MOUNTAIN COLLISION AHEAD IN PATH TO CHAMPIONSHIP
Posted 11-19-02
Wow, Nellie. Warriors, get ready for a tough one.
Facing a team in the playoffs brings a lot of emotions into play, more than just winning and losing. For many teams, victory is achieved in presence. For others, more is desired. Showing up isn’t enough. Playing isn’t enough. Having a close game, not enough. Bottom line:
There’s a yearning for more.
Much more.
For Yosemite and Tehachapi, CIF trophies captivate their interest. And for whoever wins this game, they will be one win away from that ultimate goal.
CIF champions…but, easier said than done.
And beating Yosemite?
Definitely easier said than done. This team boasts one of the best squads in the valley, and certainly one of the top teams in the sequoia division. At 10-1, the Badgers only loss was to eventual central sequoia league champion San Joaquin Memorial, 35-14.
Despite that loss, they’ve still won 10. Mind you, some of them have been close, with a few pre-season squeakers against Oakdale (28-23) and probable large-school sequoia finalist Kerman (28-25), and league escapes against Selma (24-21) and Kingsburg (13-9). Not exactly dominating Garces-like numbers, but, they’ve still won.
And winning the close ones, especially in the playoffs, separate the contenders from the pretenders. Just look at the Warriors in 1993. Go ahead, take a peak. 13-0…yes. Any routes? No, not really. Just solid and continuous wins all the way to an undefeated CIF title. And believe me sports fans, Tehachapi had their share of doubters that year. Stockdale all but guaranteed a league win in week 10, and after coming off a huge upset win against Dos Palos, Coalinga never thought that the mountain boys in Tehachapi could mount any kind of offense in the championship game.
But, through it all, they won anyway.
That’s basically what Yosemite expects to do, silence the doubters…all but daring opponents and nay sayers to look at the scores of their match-ups, and say…
These guys are beatable.
Hmmm…
That’s the Badgers for you. They thrive on overconfidence, but make no mistake about it, this team is LOADED.
Where should we start? How about defense, and Head Coach Aaron Eames have put together some good ones in his six year tenure.
Much like Tehachapi’s dynamic duo of Josh Christy and Jed Ingraham, Yosemite boasts two outstanding returning starters in Michael Graves and Becher Marr in their Bear scheme. Graves and Marr have helped Yosemite to limit opponents to just 73.4 yards per game on the ground, and 81.8 yards through the air.
You think they miss All-Area Linebacker Justin Peek? Not with Marr and Graves zeroing in on would-be ball carriers. Don’t get me wrong, Cal Poly is lucky to have a player of Peek’s caliber, but when you have Graves and Marr to contend with, it’s a pretty smooth transition from the ‘Peek’ years.
On offense? This is where the Badgers get potent. To the city of Oakhurst though, the aroma is sweet when superstar senior Quint Brown touches the football, especially when he puts up numbers like 15 TD’s and over 1,500 yards for the year.
He’ll be #32 in your program…and he’ll be fun to watch.
Becher Marr has also been a very good runner for Yosemite, reeling off rushes of 77 yards against Kingsburg in week 10, bringing his totals to 329 yards on 47 carries before the Shafter contest. Add Casey Marr and Jason Price to the mix, there is some capable backs that can carry the load and spell their feature back. Both Marr and Price, along with Brown, have helped Yosemite to over 2,243 yards this year, including 302 against the Generals.
Then there’s the passing game.
The receiving core has some very capable hands in a majority of receivers, some of the notable ones being Mike Tanksley and Sam Rowlett, who both combined for 166 yards receiving versus Roosevelt in week two. Rowlett hauled in 17 catches for 176 yard and three scores in the regular season before helping contribute to the 183 yard performance against Shafter.
Want more? Yes, there’s more.
For the season, Fred Worstein has been a very solid addition to the Badger arsenal, hauling in a 25-yard touchdown catch over Kingsburg to bring his regular season totals to eight catches for 183 yards and three scores. Garrett Tompkins also had a nice catch for an eight-yard touchdown versus Shafter last week, and his six catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns in the regular season was good for third on the team.
But their talent still doesn’t end there.
You can’t forget about the Daniels…Reagan and Talbot.
Last week, the Daniel-to-Daniel Connection took center stage when prolific wideout Daniel Talbot hauled in six catches for 109 yards and two dances to paydirt. The Daniel throwing the ball, Daniel Reagan, had a 10-12 performance for 183 yards and three scores.
One game wonders? Hardly.
For the year, Daniel Talbot has reeled off a solid 32 catches for 479 yards and eight touchdowns. Against Oakdale this year, Talbot broke the school record for TD catches in a game, hauling in four.
Not bad, but the guy throwing to him (Reagan) has been gas this year too, completing 89 passes for 1,307 yards and 18 touchdowns. Of course, that task has been somewhat eased with the frontline of the Badgers, led by offensive lineman standout Cole Popovich.
Is your head spinning yet? Like I said in the beginning….
Wow Nellie.
Numbers are there. But the bottom line is, a football game will be played on Friday night, with a lot on the line. If the game plays out like we all think it will…numbers will be just what they are…
Numbers.
The winner moves on, and the loser ends another successful season. In late November in the frigid cold, you couldn’t ask for anything more.
For Tehachapi to win, defense will need to contain Brown and the wideouts, and the mountain wing will need to win the possession battle. A low scoring affair may be anticipated, but for the Warriors, it may be needed for a ‘W’.
All in all, it doesn’t get much better than this, folks.
Mountain Football vs. Mountain Football.
Get pumped, Warriors. Play like champions out there.
Hit and Fly!
