WARRIOR CHAMPIONSHIP GOES THROUGH TAFT
Posted 10-13-02
Big win last Friday over Wasco. However, it seems that the Warriors just can’t seem to rid themselves of felines. With two Tiger teams down, Tehachapi now has another difficult task in trying to tame the Wildcats.
I know I say every week that ‘this opponent will be a tough, and the Warriors will need to be at their best’, but let’s be honest folks…this isn’t your grandpa’s South Sequoia League.
It’s not going to be an easy task to come away with a ‘W’ against Tim Mash’s Taft program. In fact, since he came into the league, the Wildcat head coach did something that was unprecedented by those before him…beat Garces on his first try.
Think about that a moment. Someone who has never tasted a full season in the league, coming into the confines of Garces, and beating a team coached by John Fanucchi with not anything more than a ‘how do you do?’ to the rest of the league?
Wow. Slow down there, Tim.
Considering that he did that with a program that everyone in the valley left for dead, it was a nice coming-out party for the Wildcats that left a lot of the area football nay sayers hollering….’where ya been Taft?’
This being all said…the honeymoon has dawned on Coach Mash and his blue and gold arsenal. From here on out, no one will take the Wildcats lightly. Not Garces, not Tehachapi, no one.
“Our D-Line has kept us in the games with a lot of pressure on these talented quarterbacks we’ve faced. If we’re going to play well against a good team like Taft then the line really needs to come up big,” said Warrior Head Coach Steve Denman.
So what are we up against you say?
How about returning quarterback Brandon Carlton. The guy has been gas this year throwing 64 completions for 906 yards and nine touchdowns. Last year on The Mountain, Carlton did not have one of his better performances, completing only six passes for 84 yards, but I’m sure that he’ll come to play this year, especially after seeing the success that Nolan Toftner, Dan Engel, and Simon Loewen have done against the secondary. Believe me folks, this guy is in this QB class. In fact, he might just be the Valedictorian.
His favorite target, which I’m sure will give the defense fits all night, is All-SSL wideout Teddy Patterson, who has been nothing short of spectacular this year. Patterson has arguably been the most valuable player on the Taft football team, hauling in 22 passes for 343 yards and seven touchdowns. From what I hear, he also has a good arm too, so watch out for the double pass if you seem him touch the ball at the line of scrimmage. As of late, two other wide receivers have made their presence known in Justin Peters and Aaron Harlan, who combined for 11 catches and 209 yards in a losing effort to Garces last week.
“We know that Taft likes to pass a lot,” Denman added. “But Tim Mash will bring his good play calling on Friday and try to do a lot of different things. We’re looking forward to the game.”
Not to be outdone through the passing game, Taft also has a duo of wingbacks that have had some success on the ground in Dee Griffith and Frank Seilui. Many people, including myself, thought the Taft running game was done-for when word hit the street that All-Area tailback Chet Goff decided not to play football this year. Griffith has silenced us all with 628 yards on nine carries and five scores, and Seilui has a 4.5 yards per carry average on 232 yards.
“I think that coming into league schedule, Garces is always on our minds, but this week we have Taft. If we look ahead and not focus on Taft then the Garces game will be for pride and not a championship,” said Andy Grantham.
“We want it to be for both.”
WEEKLY WARRIOR NOTES
--- How ‘bout that two-minute drill offense for Tehachapi, huh?
It seems that if Tehachapi is ahead on the scoreboard in a football game, then the full fury of the punishing mountain-wing can take center stage. When the Warriors are down however…then it seems to be a different story for the Tehachapi Green Machine.
Not this year, however.
“Wasco just manhandled Granite Hills the week before so we knew that we needed to be ready coming into this game,” said Denman. “Wasco is a well balanced team, and if we face them again this year in the playoffs we’ll need to be ready.”
Down 7-6, with time winding down in the second quarter, Willie Greenan took a 55-yard punt return down the left sideline before being drug down at the Wasco 35 with 1:33 to go before halftime. After connecting with Philip Altieri, Greenan, Tanner Hutchinson, and Josh Lange for completions, Sanchez spiked the ball at the one-yard line with one precious second left. With no time on the clock, in a script that seemed to be all too familiar from the Delano game, Lange caught a short flag pattern pass from Sanchez to help the Warriors take the lead for good.
“We have thrown the ball the last couple of weeks, which is a good thing for preparation purposes down the road. Greg (Sanchez) has looked real good the last couple of weeks and gained a lot of confidence,” said Coach Steve Denman.
The Tehachapi offense, lead by Sanchez, has had their backs to the wall against the opposition the past few weeks. Facing eight and nine man fronts, teams are all but daring Tehachapi to pass…if they can.
But, through it all at 5-0, they’ve produced. It hasn’t been pretty mind you, but then again, style points don’t matter much in football anyway. Just win, baby.
“We know teams are just stacking the line and blitzing us like crazy, but if they keep it up during the course of the night we’ll burn them,” said Hutchinson. “Just because our team goes with what works (running), that doesn’t mean that’s the only thing we can do.”
The Warriors have passed when they needed to, but they’ve been able to keep the defense in check by not completely abandoning their running game. You can thank junior sensation Hutchinson for that, who registered 191 yards on 25 carries, including the games first score.
“We just try to play as hard as we can every week,” said Hutchinson. “It’s not just me. It’s a whole slew of guys that fight hard in practice and on Friday nights and they deserve the credit too.”
One of those players that that has contributed to the gaping holes Hutchinson has been able to run through is All-SSL lineman Andy Grantham. Before league even started, Grantham caught a lot of attention from around the league, earning praise from the likes of Garces Coach John Fanucchi and Wasco Coach Dan Thiessen on his presence on both offense and defense.
“The whole defense stepped up tonight, it was definitely game time and we were pretty hyped,” said Andy Grantham. “After the close one with Delano last week we knew we needed to be ready and do our best to start the road to a championship on a good note.”
Grantham registered two pancakes on offense, limiting the Tigers to just one sack, which was on a rollout. He also was instrumental in blocking the center and guard gaps so the linebackers could move to the football and limit Simon Loewen to only one big pass play for a score. Along with Grantham’s four tackles and presence on both sides of the line of scrimmage, he has been selected along with Hutchinson as players of the week.
Andy Grantham and Tanner Hutchinson
WEEKLY WARRIOR PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Other players that did well include Tony Troffer with 56 yards on 10 carries, Josh Lange with Tehachapi’s touchdown catch, Jed Ingraham with six tackles and a pressure, Josh Christy with six tackles and a two point conversion catch, Bob DiRado with a key interception to thwart a late Wasco drive, and Jeremy Clark with nine carries for 49 yards.
--- Big game for playoff implications this past Friday in ‘The Mountain Bowl’, with Yosemite upended Sierra 38-28. That should make a lot of Warrior faithful pleased. Who knows? Will Sierra finally have to travel to Tehachapi for a match-up? Lot of weeks left, we’ll have to wait and see…
Here’s the scores of the teams that we have to / might have to face:
^*Garces (5-0) 37, *Taft (3-3)14
^*Shafter (4-2) 37, ^*Arvin (0-5-1) 13
Kerman (5-1) 34, ^Washington Union (2-4) 13
San Joaquin Memorial (5-1) 42, ^Selma (4-2) 14
^Yosemite (6-0) 38, ^Sierra (5-1) 28
^Dinuba (1-5) 24, Exeter (0-6) 21 (2ot)
*- League Opponent
^- Potential Playoff Opponent
--- Talk about let down. Chowchilla 12, Dos Palos 7. Sports fans, the small school perennial champion is reeling. It is looking more and more like that NSL title might go somewhere else this year…and with Garces looking like the class of the sequoia division, there might not be any hardware coming to Bronco country this year, league or section. While we’re talking about Dos Palos, please pray for the family of Michael Gonzalez, who played defensive back for the Broncos. Michael was killed by a drunk driver last Sunday night and has given the whole town heavy hearts. Please keep him, and his family, in your thoughts.
