BURROS LOOK TO BE RELENTLESS AGAINST THE WARRIORS
Posted 9-08-02
At dawn last Friday in the Southern Section, very few teams were taking in the new football season with a game. Unfortunately for Tehachapi, a miscommunication with a team from the Southern Section caused them to scramble to find an opponent to supplement a bye for September 6. After making a few phone calls, they were able to find a scrimmage to go to.
Burroughs High School (Ridgecrest) had a scrimmage to go to as well ... but this one was pre-planned since last spring. Week one for them starts on September 13, a date with the Warriors, and from the looks of things in their scrimmage, they seem to be in mid-season form.
At Edwards AFB the Palmdale Falcons and the Desert High Scorpions took in some grid-iron practice with the Burros, and from the get go it looked like the Ridgecrest contingent seemed to have everything clicking on both sides of the ball.
The Burro offense racked up 96 yards against the Scorpion and Falcon defense, and connected on 106 yards through the air including a 21 yard connection against Palmdale and a long bomb for a 65 yard score against Desert. On the 65 yard score, the Burroughs receiver showed great awareness, catching the ball first and then making a spectacular cut to avoid the Scorpion defensive back at the seven yard line for the eventual score.
The defense was equally impressive, sacking the Desert quarterback and registering a fumble recovery, and against Palmdale hauling in an interception for what would have gone for six points in a regular game, both first plays from scrimmage against the two separate teams.
“Our guys have really done well this year,” said Burroughs Head Coach Jeff Steinberg. “We lost 24 seniors, but some new guys have come in and really stepped it up for us. We’re counting on a lot of returning players to help carry the load for us this season.”
Some of the players that Coach Steinberg is counting on include 3-year quarterback Nolan Toftner and 3-year tailback Phillip Madison.
Toftner had one of the best sophomore performances by a Burro in team history in 2000, setting a school record for touchdown passes in a season with 19 and completing 59% of his passes, the best by a QB from Ridgecrest in the 90’s or 2000 era.
Madison has held his own as well, logging in the most rushing yards ever by a sophomore for Burros with 737 yards, and racking up 18 touchdowns so far in his two-years at Ridgecrest.
On defense, Burroughs has allowed only 20 points against Barstow and 21 points against Kaiser in their only two losses in 2001, and this year they hope to have even further success with defensive standouts Randy Parks at defensive end, Steve Kuschka at inside linebacker, and defensive backs Matt Williams and Craig Owen taking on opponent’s offensive standouts.
Last year, both Tehachapi and Burroughs played Arvin, with Tehachapi winning the game 20-9 and Burroughs winning the game 26-14. But, in 2002, it’s a whole new ball game.
The Burros play a no-huddle pro-form set, with a lot of multiple receiver formations and single back sets that you would see from high octane pro teams like the St. Louis Rams or the Indianapolis Colts. When these two teams hook up, the Warrior defense will most likely be tested deep ... frequently. To keep Tehachapi honest however, they probably will give a steady dose of Madison to the defensive front both on the ground and through the air.
“We know that Tehachapi has a lot of success with that Wing-T, so we need to be ready. Some of our coaches and ex-players around our community went to Tehachapi High, so everyone is really excited about this game.” added Coach Steinberg.
Friday night will showcase some of the two best teams in the (CIF) Southern and Central Section. For Tehachapi, Friday night will bring a good pre-league test that should be a strong indicator on how the rest of the season will go.
The Burros motto is ‘relentless’. For Tehachapi to win…they will need to match that intensity.
WEEKLY WARRIOR NOTES
-In the other scrimmage, Tehachapi looked real good against Quartz Hill and Mojave on the ground, with notable performances coming from Tony Troffer and David Lara. On the first series against Quartz Hill, the Warriors moved the ball well and capped off the drive with a reverse run by Tanner Hutchinson. On defense, the Warriors logged in multiple sacks and didn’t let either team get off the line of scrimmage most of the night. Tehachapi did receive a scare when Josh Christy went out of the scrimmage with shoulder problems, but he appeared to be ok after stretching it for the last 10 plays against Mojave. He should be ready to go this week.
-Around the South Sequoia League, it was the Matt Oliver and Adam Cook show taking center stage leading Garces to a 43-6 romp over a formidable East Bakersfield team, and Wasco laying down the lumber against McFarland, winning 40-0. Arvin played to a scoreless tie over Highland-Bakersfield, and both Shafter and Taft lost their games, falling to Morro Bay and Hanford West respectively.
