1999 Warriors
Numerical Roster: #1 Richard Munoz, #2 Joe Scott, #3 Juston Glass, #4 Anthony Troffer, #5 Patrick Todd, #6 Jerry Scarola, #7 Josh Schneider,
#8 Wes Backes, #9 Mike Howell, #10 Matt Riddle, #11 Jared Romo, #12 Derik Easttom, #15 Tony Travis, #16 Travis Swanson, #18 Nick Scarlett,
#20 Daniel Marcum, #21 Tommy Arrowood, #23 Keith Noonan, #26 Issac Hernandez, #28 Jared Waldram, #30 Conner Morris, #40 Darren Tripp, #31 Dan Pacewitz,
#32 Bobby Unger, #33 Kyle Hamon, #41 Josh Barker, #42 Dustin McBride, #44 Joe Kapturkiewicz, #51 Luis Saavedra, #52 James Harris, #52 Chris Shelton,
#50 Kevin McKay, #55 Cole Pinheiro, #59 Brandon Asher, #70 R.J. Prestwich, #71 Josh Alvarez, #72 Greg Lloyd, #75 Tony Bray, #77 Robert Houghton,
#78 Daniel Cisneros, #80 Nehemiah Harris, #81 Tony Gonzalez, #88 Brian Townsend, and #85 David Biggs.
All-league QB Jerad Romo #11 fires a completed pass during the 1999 season. Romo had an outstanding
passing season completing 60 passes for 1,057 yards and 12 TD's. Wes Backes was his favorite target hauling in
19 passes for 198 yards. Romo would go on to play QB for Antelope Valley JC in Lancaster and SMU in Texas
Season Review by Tom Shea, thswarriors.com Warriors Finish 2nd In South Sequoia League Play
Final 9-3 Season Log in 1999
The 1999 Warriors finished the season with an impressive overall record of 9 wins and 3 losses. The Warriors finished 4-1 in league play,
good enough for 2nd place and a berth in the CIF Central Section Large School Valley Playoffs.
The season started off on a good note for the men in green, completing a four-hour bus ride up Highway 395 with a 39-7 thrashing of Bishop.
In a game that was reminiscent of past meetings for the Broncos, the former Desert Inyo-League foe became victim to a rushing entourage that blew up for five touchdowns,
two from Kyle Hamon, two from Mike Howell, and one from Bobby Unger, with the trio collecting 238 yards against the shell-shocked Bishop defense.
As satisfying as week one was, it only took seven days for Tehachapi to come back down to earth against Rosamond. The Roadrunners had been outplaying Tehachapi statistically the past couple of seasons, and the efficient play finally caught up to the Warriors on the scoreboard when Rosamond broke a 20-20 tie to score the games final touchdown in the fourth quarter. Tehachapi was leading 14-8 at halftime, but a Bobby Unger 34-yard scoring run in the second half could not overcome 443 total yards by the Roadrunner arsenal. The ‘upset special’ was hard to swallow for the mountain men, but they were able to regain their focus a week later with Division XII CIF title favorite Paraclete coming to Coy Burnett Field.
Senior Wes Backes almost single handedly handed the Spirits their first loss of the season with a seven catch, 85 yard performance and two touchdowns. Junior quarterback Jared Romo had an 11-18 passing day for 152 yards, while Mike Howell helped the offense eat up clock, carrying 17 times for 78 yards and a second quarter TD run. The big win proved to be a great momentum builder in the final two preseason games, with Tehachapi dispatching of Stockdale and Corcoran to enter their league schedule at 4-1. Senior Joe Kapturkiewicz led the way in the final two preseason wins with three TD receptions on offense and an 87 yards interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter against Stockdale. Wingback Mike Howell also had 219 total yards in the two blowout victories. With an upset loss against Rosamond the only blemish on an otherwise perfect season, Tehachapi came into their match-up with league rival Garces with a head of steam.
However, much to the dismay of the Warrior faithful, title aspirations would be thwarted in a disastrous second half against the Rams, where Tehachapi squandered a 7-0 first half lead to give up 34 second period points behind the surprising play of backup wingback Hunter Sill, who scored twice in the third quarter. Fullback Bobby Unger said after the game that “at first we had (the game) and then you don’t know what to do…we came out to play in the first half abut they took it away from us in the second period.”
In a season of ups and downs, the next four league contests would have Tehachapi righting the ship for their playoff run, with victories against Shafter, Wasco, Taft, and Arvin. On October 29th, Tehachapi and Wasco played one of their most thrilling league match-ups ever, with Wes Backes proving to be the difference with a point-after-attempt in overtime for the 29-28 victory. Junior wideout Richard Munoz had three receptions for 43 yards in the Wasco game, while quarterback Jared Romo scored on a four yard run in the extra period for the win.
After an 18-15 victory over Arvin, Tehachapi would secure the third seed in the Large School Sequoia playoff bracket, facing off with Yosemite High School for the first time in school history. Against the Badgers, Joe Kapturkiewicz and Derik Easttom both would haul in 69-yard touchdown receptions from Jared Romo, helping to offset a 191-yard rushing performance from Yosemite’s Roosevelt Cooks. With Tehachapi up 12-10, Mike Howell would put the game away for good in the fourth quarter with touchdown number 14 on the season.
In the semi-finals, Tehachapi would face playoff nemesis Sierra-Tollhouse for the third time in four years. Unfortunately for the Warriors, the first two losing results would repeat themselves in 1999, with the Chieftains breaking open a 14-14 halftime tie for 27 unanswered points in the second half. Kyle Hamon led Tehachapi in the game with 105 yards on 19 carries, while Mike Howell scored the Warriors only TD’s with two first half plunges. Senior Wes Backes led all receivers in the game with 46 yards on three completions.
As a point of interest, SSL champion Garces lost to Dos Palos in the Sequoia Division "Small Schools" championship, 47-6. Dos Palos has won a record 39 straight games and three consecutive Sequoia Division championships; Sierra High lost to Washington Union (Fresno), 28-27, in the Sequoia Division "Large Schools" championship; and Paraclete (Lancaster) won the CIF Southern Section Div. 12 finals by defeating Camp Kilpatrick, 43-6.
For the year, Jared Romo enjoyed one of the better seasons by a Warrior quarterback, firing for 60 completions, 1,057 yards, and 12 touchdowns. Romo’s favorite target was Wes Backes, who had 19 catches for 198 yards and 3 scores, while Joe Kapturkiewicz had 12 catches for 230 yards and seven touchdowns. Juniors Richard Munoz and Derik Easttom combined for 16 recpetions, 330 yards, and two scores, while on the ground, Mike Howell finished with 869 yards on 169 carries and 16 touchdowns and Kyle Hamon had 610 yards on 108 carries and five touchdowns. Bobby Unger and Derrik Easttom would combine for 664 yards on 106 carries and five touchdowns to complement Howell and Hamon.
All-League 1st team selections for the Warriors included quarterback Jerad Romo, running back Mike Howell, tight end Wes Backes, offensive lineman Shaun Rolow, defensive linebacker Keith Noonan, and defensive linemen Joe Kapturkiewicz and Tommy Arrowood. All-League 2nd team selections include offensive lineman Doug DeGeer and Cole Pinheiro, defensive linebacker Jared Waldram, and defensive back Dustin McBride.
Mike Howell (#9) takes the wing-t sweep to the outside for a big gain against Stockdale.
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| OPPONENT | THS | OPP | L | GAME HIGHLIGHT | |
| Sept 10 | Bishop | 39 | 07 | A | Mike Howell: 2 TD's, 97 yds. rushing |
| Sept 17 | Rosamond | 20 | 27 | A | Jared Romo: 1 TD, 146 yds. passing |
| Sept 24 | Paraclete (Lancaster) | 21 | 11 | H | Wes Backes: 2 TD's, 85 yds. receiving |
| Oct 1 | Stockdale (Bakersfield) | 41 | 14 | H | Joe Kapturkiewicz: 3 TD's, 87 yd. int return |
| Oct 8 | Corcoran | 28 | 00 | A | Mike Howell: 2 TD, 144 yds. rushing |
| Oct 15 | Garces (Bakersfield) * | 07 | 34 | H | Joe Kapturkiewicz: 1 TD |
| Oct 22 | Shafter * | 41 | 14 | A | Mike Howell: 3 TD's Rushing |
| Oct 29 | Wasco * | 29 | 28 | H | Jerad Romo Scores TD In Overtime Win! |
| Nov 5 | Taft * | 42 | 00 | A | Joe Kapturkiewicz: 2 TD's |
| Nov 12 | Arvin * | 18 | 15 | H | Mike Howell: 2 TD's, 96 yds. rushing |
* Denotes League Game
| OPPONENT | THS | OPP | L | GAME HIGHLIGHT | |
| Nov 19 | Yosemite (Oakhurst) | 19 | 10 | H | Jerad Romo: 2 TD's, 166 Yds Passing |
| Nov 26 | Sierra (Tollhouse) | 14 | 41 | A | Mike Howell: 2 TD's |