Weekly Warrior

LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED
Posted 10-03-04

MOUNTAIN SWARM: Last season the Warrior-D, led by Sean Finley (32) and Dan Haycock (40), held week 5 opponent Garces scoreless in a 28-0 SSL send-off.

Ok, so our Warriors are 1-3.

Not a record reminiscent of a typical Mountain Football start, but let's consider the sources that made this record the way that it was.

First opponent: the defending Southern Section Division XII runner-up Burroughs Burros led by a blue-chip touted top-10 quarterback prospect in Karsten Sween.

Second Opponent: the 5x Southern Section CIF champion Paraclete Spirits from 1997-2001, who have traditionally been the power in the desert school area for the latter half of the last decade.

Third Opponent: this game the Warriors let slip away, but when you have arguably the best defensive front in the South-East Yosemite League, that can present problems to a mostly running team.

Fourth Opponent: One of the Central Section Division I 2004 CIF Champion favorites, who are led by 2x 2,000 yard back Francis Ojukwu, and lightning-fast firepower at the end from wideout Garrett Anthony, who probably has the best legs of any back in the entire valley.

Fifth Oppoent.

Ah....the fifth opponent.

Here it is folks. A week 5 date with the Garces Rams. Remember that red pen you picked up this past summer and used as a tool to circle a game on the Warrior schedule?

Just out of curiosity, which GAME did you circle?

I thought so, it was the one that's coming up for Tehachapi this Friday night....W.A.R. (Warriors against Rams) is set to commence again, for a 31st inaugural meeting.

And THIS TIME, Tehachapi can not only get back on the winning track heading into their league schedule, but they can re-take the overall lead in the series with Garces, something they have not had the distinction of losing the honor after the Rams defeated Tehachapi in 2000, 34-10, to take the series lead at 14-13-2.

Tehachapi has every opportunity in the world to get back on track after this game...and there could be no greater motivation heading into a homecoming game with Wasco then a Tehachapi victory over one of the most heated rivalries in all of the Central Valley.

The Stockdale loss was to be expected with the firepower that was brought to the table, but this weeks for keeps, Warriors....take it as such.

Remember just a season ago...when a team from the Mountain headed into their SSL games 2-3? Yep that was YOU GUYS.

Eight-straight wins later, it was Tehachapi hoisting up the CIF championship trophy, and the distinction of an undefeated 5-0 SSL season.

Hit and Fly. Just like the T-Shirt says men...

Pain is temporary, PRIDE is FOREVER.

Go get some.

	Player of the week honors for the Foothill game go to Jameson Freymond and Mike Faulkner. Jameson was selected this week for his poise in guiding the Warriors at quarterback in a last-minute change that afternoon. Tyler Hansen was not able to go so Jameson was abruptly cast into the starting lineup with limited mental preparation. Freymond may have not put up the numbers worthy of a standout performance, but the mental toughness of being able to hang in there from start to finish, and even complete a 34-yard pass to David Gonzales in the closing minutes of the game. 2-6 for 34 yards, and no INT's, not bad Jameson....keep up the good work! And Faulkner, he's been pretty much playing consistent in the three games he's played in this year, leading or co-leading the team in tackles...while lacing some of the most wicked hits of any Warrior in the lineup. Ojukwu may have strung out 160 yards, but a majority of those yards came late in the second half with the game already out of reach. Faulkner was a major reason that Ojukwu's game was neutralized early on, even taking time to lay the hit-of-the-game on Stockdale's Garrett Anthony on a punt return in the second quarter. Glad to have you back at LB Mike.
	WEEK 5: TEHACHAPI (1-3) @ GARCES (1-3) TEHACHAPI NEWS - Throw out the records. When Tehachapi and Garces are pitted against each other in a football clash, it’s an instant game of the week. Even though the Rams are no longer in the South Sequoia League, the rivalry atmosphere that comes with a Ram and Warrior meeting should make for some hard-hitting dramatic football action this Friday night. This week’s game between the two schools has special meaning in 2004, with the winner of the contest potentially having the distinction of owning the all-time series lead in 31 meetings. The current win-loss tally between the schools stands at an overall 14-14-2. The Rams and the Warriors first played one another in 1946, with Garces (then St. Francis) defeated the Warriors, 13-0. Garces and Tehachapi would play each other every year there-after until 1954, taking a break for 18 years until 1982 when the two schools hooked up again and began their streak of 22 straight years of meetings. This season, the Warriors will be a favorite heading into the game, with two of Garces’s key players questionable for action in quarterback Jake Cauzza (#5) and wingback Braxton Tarver (#8). Cauzza had a solid junior season in 2003, firing for over 400 yards and nine touchdowns, while Tarver contributed with a majority of the load on offense with 1,020 yards rushing and seven touchdowns. With Cauzza out with a shoulder injury in the Rams’ opening season loss against Central Valley Christian, Junior Brenden Barkete (#7) has assumed the snapping duties and has held his own, competing 25 passes for 324 yards and two scores. CLOSED POCKET: Sean Finley (32) and co. move in to take down ball-carrierBraxton Tarver (8) in last season's 28-0 win in Tehachapi. Tarver has led the Rams this year in the stat column with 350 yards and two TDs, with most of those yards coming against Paraclete in a 284 yard, 2 TD performance. If Tarver can’t go this Friday night against Tehachapi, look for senior Clint Keown (#22) and recently brought up runningback Tommy Barron (#16) to get a bulk of the carries. Keown had a breakout game in the scoring department last week, finding the endzone three times to bring his season totals up to four total TD’s and 173 yards rushing. As for Barron, the sophomore that just came up just last week from the JV ranks rushed for 156 yards and a score in the 32-9 win over Shafter last Friday night. In the receiving department, look for Mark Houghton (#30) to get involved in the Rams’ passing game after a quiet night against Shafter. Houghton had a solid night against Paraclete two weeks ago with 101 yards receiving and a score. On defense, a host of Rams are worked into the lineup, with some of the most notable being Tommy Haupt (#77) and returning 2003 starter Joaquin Villareal (#75), along with linebackers Zach Lewis (#87), Ben Sill (#65), Noe Flores (#11), and Armando Puente (#56). In the secondary, Garces is led by Juniors Jess Thomas (#24) and Bret Willis (#4), with Willis also a solid contributor on offense with 6 catches, 72 yards, and a score in four games. Garces may be a far cry away from their days of Adam Cook, D.T. Hronis, Matt Pearl, Clint Tobias, and the Antongiovani’s, but the Rams are receiving strong play from many of their underclassmen that should help them bounce back to the winning scene in future seasons. With the rivalry between Tehachapi and Garces firmly in place, there will probably be no need to find reason for motivation heading into this contest between these two 1-3 teams.
	Tehachapi Warrior Fellow Ed Grimes told me an interesting story this past week at the Stockdale game that some of you may be interested in. We were talking about some of the great runningbacks that Tehachapi has had over the years and we merged to some conversation about some of the accomplishments that Eric Young had in the early 90's. Well...Ed basically said that Eric missed the bus to their November 2nd meeting with Kern Valley...and that Young was walking around campus dejected in the mid-day on that Friday afternoon. Ed, who by happenstance was in the district office, thought it was unusual that Eric wasn't on the team bus with the rest of the team heading to Lake Isabella. After learning of the situation, Ed raced to his car, grabbed Eric, and said "get in". Ed coordinated with the bus driver via CB radio to wait along the freeway, and Ed got Eric on the bus on highway 58. Why do we mention this story? Well...if Eric had not shown up to that game, the 281 yards and four TD's Eric collected that night would have not happened....Young's best game that entire year. Please join me in giving Ed a big thanks for making sure Eric Young got on the bus way back in '90! Thanks Ed!
	It was good to see the Warriors get back on track with some previously injured players....with Mike Papac and Lance Lange back in the lineup. It is still unknown whether or not Hansen will be able to go this week against Garces after being diagnosed with mono at 4pm last Friday, but as information gets past along thswarriors.com will try and keep you posted.

Congrats to the Tehachapi Braves for thwarting the 2004 sweep by the Mustangs, taking down the Stockdale Frosh 20-7. What makes this game so amazing is the fact that this same Stockdale group went 10-0 as freshmen, and looked solid in their first three games heading into their matchup with the Braves. Alek Taliulu...Gabe Bressler...Levi Lantz...Jake Harris....and the rest of the Braves, great job in keeping your 4-0 record in tact! Good luck this week against the Ramblers!

BRAVE RUNNER: Gabe Bressler (34), a two year Brave star, looks for his lane in first-half action against Stockdale.

I know...I know...I hardly mentioned the Stockdale game at all. BUT, never fear, there are pictures. Here are a few for your enjoyment:

By the way...if you ever want an enlarged picture from what you see on the weekly warrior, contact me and I can try and hook you up. Or, if you want me to look for any pics I took of a specific player, I can see what I have. Just email me and let me know.

Stay tuned next week for analysis of the Garces game and a preview of the SSL opener with Wasco. GO WARRIORS

Questions? Concerns? Corrections? Praises? Send Tom Shea an email, he'd like to hear from you.