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A TALE OF TWO
HALVES
Posted 09-06-03
Above: Warrior
backers fight and claw to get to Burro QB Karsten Sween
In
my overall estimation in the first game of the year for the Warriors,
two things were learned.
1)
That Anthony Celestine is everything the hype says he is and more...
2)
Our Warriors certainly have a flare for the dramatic in 2003.
Really,
when it was all said in done, these two realizations above happened in
two parts on September 5th 2003. The first one happened in the
first two quarters, while the second realization happened midway through
the third quarter and carried through to the rest of the game.
The
first quarter showcased the max potential of the Burrough spread
offense, scoring on their first two drives that began at their own
20-yard line. It also displayed talents of the top two backs in
the Burro arsenal, with the first score coming from Celestine on a
wideout slant pattern and the other an 80-yard run by Matt Williams.
Tehachapi
however did answer the first score with a solid drive of their own,
eating up five minutes and 42 seconds of the first quarter clock to
punch in a Tanner Hutchinson 3-yard touchdown on the wingback's fifth
play of the game.
The
second quarter would get ugly for the home favorite however, with a
punt, two fumbles, and an interception negating any opportunity to reach
paydirt again before halftime. As for Burros, the Ridgecrest boys
seemingly put the game away with two more scores and a very comfortable
27-6 halftime advantage.
And
you got to wonder...what was said in that locker room at halftime for
Tehachapi at the break? Down by 21 points, it couldn't have been
pleasant. However, something must have sparked the Warriors,
because when they came back out for the third and fourth quarter...
The
magic of mountain football was back.
After
a punt on Tehachapi's first possession, Burroughs would tack on another
score at the 8:32 mark of the second for a 34-6 lead, but after that, it
was all Tehachapi.
The
first score of the third quarter came from the always reliable
Hutchinson, scoring on a 7-yard run at the 1:54 mark. The extra
point try was blocked, but the Warriors still had some inkling of
momentum to build on.
On
Burroughs second possession of the third quarter, Sween threw a quick
route to Matt Williams along the right hash, but the incomplete pass
fell to the Coy Burnett sod. Unbeknown to the recipient of the
pass, Sween just threw him a lateral pass, making it a live football and
a fumble. With seemingly all Burro players getting geared for the
next play on offense, Warrior junior David Gonzalez picked up the fumble
and rolled 16 yards untouched for another quick Tehachapi score.
After a successful Tanner Hutchinson 2-pt conversion, the score was
34-20.
Uh
oh. We got a ball game on our hands.
In
the fourth, Ridgecrest punted the football early in the final quarter,
giving Tehachapi possession at the Burroughs 48-yard line. With
8:42 left in the game, Senior Kris Haycock caught a tip pass for a
26-yard completion on third down and 9 from AJ Bracelona, giving
Tehachapi the ball first-and-goal at the 5. The very next play,
Hutchinson struck for the third time on the night, and after punching in
the two-point conversion, it was 34-28.
The
comeback would fall a little short in the final minutes, with Tehachapi
having the ball at their own 10-yard line with 3:23 left in the game,
but the second half showed that the Warriors are a team that will not
back down no matter what the score is. In this games case, the
heart in the second half was almost enough to pull off a miracle
win...energy that will needed to be carried over into a monumental game
next week against Clovis East.
Outstanding
performers for the Warriors included Tanner Hutchinson, who had 106
yards on 19 carries and three touchdowns, Mike Wright with 42 yards on
eight carries, and Josh Lange with 39 yards on six carries and a
completion for 14 yards. Warrior AJ Barcelona converted on four
passes overall for 59 yards. On defense, Kris Haycock and Sean
Finley each combined for eight tackles and 10 pressures, and Jon
Anderson had three tackles and six pressures. Lange and Mike
Faulkner each had three tackles apiece, while Tyler McCann had two
tackles on the defensive line and two pancakes on the offensive line.
Weekly
Warrior player of the week honors goes to Jeremy Clark, who throughout
the entire game was the wing-t workhorse on offense, amassing 95 yards
on 11 carries. On defense, the linebacker also posted four
tackles, with two of them touchdown-saving tackles on the speedy Burro
skilled unit. Congrats Jeremy!
Jeremy
Clark (#41)
WEEKLY WARRIOR PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Above: Action
against the Burroughs Burros
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Clovis
East may have lost a lot of senior leadership, but don't think they wont
be able to give Tehachapi it's biggest test in quite some time....there
is a reason Timberwolves Coach Tim Murphy didn't flinch when deciding to
schedule southern power Long Beach Poly in week 3.
But
before Clovis East can worry about week 3...they have to focus on week
2...a date with the Warriors...and coming off a 27-6 win over
Sunnyside-Fresno in week 1, there are probably a few wrinkles in the
shirt that Coach Murphy probably wants to iron out.
Gone
are All-TRAC backers Joey Palacio, Zach Sanders, and Bryan Ruiz...but
there are plenty of firepower to take their place with a 10-0 Junior
Varsity team coming up to reload the main event.
The
one to watch for Clovis East, if you had to pick one, is All-TRAC
selection Alex Prevendar, who had 11 carries for 43 yards for the
Timberwolves in the 2001 in the Sequoia Large School Playoffs against
the Warriors. Also on the radar screen should be Austin Nakagawa,
who had 92 yards on 16 carries in that same game.
As
unbelievable and scary as it may sound, both are back for action in
their senior years in 2003, to face a new-look Warrior team.
On
the frontline, Clovis East will look to take control of the line of
scrimmage with standout David Ferguson back for action, along with Edwin
Ruiz, Phil Puentes, and tight ends David Ricci and Michael Boren.
Replacing
Joey Palacio will be two very talented quarterbacks in senior Zach Faith
and Westy Guill. Faith broke his collarbone during summer ball, so
it's likely that Guill will be getting the reps against Tehachapi in
week 2, but don't be surprised if Faith doesn't get involved in the
offense in some capacity when the lights come on at Lamonica Stadium.
On
defense, standout Hector Cortes is back for another year at the outside
linebacker slot, and looks to do some damage with "bash"
partners Brandon Bascherini and Weston Schmall. Russell
Moring and Corey Bessey will also look to split the Tehachapi front line
and get to Warrior backers for losses.
All
in all Tehachapi fans, I can't stress enough how good this team
is. Having Prevendar and Alex Nakagawa back will give the Mountain
Defense all they can handle...and believe me...as good as Burro running
backs Craig Owen and Matt Williams were, these guys are even better.
But
take heart Warrior fans, the Bakersfield Drillers were ranked 5th in the
state in 2001, and Tehachapi still gave BHS all they could handle in a
14-6 game ending score. A big game by all players for Tehachapi
could give the Warriors valley-wide respect, and quite possibly, a
win. Remember, there is a reason that the game is played.
This
game, more than any other, is the game you want to have on your
schedule. The spotlight is on, Warriors. The city of
Tehachapi knows how good you are, and they believe in you.
Now...show it to the rest of the San Joaquin Valley what Mountain
Football is all about!
Above: The
Clovis East Logo...the Timberwolves
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It appears that Yosemite landed a week 2 opponent
to fill the void once shared with Tehachapi.
Staying in communication with the Valley Oak League in the
Modesto area, the Badgers came to terms with the Sierra Ridge Academy.
Sierra had a respectable 5-5 record a year ago, but Im
thinking that maybe they should have called Oakdale before confirming
the date. Oakdale, the top team in the VOL conference in 2002, suffered
a week 2 loss to the Badgers en route to an 11-2 record and a CIF title
appearance last year. Oakdale
defeated Sierra that same year, 29-0. On paper...doesn't seem to
me that Yosemite won't have too much of a problem with SRAHS.
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A lot of sad news around the high school
football arena locally. Carlos Leon, a standout junior varsity
player for Arvin a year ago, died in a car accident along with his twin
sister Geraldine and mother Clotilde. As if that weren't enough,
Desert High School suffered as well, with the Scorpions announcing the
passing of Raul Ramirez. Please keep both the students, the
high school's, and the players families in your prayers.
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Not exactly a great day for SSL teams in week 1,
with the Warriors loss, only one team was able to pull out a victory,
Wasco 46-0 over McFarland. Shafter lost 38-6 over Arroyo Grande,
Taft lost 14-13 over Hanford West, Arvin was defeated 33-0 by Highland,
and East picked apart Garces, 34-9. Most impressive sequoia
division win of the night was Dinuba, who posted a 28-15 win over Sierra
power Immanuel. |
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Hopefully
some of you have had a chance to see the upgraded verbiage of the 1970's
and 1990s era in the Warrior
History section of the website.
If you havent, take a look at it sometime, its worth the
read! In celebration of the timeframe, I thought that I would add a
spin on an article that was posted on the site recently entitled Al
Damian All-Time team in the Warrior
Folklore section. Since some of the 90's players didn't make
the list (the article was written in the early 90's), I thought I'd give
some credit to the '90s decade of Warriors in my own way...an All-90's
Team. Al Damians selections are good, but I think there are a
few talents from the '90s years that deserve some recognition. On
a personal note, I had a real hard time not making Eddie Brown a DB and
PR all-90s pick, but I figured if I gave him the nod on one spot
(punt return) it would open it up a defensive back slot for someone
else
and believe me, there were a lot of great players to choose from!
(Remember, this is just for fun, so no one have any broken hearts
out there).
ALL-90s
WARRIOR TEAM
OFFENSE:
QB Ryan
Grimes, RB Eric
Young, RB
Kurt Liebengood, WR
Pat Duffy, WR Michael
Hall, OT
Mike Williams, OG Shane
Dees, OC Rodney
Michael, OG
Anthony Martinez, OT Wesley
Dearmore, TE
Josh Acosta
DEFENSE:
LB Keith
Noonan, LB Luke Schneider, LB
Pat Kelloway, DL
Vince Galan, DL Joe
Kapturkiewicz, DE
Brian Stevens, DE
Ryan Agre, DB
Jon Geilenfeldt, DB
Sal Murguia, DB
Steve Rankin, DB
Dustin McBride
SPECIAL
TEAMS: K Josh
Rathbone, PR
Eddie Brown, KR
Anthony Gonzalez
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Questions? Concerns?
Corrections? Praises? Send Tom Shea an email,
he'd like to hear from you.
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