MOUNTAIN'S PEAK!

Posted 11-29-03

VALLEY VICTORS: The Warriors pose for the camera's with their prize nestled in-between the mass....2003 Tehachapi Warriors....CIF CHAMPIONS!

They've paid their dues....

time after time...

They've paid their sentence...

but committed no crime...

and bad mistakes....

they made a few...

they've had their share of sand kicked in their face...

but still came through!

and they mean to go on...and on...and on....

OUR WARRIORS ARE THE CHAMPIONS!

What a great game this was!  The culmination of hard work paying off in spring and summer, 12 games leading up to the championship, all coming to a head with a 14-10 win to avenge a 2002 loss to the Yosemite Badgers.

Tehachapi, your Warriors ARE the champions!

And what won this championship?  What side of the ball turned in the difference in the game?  Defense?

Was that defense you said?

I guess the 'ol saying is right after all.

Defense.  Wins.  Championships.

And my, it did in the 2003 Large School Championship game.

Mind you though, it wasn't pretty.  Tehachapi added a bloated 286 yards passing to their 237 and 222 yards given up in the playoffs against Washington and Selma...but no matter...giving up yardage is a-ok if it equates into 10 points....which it did in the championship.

There were times when Yosemite Quarterback Shawn Long looked unstoppable, hitting 18 completions with a big chunk of them going to John Blea, but there were also times when vulnerability against a steady pass rush set in, leading to four interceptions...matching the amount of picks he's given up on the entire year.

Everyone played big in the final game of the season, and it was the big play that won the game for the Warriors throughout the contest.

Down 7-0 early in the second quarter, Kris Haycock took advantage an astute knowledge of the Badger offense, putting himself in perfect position on a Shawn Long roll-out pass to pick off the pigskin at the Tehachapi 37-yard line.  63 yards later, it was six points for #2.  Up until that point, Tehachapi's offense was stymied by a fired up defending-champion Yosemite squad.

The other big play of the game came from Junior Mike Faulkner, who found himself literally in the right place at the right time with just over five minutes to go in the game, intercepting another Long pass at midfield.  The pick proved to be crucial with a slim four point lead, allowing the Warriors to eat nearly three minutes of the game clock.

For both players BIG PLAY performances in the championship, they are the final selections for player's of the week.  Congratulations to you both!

Kris Haycock (#2), Mike Faulkner (#44)
WEEKLY WARRIOR PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Other players that turned in solid performances included Jon Anderson with three tackles and a sack, AJ Barcelona with two pass deflections and two tackles, Jeremy Clark and Dan Haycock with two tackles, Sean Finley with eight tackles and two sacks, Vincent Flores with six tackles and a sack, Zack Harris with three tackles, Josh Lange with four tackles, and Anthony Scott with six tackles.

For pictures of the championship game, click here.

It's a tradition three years' running....Weekly Warrior Player of the Year.  The four individuals below have been selected for a multitude of reasons...with the main one being helping the Warriors win their 9th Section Title in school history, and their first championship in ten years.  Anthony Scott was selected for being the mainstay for the Warriors at the monster on defense, logging in 67 tackles, four sacks, 14 passes broken up, and three fumble recoveries.  Tanner Hutchinson was the engine that made the Warrior-O go...finishing his stellar prep-run with 261 carries for 2,005 yards and 29 touchdowns.  Kris Haycock, the hero of the Valley Championship game, was the "do-it-all" rogue agent of the Mountain Football arsenal, finishing the year with 5 catches for 115 yards receiving, 240 yards passing, 92 yards rushing, 33 tackles, five interceptions, 34 points on special teams, and six total touchdowns.  And last but not least, the veteran Warrior, Josh Lange, ended his three-year tenure in Varsity green with 508 yards and two rushing touchdowns, 51 tackles on defense, two touchdowns, and four successful two-point conversions. Congratulations on a great year guys!  You will be missed!  Thanks for the memories! Anthony Scott (#55), Tanner Hutchinson (#21), Kris Haycock (#2), Josh Lange (#5) WEEKLY WARRIOR PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

Side note to the Warrior win in the semi-finals...that win over Washington Union was against the California State Division III #10 ranked school!  Coming into the championship, Yosemite was ranked #5 in Division III, making it the first time ever that the Warriors took down two Division III state-ranked opponents in a row! Before this season, the last time the Warriors took down a division III ranked opponent was in 1993, when Tehachapi downed #9 ranked Coalinga.  The last Tehachapi victory over a ranked opponent in any division came in the pre-season of 1999, when the Warriors took down #6 Division IV ranked Paraclete-Lancaster. Will this stint of taking down state-darlings equate to a ranking for Tehachapi in the Division III California polls to end the year?  Stay tuned, we'll let you know!

Congratulations to Head Coach Steve Denman, who was selected as www.cvpreps.com coach of the year!  CVpreps also have the Warriors at #1 overall in the small school division, and #7 overall in the valley.  Congratulations on both counts!

Another reminder that Warrior stats for the 2003 season can be viewed on  www.maxpreps.com.  Thank you everyone for reading!  'Weekly Warriors' should come on a more infrequent basis throughout the course of the offseason (monthly is the goal), highlighting all-star game appearances by the players, and features of all past warriors going to (or already at) colleges throughout the nation.  Come by and read updates on this site from time-to-time until football season rolls around again, see you at Coy Burnett Field next September!