W.A.R. (Warriors Against Rams) IS FINALLY HERE!
Posted 11-02-02
Forget about the loss, everyone.
As someone in the stands of the Shafter game said this past Friday ... ”you can go 0-9 if you want all season, but if you finish 1-9 and that victory is against Garces, then it was a good season.”
Now that, sports fans, is the mindset of a rivalry-stricken fan.
I’m not going to sugarcoat this game too much for everyone. Fact of the matter is, John Fanucchi is manning one of the best teams that he’s ever coached.
Period.
This team is electric, it is impressive, and it seems to have only time against them from winning a CIF championship. They have steamrolled their way through their pre-season, beating the likes of division foe Dos Palos, 42-22, and mounting impressive wins over quality Yosemite League teams Liberty, 21-20, and East, 43-9.
But don’t necessarily look at the victories as much as how they won them. In the game against Dos Palos, it was 42-0 midway through the third quarter. That’s right Warrior fans, those 22 points were scored on the second team.
Then there’s the SSL schedule…37-14, 35-9, 54-14, 59-9. Who did they play in amassing these scores?
Does it matter?
I didn’t think so, either.
And folks, they are THAT good. Let’s start with the ground game. Led by Adam Cook, the ground game has had over 300 yards of combined rushing in every game except two, against Liberty and East. In those two games, the Rams still had a combined 402 yards on the ground. Cook has just been spectacular this year, rushing for 909 yards and 14 touchdowns in only eight contests. You can’t say enough on how good this back is.
You key on Cook though, that’s where Garces gets you. Against Arvin last week, Garces had no few than nine different players carry the ball. Two of the more prolific carriers other than Cook this year have been James Bailey and John Gardner, who have both combined for 816 yards and eight touchdowns. But, as I’ve said, there is still more in the Ram arsenal than just these three wingbacks…so the defense will have their hands full, and if Garces has their way, confused.
In the passing game, the Rams are led by returning starter Matt Oliver, who has thrown for 566 yards this year and connected on 12 touchdown passes. His favorite target this year seems to by Shaun Hylton, who has been the recipient of four of those touchdowns. But don’t count out Steven Mahlmann, who last year caught the overtime catch against Tehachapi to seal the victory against the Warriors on the mountain.
Overall, this game is going to be tough, but rest assured it will be the toughest opponent Tehachapi has, or will, face this year. The performance against these Rams should be a barometer of how the playoff run should go.
Build some confidence…build some momentum Warriors. Let’s get this playoff run started off good with a solid performance in week 10.
Hit and fly!
WEEKLY WARRIOR NOTES
--- The good news about the Warrior-General game last week was that Tehachapi shutout virtually every player on the general team…
Except one. Nick Abarca.
Even though all the holes on the dyke seemed to be plugged, he was the one leak that let the floodgates come open in a 29-23 shocker.
From start to finish, Tehachapi didn’t have an answer for Shafter’s standout placekicker and wideout, and he proceeded to score all 29 of Shafter’s points in the upset of the Warriors on the mountain. Abarca finished with 7 catches for 186 yards and four touchdowns.
The pass coverage in the game was hard to contain, with Adam Hernandez hitting open zones to his wideouts Peter Frantz and Matt Crown along with Abarca. Hernandez finished the night in similar fashion to his predecessor of one year ago, Ricky Ishida, connecting on 20 passes for 288 yards along with the Abarca four scores.
With the exception to Abarca, Tehachapi’s defense did keep the running game in check, limiting James Zrofsky to only 18 yards rushing and Jeff Watkins to 12 total yards.
On defense, many of the players produced season highs including Jed Ingraham, who logged in 8 tackles, three pressures, and knockdown, Josh Christy ended with two tackles, two pressures, a fumble recovery, a PAT block, and a two point conversion catch, Mark Heisser with three tackles, Philip Altieri with four tackles, one catch for 54 yards, and a 39-yard touchdown run, Andy Grantham with 3 tackles and 8 pressures, Eric Anderson with 5 tackles, and Bob DiRado with seven tackles and a pressure.
Two other players on defense always seemed to be around the football and make their presence felt, with one being Mike Faulkner, who finished with 7 tackles, a sack, and 9 pressures, and the other AJ Barcelona, who finished the contest with 4 tackles and a 43-yard interception return for a touchdown with seven minutes to go in the game. For Faulkner’s ability to get in the backfield and help to make things a little harder for Hernandez, and Barcelona’s big play ability, they both have been selected as player of the week.
AJ Barcelona and Mike Faulkner
WEEKLY WARRIOR PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
--- Around the large school league, Yosemite looks to have affirmed their #1 seed by beating a resurgent Dos Palos squad, 27-19. If Sierra can upset San Joaquin Memorial this week, and Yosemite defeats Kingsburg, that will give Yosemite the championship in the Central Sequoia League, and a very probable #1 seed in the playoffs. Selma looked good despite the loss, 21-19, to the Chieftains this past Friday, and Kerman looks to be settling in on the number two spot behind Yosemite with a victory over Chowchilla, 20-7. Big game for Kerman this week against the Broncos, a win would give Kerman the North Sequoia League title all by themselves, but a loss would give Dos Palos a share.
For Tehachapi, it is likely that their record will put them on the road against either Yosemite or Kerman for the first week of the playoffs, but a win against Garces could give them an outside chance at a home game. We’ll have to wait and see…
