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MOUNTAIN ROAD
BLOCK
Warriors down the Shafter Generals
behind Haycock's Three Rushing TD's
Posted 11-06-04
DO NOT PASS GO:
In Tyler Hasen's (#8) only pass of the game, the
Generals were able to thwart the attempt, but Tehachapi still surmounted
395 yards rushing in the blowout win.
By far, the most complete win on the year.
Shafter really did run into a
brick wall at all levels this past week, being outscored by Tehachapi
123-21 in the freshman, JV, and Varsity levels.
Probably what the Warriors can
take away from this game is not only did the productivity of Sean Finley
and Dan Haycock lead the banner charge to victory, but the contribution
of the entire team on both sides of the ball submerged any
threat that Shafter tried to mount.
It was a good game by Sean and
Dan, but it was a team win, through-and-through.
Right now, when you look at the
projected ranking for Tehachapi in the Division III playoffs, playing
"team ball" can only help. Especially when some of the prominent
D-III teams going into the playoffs have started to hit a lull,
particularly Delano and Lemoore, who both lost last week.
Both Delano and Lemoore are
still currently projected to go into the playoffs 1 and 2....but that
might change with Delano getting blown out for the second straight week,
this time to Tulare Western, 49-6. Lemoore lost to Golden West
7-6, so both teams will go into the playoffs with no chance at a league
championship.
On the flipside, Yosemite did
have an impressive win over a strong D-IV Chowchilla club 20-14, but
they will still probably enter the playoffs without a North Sequoia
League title, after Dos Palos is projected to enter the D-IV bracket at
a perfect 10-0 and the NSL title firmly in hand.
Bottom line, the D-III best are
pretty much in the same boat as Tehachapi, assuming that Arvin loses to
Taft this week.
Right now for the Warriors, it's
completely wide open, but entering the playoffs 6-4 will still hurt them
in the pool, even though they had one of the strongest records
by any sequoia division team.
With a sixteen-team D-III
bracket
ahead of them, Tehachapi by all accounts should have a first-round bye,
against who is still TBD.
And should the Warriors play
like they did against Shafter in the playoffs...combined with a little
luck...they might be able to take advantage of a potentially wide open
playoff race.
The fireworks start this week
against Golden Valley at Ridgeview High school. If Tehachapi plays
their cards right, it could be the first of five more games on the 2004
stretch.
And who knows...if Arvin can
upset Taft this week...Tehachapi might enter the playoffs with a co-SSL
championship. You never know, but you can never rest your laurels
on the output of another team. Either way, Warriors need to be
focused on the task at hand...playoffs.
Hit and Fly Big Green!
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Player of the week honors for
the Arvin game go to Trenton Pera
and Dan Haycock.
Pera was selected because of his ability to nix any
development in the middle of the field, leading the team with eight
tackles and constant pressure in the backfield. Haycock was the
perfect change of pace to Finley's running, with the power runs up the
middle leading towards 82 yards rushing and three scores.
Great job to the rest of the Warriors on a clutch
win. |
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WARRIOR REPORT: Tehachapi Warriors (5-4; 3-1 SSL) at
Golden Valley (2-8; 1-3 SSL)
If Tehachapi was looking for a solid
tune-up game on defense heading into their CIF Division III playoff run,
they may have gotten their wish this week against the Golden Valley
Bulldogs.
When
the year commenced, not many valley football observers gave
Golden Valley much of a chance to produce any positive results
with an all-junior and sophomore squad.
However, when you have legendary former
Bakersfield Driller head man Tim Hartnett taking the reigns, you never
should count a team out. Hartnett, who is in his first year as head
coach of the Bulldogs, helped guide the Drillers to a 52-12 record and
five CIF titles during his tenure in the 80’s and 90’s.
Normally, central section CIF rules stipulate that a team can schedule
no more than 10 regular season games in any given season.
Golden Valley has seemed to be able to bypass this rule in their
inaugural season of varsity action, with the Porterville front office
granting the first year team a 12 game schedule.
Hartnett took the section’s blessing and ran with it, having scheduled
Lemoore and Koinonia Christian
Academy from Merced in addition to his pre-approved ten-game schedule.
The
extra games seem to have had an effect on Golden Valley’s
young squad, with two wins generated against Kern Valley and Wasco
heading into the home stretch of the season, and single-digit losses to
Firebaugh (34-25) and most recently Arvin (20-12).
The
Bulldogs offense is solid across the board, and has given some of the
SSL’s defenses fits this year with a very
formidable passing attack. Golden Valley is led by
quarterback Bobby Hinzo, who is second in
Kern County with 144 completions for 1,984 yards and 12 touchdowns
through last Friday’s Arvin game. Against Arvin,
Hinzo had a 229 yard passing game on 17 completions, including a
score.
Golden Valley also has three players in the top 12 in the
county receiving, with Mike Alvarado catching 29 passes for 531 yards
and three scores and Bryson Hodges with 331 yards on 37 completions and
three paydirt appearances. Hodges is also a
solid contributor in the rushing category, having amassed 612 yards on
107 carries and two touchdowns this season. Team leading receiver Andrew
Brown is one of the valley’s best and seems to be a favorite target of
Hinzo, catching 135 yards on six completions
last week against the Bears, bringing his season totals to 720 yards on
38 completions and nine touchdowns.
On defense, the Bulldogs are still sorting
through some growing pains in their first year, mainly contributed to a
lack of size and experience with a senior-less team. But, Golden Valley
is still holding their own with a few standout players in Alex
Aceves and Brown at defensive back, Emmanuel
Avila at strong safety, Jimmy Coffey, Gabe
Tovar, Mike Ultreras, and Hugo Sanchez on
the defensive line, and Justin Collom and
Ray Martinez at linebacker.
The
greatest threat the Bulldogs bring this week to Tehachapi is their
offense, which is a fair rival to Burroughs from ten weeks ago.
Statistics wise, the only quarterback in the entire valley that has
better numbers than the Bulldogs’ Hinzo is
Ridgecrest’s Karsten
Sween, who had a 352 yard passing game
against the Warriors in the 2004 season’s opening game.
A week ten date with the Bulldogs may be
just what the doctor ordered in preparation for the playoffs, and
hopefully the Warriors can take the experience from the Burroughs game
with them in this week’s match-up with Golden Valley. |
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Hey Warrior fans, this week was yet another 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 39-0 and 43-14. The Indians
Paul Castro was an animal on offense, accounting for 162 yards on four
carries, two catches for 70 yards, and four touchdowns. The
Braves, who received a scare when Trevor Stein went down in the third
quarter, took their 39-0 halftime lead to a running clock to close out
their game. Stein went the hospital as a precaution and was
released. Good job both programs on the win!
MAKE THAT 3-IN-A-ROW-
Paul Castro was the star on Thursday night, scoring four touchdowns
against the Bucks |
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For those that haven't been following Tehachapi
Youth Football, three of the four teams in participation are doing
very well. The freshman, sophomore, and junior varsity classes
have weeded their way through tough Bakersfield competition to reach the
conference championship last Saturday. Be sure to check out
updates on all the teams on Channel 29's hometown sports to see if any
of the Tehachapi teams are going to be in the championship next Saturday
at Garces High!
POST GAME SPEECH-
The Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior Varsity Tomahawks are doing well in
Golden Empire Youth Football, with all three teams reaching the division
championship last week. (photo by Mitch Smith) |
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Stay tuned next week for analysis of the Golden
Valley game and a preview of the Playoffs.
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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