up 433 points (33.3 avg. per game), the most points ever scored by a Warrior offense in a single season.
Statistically, the Warriors were led by McBride with 1,018 yards rushing in 134 carries, scoring a team leading 25 TD's; Unger ran for 986 yards in 154 carries, scoring four TD's; QB Romo completed 55 of 109 passes for 884 yards, tossing 7 TD passes; Romo's favorite target was Munoz who hauled in 21 passes for 460 yards.
Earning ALL-SSL first team honors were Jerad Romo (quarterback), Dustin McBride (running back), Ron Christy (center), Todd Eilers (def. lineman), Bobby Unger (linebacker), and McBride (def. back) also made the all league defensive team. Earning second team honors were Unger (running back), Richard Munoz (wide receiver), Chris Denman (tight end), James Harris (lineman), David Biggs (def. end), Jacob Perry (lineman), and Darren Tripp (linebacker).
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| OPPONENT | THS | OPP | L | GAME HIGHLIGHT | |
| Sept 8 | Bishop | 56 | 06 | H | Derik Easttom: 92 Yd. Kickoff Return |
| Sept 15 | Rosamond | 42 | 13 | H | Dustin McBride: 90 Yd. Punt Return |
| Sept 22 | Foothill (Bakersfield) | 34 | 07 | A | Dustin McBride: 4 TD's, 131 Yds. Rushing |
| Sept 29 | Liberty (Bakersfield) * | 21 | 10 | A | Dustin McBride: 3 TD's, 55 Yds. Rushing |
| Oct 6 | Arvin * | 41 | 14 | H | Gary Evans: 2 TD's, 116 Yds. Rushing |
| Oct 13 | Shafter * | 40 | 15 | H | Gary Evans: 2 TD Kickoff Returns! |
| Oct 20 | Taft * | 34 | 35 | A | Richard Munoz: 7 Pass Receptions, 162 Yds., 1 TD |
| Oct 27 | Paraclete (Lancaster) | 28 | 29 | A | Danny Vandeventer: 3 TD's, 72 Yds. Rushing |
| Nov 3 | Wasco * | 32 | 14 | H | Danny Vandeventer: 3 TD's, 94 Yds. Rushing |
| Nov 10 | Garces (Bakersfield) * | 34 | 10 | A | Jerad Romo: 4 TD's, 79 Yds. Rushing |
* Denotes League Game
| OPPONENT | THS | OPP | L | GAME HIGHLIGHT | |
| Nov 17 | Arvin | 36 | 06 | H | Dustin McBride: 5 TD's, 64 Yds. Rushing |
| Nov 24 | Shafter | 28 | 13 | H | Bobby Unger: 2 TD's, 104 Yds. Rushing |
| Dec 1 | Sierra (Tollhouse) | 07 | 14 | A | Bobby Unger: 1 TD, 27 Yds. Rushing |