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SETTING
A BEARING
Tehachapi
increases winning streak against Bears to nine-straight games;
outscoring the premier offense in the SSL; get's stronger foothold on
playoff seeds with two games left
Posted 10-30-04
LOAD 'BEAR'ER:
Sean Finley got back on track in the rushing
column, contributing to Tehachapi's 324 rushing yards with 179 of his
own on 29 carries.
This win could end up being monumental for Tehachapi when the regular
season concludes.
When the league race begins to
look bleak (and honestly Warrior fans, anytime you need help from other
teams to get what you want that sometimes is the case), you have to turn
to situations that put you in a position to help yourselves.
Right now, the focus is
winning...and getting the highest playoff seed possible.
That being said, enter a week 8
date with the 6-1 (2-0 SSL) Arvin Bears.
The Bears, while their
competition might have not been as tough as that of the Warriors,
still...had only one loss away from coming into this match-up with an
undefeated record.
And you know what? Despite
the fact that Arvin's big play makers made a valiant attempt at a late
fourth quarter comeback, Tehachapi, you held your own quite well.
What helped the Warriors win
this game? My opinion, previous competition.
Jose Tamayo and Angel Pineda may
be fast, but so was Garrett Anthony of Stockdale, so was Matt Williams
of Ridgecrest. Hector Velasquez might be a powerful bruising back
that dictates the direction of all parties on the line of scrimmage, but
Eric Valez of Foothill and Daniel Kerr and co. at Taft can do that too.
Bottom line, the Warriors came
into this chess championship having faced some pretty high octane pieces
already, and that can only help. Plus, there was the confidence
that they had the ability with their defensive system to limit
Arvin...they did just that a year before, and...history of nine straight
wins (against some great Arvin teams, I might add), was still looming in
the minds of all.
So, here we are, with two weeks
left, two SSL games left.
Just a week ago, we were all
wondering if a winning record would be possible. But with a
possible 6-4 record and a 4-1 league count going into D-III, a high seed
and a first-round bye is within Tehachapi's sites.
Shafter should present some more
nasty wrinkles this week for the Warriors, but one thing that the
Warriors have now is a sense of direction, with the 'Bear'ings locked
in.
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Player of the week honors for
the Arvin game go to Lance Lange,
Tyler Hansen,
and Stefan Wulf
. Lance Lange gets the nod not only for his game-saving
interception with less than two minutes in the fourth quarter, but the
junior LB really did have an active role throughout the game with five
tackles recorded and constant pressure in the secondary and backfield.
Hansen, although only completing two passes in the
entire contest, had both go for TD's at crucial moments in the game.
Remember when it was 4th and 6 from Tehachapi's own 16? Had Hansen
not connected with EJ Muro, their would have been no first down lest alone
Muro running a great route for the score. Also, Mike Barboa's
25-yard TD came on a 3rd and 14. Two great turnaround drives that
ended up helping Tehachapi on top. Good job Tyler.
As for Stefan, anytime a Warrior kicker gets all of
their extra points through when the scoring output is high, it always
deserves some special recognition. And some of Wulf's kick's were a
little strange on how they ended as successful PAT's, with one ricocheting
off of the goal post, deflecting off the cross beam, and rolling in.
Another kick was cleanly blocked, but it was still deflected through.
Oh well Stefan, any way you can get 'em, right?
Great job to the rest of the Warriors on a clutch
win. |
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SCOUTING REPORT: Tehachapi Warriors (4-4;
2-1 SSL) vs. Shafter Generals (4-4; 1-2 SSL)
Shafter, which comes into their week 9
date with Tehachapi with two losses in league, is all-but eliminated
from contention in the league title race. However, as history has proven
over the years, the Generals are very capable of playing the role of
spoiler for many teams still vying for the league title prize.
The Generals will look to have a solid
tune-up game heading into their final week of play, when Shafter travels
to Wasco for one of the most heated rivalries in all of the central
valley.
Last
year’s Shafter freshman football team turned some heads when they took
the SSL title behind the play calling and zeal of Manuel Garcia. The
accomplishment served notice to the Shafter High athletic department,
with Garcia getting the promotion from the freshman squad to the Varsity
ranks, taking over for Erich Smith, who was asked to step down after a
7-22-2 mark in three seasons with the Generals.
Garcia has produced positive results in
his first year, helping Shafter to a respectable .500 mark eight weeks
in, but motivation will be high on the General sideline with the
potential to have their first winning season in four years this week on
the Mountain.
GENERALLY SPEAKING...-
Shafter and Tehachapi might be on the outside-looking-in on the SSL
title race, but the battle between the two teams should present some
fireworks this upcoming Sunday.
One of the strengths of Shafter’s offense
will be their front line, which averages 272 pounds across the board,
the biggest in the entire valley. The biggest of the bunch is right
tackle Mario Perez (#65), who checks in at 6’ 4” and 300 lbs. The rest
of the line includes Right Guard Lino Segura (#50) at 275 lbs., Center
Juan Zamudio (#55) at 220 lbs., Left Guard Josh Macut (#72) at 275 lbs.,
and Right Tackle Casey Torres (#70) at 290 lbs.
While the big-men up front pave the way,
it’s David Aldalpe (#10) and Ryan Thompson (#32) churning the yardage on
the ground, with the duo combining for over 1,000 yards on the year
between them with a combined 5.5 yards per carry average.
Shafter is also known for producing some
of the leagues best gun-slingers, and they have not disappointed this
year with the development of Mike Castillo (#1), who has passed for 586
yards on 47 completions on the season. There is a possibility that
Castillo might not go against Tehachapi at quarterback, if that’s the
case, look for backup QB Mickey Polley (#7) to take the snaps. Polley
has passed for over 200 yards on the year on 28 completions. Castillo
played soley on defense last week in a 27-0 loss against Taft. Leading
receivers for the Generals include Jordan Reimer and J.R. Haude, who
have accumulated 265 yards on 24 completions.
On defense, Shafter is led by an active
front line that includes Cruz Segura (#53), Vidal Mora (#84), and Marvin
Statler (#64). Also look for General linebackers Paco Duffy (#45) and
Zach Hockett (#37) to get involved while Mike Castillo, Marco Guiterrez
(#20) and Brian Neri (#18) are also solid in the secondary.
It should be another interesting match-up
for Tehachapi this week, and with an Arvin vs. Taft match-up heading
into the final week of play, the Warriors will need to notch every
victory that they can muster in hope of securing a co-SSL title and/or
Division III playoff berth. |
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Hey Warrior fans, this week was a clean SWEEP for
all three teams for Tehachapi! A big congratulations goes out to the
freshman and
junior varsity programs,
who each won their respective games 28-13 and 19-0. The Indians
had another huge quarter, this time in the third, scoring 22 points to
take the 28-13 win, and the Braves just
played an all-around consistant game, with Gabe Bressler churning in big
yardage to help shutout the JV Bears.
Good job both programs on the win!
INDIAN WAR CALL-
Tehachapi freshman have moved their winning streak to two games,
sporting a 5-3 (2-1 SSL) record. |
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Warrior Alum's
Chris Denman and
Jerad Romo
played in Division 1A football action. Jerad's
SMU Mustangs played Frenso to take on Chris Denman's Fresno State
Bulldogs.
For Pictures on the FSU/SMU
game,
click here. |
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Nathan East, webmaster of cvpreps.com, has updated
weekly a "if the season ended today" for all valley teams as far as
playoffs are concerned. Obviously, politics still play a big
factor into what teams are seeded where come Saturday selection after
the final regular season game...but cvpreps.com has Tehachapi rated #5
going into D-III after their win over Arvin, with a first-round home
game against Sierra. To check out the page,
click here.
Pretty interesting stuff.
Stay tuned next week for analysis of the Shafter
game and a preview of the Golden Valley matchup.
GO
WARRIORS
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Questions? Concerns?
Corrections? Praises? Send Tom Shea an email,
he'd like to hear from you.
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