1970 Warriors
The 1970 Warriors include, bottom row, l to r, Chuck Smith, Alfred Aguilar, Larry Blair, Art MacNeel, Danny Sanchez, Dave Gary, Dennis Grantham, Bruce Norris, Javier Quesada, Bobby Sanchez, LE Fite, Mark Arnds;
Middle row, l to r, Jim Wright, Mike Johnston, Mike Dunning, Tony Samano, Joaquin Gaeta, Tony Goodspeed, Bill Robison, Victor Capetillo, Mike Uli, David Cloud, Arnold Valdez, John Davis, John King;
Back row, l to r, Dave Jennings, Dave White, Tim Gassaway, Joe Quiroga, Dave Cord, Tim McLaughlin, Randy Perry, Rick Gary, Rod Kirkbride, Mike Lussenden, Wayne Longcrier, Ron Cortez, and Mike Esposti.
The 1970 Warriors finished in 3rd place in the Desert-Inyo League behind league champion Rosamond and runner-up Mojave. In head coach Bill Carll's fourth and final season, the Warriors finished with an overall season record of 6 wins and 3 losses; 6-2 in league play. Warriors Log Winning 6-3 Season In 1970
QB Rick Gary Earns MVP Honors
In the season opener at Rosamond, the Warriors dropped a 14-6 contest to the pre-season favorite Roadrunners. Warrior QB Rick Gary went 5-10 passing including a 44 yard TD pass to wide receiver Victor Capetillo. The Warriors nearly tied the game late in the 4th quarteer but a QB plunge by Gary fell 2 feet short of the goal line.
As a footnote, ALL-CIF running back Jimmy Johnson of Rosamond set a league record by scoring 52 points in a single game against Boron and set another record by scoring 223 points in one season. Johnson rushed for 111 yards in 26 carries, scoring 2 TD's against Tehachapi.
The Warriors returned to the mountain in Week 2 and crushed Bishop, 29-6. The scoring parade began on a 12 yard TD jaunt by big running back Mike Uli (Gary to Capetillo PAT); Tony Goodspeed tackled a Bishop runner in the end zone for a safety; Gary connected with Capetillo on a 46 yard TD pass (Fite PAT kick); Gary to Javier Quesada 5 yard TD pass; and another Gary-to-Capetillo TD pass, this time for 26 yards. QB Gary completed 9 of 17 passes for 132 yards, including 3 TD passes. Uli led the Warriors with 111 yards rushing in 21 carries.
Of historical interest, the 1970 season marks the first year that the Warriors played under the lights at home. The athletic football lights lit up Coy Burnett field for the first time in the Bishop game. This ended a 40 year tradition of playing home games on Saturday afternoons. From now on, Friday night football games would become a new tradition in the Tehachapi Valley. Longtime Warrior booster Jerome Warner spearheaded the drive to install the lights. For his effort, he was awarded a lifetime pass to all Tehachapi High School athletic events.
In Week 3, a sluggish Warrior team played well enough to shutout Boron, 13-0. QB Gary threw a 50 yard TD pass to receiver Mike Lussenden, and Gary scored the other TD on a 3 yard run (Fite PAT kick). Gary went 5-11 passing for 174 passing yards, Lussenden catching 3 passes for 106 yards and Capetillo receiving 2 passes for 68 yards. Uli ran for 52 yards while Gary picked up 45 yards rushing.
This set up a showdown in Week 4 with the highly touted Mojave Mustangs. Behind QB Larry Satterfield, the red clad Mustangs came roaring back in the final quarter to upset the Warriors 20-13. It was the first time a Warrior team had ever lost to Mojave since the two rival schools began playing each other in 1957.
After Mojave took an early 6-0 lead, Tehachapi responded with a TD drive ending in a Gary-to-Capetillo 24 yard pass (Fite PAT kick); the Warriors took a 13-6 lead when Capetillo intercepted a Mustang pass and ran it back 61 yards for a TD. The Mustangs would then rally for the final two TD's of the game. The Warriors rushed for 130 yards with Gary collecting 54 yards and Uli running for 35 yards. Gary went 3-14 passing for 53 yards.
In Week 5, Tehachapi traveled to Los Angeles to meet perennial small school power L.A. Baptist in a non-league game. In a very physical contest, the Knights defeated the Warriors 28-8. The Warriors scored in the 2nd half on a Bill Robison-to-Randy Perry 60 yard screen pass play (Robinson-to-Capetillo PAT pass). The Warriors rushed for just 27 yards and passed for 130 yards behind sophomore QB Robison (playing for the injured Gary).
In Week 6, the Warriors returned to the mountain to defeat Kern Valley High School, 33-14, on a cold, windy night. The Warriors dominated the game, leading 27-0 at halftime. Gary returned to action as an offensive back, and Robison remained at the QB position. The experiment worked as Gary rushed for 126 yards, scoring on TD runs of 5 and 7 yards. Robison also had 2 TD runs of 1 yard and 32 yards. John Davis also scored a TD when he returned an interception for 45 yards.
In Week 7, the Warriors made it two straight victories at home, defeating a stubborn Lone Pine team, 27-14. The Warriors led winless Lone Pine 6-0 at the half on a Gary 1 yard TD run; John King scored on a 6 yard run in the 3rd quarter to make it 12-0; Gary connected with Wayne Longcrier (Gary to Longcrier PAT pass) in the 4th quarter for a TD pass to make it 20-6; and Perry scored on a 45 yard TD run (Fite PAT kick) with 1:16 remaining in the game to preserve the 27-14 victory. QB Gary was 7-15 passing, good for 129 yards (QB Robison was sick) and Perry rushed for 62 yards to lead the Warriors.
In Week 8, the Warriors traveled to the Sand Pit in Trona and escaped with a 21-0 win. Gary scored on a 4 yard TD run (Fite PAT kick); Perry scored on a 15 yard run (Fite PAT kick); and Perry closed out the scoring on another 10 yard TD run (Fite PAT kick). The Warriors rushed for 204 yards with Perry earning 101 of those yards on 16 carries.
In Week 9, playing for 3rd place, and a potential CIF playoff berth, the Warriors traveled to Edwards AFB to meet the Desert Scorpions. The Warriors won the game behind a tremendous defensive effort, 25-0, but missed out on a playoff berth. Defensive lineman Goodspeed started the scoring parade by sacking a Scorpion runner in the end zone for a 2-0 lead; then a Gary-to-Capetello TD pass for 25 yards (Fite PAT kick); Gary scored on a 2 yard run (Gary-to-Capetillo PAT pass); and a Gary 7 yard TD run. Randy Perry led the Warrior ground game with 111 yards in 22 carries.
Quarterback Rick Gary led the 1970 Warriors by earning all-league (def. back & off. back) as well as team Most Valuable Player honors. Gary ended up his three year varsity career with 2,627 all-purpose yards, a Warrior record at the time.
Joining Gary on the all-league 1st team were Victor Capetillo (wide receiver), Rod Kirkbride (center), Joaquin Gaeta (def. end), and Tony Goodspeed (def. tackle). Both Gary and Capetillo scored 7 touchdowns each for the season to lead the Warriors.
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LISTING OF DIL CHAMPS
FROM 1957-1991
Game-by-Game Results
OPPONENT THS OPP L GAME HIGHLIGHT Sep 19 Rosamond 06 12 A Vic Capetillo: 1 TD, Pass Rec. Sep 26 Bishop 29 06 H Rick Gary: 3 TD passes, 132 yds. passing Oct 2 Boron 13 00 A Rick Gary: 1 TD, 45 yds. rushing Oct 9 Mojave 13 20 H Vic Capetillo: 2 TD's, 61 yd. TD interception return Oct 17 LA Baptist (North Hills) * 08 28 A Randy Perry: 1 TD, Pass Rec. Oct 23 Kern Valley (Lake Isabella) 33 14 H Rick Gary: 2 TD's, 126 yds. rushing Oct 30 Lone Pine 27 14 H Randy Perry: 1 TD, 62 yds. rushing Nov 7 Trona 21 00 A Randy Perry: 2 TD's, 101 yds. rushing Nov 13 Desert (Edwards AFB) 25 00 A Rick Gary: 2 TD's rushing
* Denotes Non League Game
Lineman Tony Samano, quarterback Rick Gary, and center Rod Kirkbride.