BURROS ARE BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER        Mountain Men to face one of Kern County's best teams to open up week 1
Posted 09-04-04

QB Ichiban: Senior Karsten Sween, a three-year Burroughs gunslinger, is back after a 40 TD junior year.

Fasten your seat belts ladies and gentlemen, the season is about to commence, and there are no cupcakes to handout for week 1 against the Burroughs Burros.

I can't stress enough the talent level that the Warriors will be facing on Friday night.  These guys, who just reeled off a stellar 12-2 year and a Division XII CIF Final berth in the Southern Section, not only has the valley's attention, but the state's as well.

This team is one of the California's best, even with the graduation of ALL-CIF wideout Anthony Celestine, who was lost to graduation in the 2003-2004 school year.

Back for the Burros are Anthony Williams (RB) on offense and Shawn Parker (LB) on defense, who were both apart of a nail-biter to Tehachapi on the Mountain in 2002, a 22-20 win for the then-Indians.  That same 2002 season, the upcoming senior class dispatched of a Matt Williams-led junior varsity squad 20-13, totaling 250 yards rushing in the win.  On paper, you'd see that we've had success against some of their best weapons coming into this year.... 

But do not be deceived.

When these two classes join, you have some very solid chemistry, as shown in their week 1 close-loss to Division III state power St. Bonnaventure, 38-26.  And keep in mind folks, Burros hung with one of the state's best without last-year all-area 1st teamers Craig Owen (RB) and Anthony Celestine (WR).

Back for Burroughs is All-Area Karsten Sween (QB), who’s 40 touchdown passes should find new welcome targets next season in returners Matt Williams (RB) (1,162 yards; 16 TD's in 2003), Anthony Williams (RB), and Ethan Cubit (WR) (250 yards; 2 TD's in 2003).  Sween is coming off a record-breaking junior year, where he threw for 3,762 yards on 244 completions.  Against the Bonnie's, Sween had a reasonable night against a tough Serph defense, firing for 12 completions, 180 yards, and three scores, two to junior WR Hayo Carpenter and the other to Cubit.  On the offensive line, Burroughs returns three starters from last year in Sean Selph (51), Chris Wheeler (72), and Josh Wainscott (70).

Burros Defenders Sean Selph (51) and Sam Molina (32)

On defense, front-lineman Sean Selph (72 tackles in 2003) and Sam Molina (105 tackles in 2003) should make solid attempts to terrorize the Warrior front-six, with both players coming back off All-Desert Sky League seasons and strong performances against St. Bonaventure, with 21 tackles between them.  Also be on the lookout for LB's Nathan Bare (48), Shawn Parker (64), Justin Pratt (46), and DB's Sean Dougherty (21) and Kenny Staples (5)....among a host of other hard hitters like backup-QB and DB David Lafromboise (7) and DT Travis Flores (56).

Burroughs Heah Coach Jeff Steinberg was visibly upset after his team's first-game loss against the Serph's last week...even though most teams would be elated to have the kind of performance that was displayed against the Bonnies.  His frustration is duly noted, because...quite frankly, Burroughs could have won that game.

And the fact that the tables could have been turned only further emphasizes how tough of an opponent the Warriors will have this Friday.  Next to Stockdale, it's not out of the realm of possibility to chalk this one up as a learning experience.

However, if the Warriors can put together four solid quarters....the Sky....even against a Desert Sky League opponent...is the limit.

Some of the key game-breakers the Warriors will have to face include (clockwise from the top) Karsten Sween, Matt Williams, Shawn Parker, Sam Molina, Travis Flores-Lee, and Ethan Cubit

	Warriors, Braves, and Indians were pretty solid in their scrimmage against West-Bakersfield last Friday night.  Even though there are no scores tallied in scrimmage play, if you count endzone appearances, the Warriors defeated West 3-2, Braves took down the West JV's 4-3, and the Indians had three straight plays with three straight scores to close out their Bakersfield counterparts 5-2.  Warrior Tyler Hansen barks out calls at the line of scrimmage against West High Highlight's for the Warriors included a VERY impressive first series, where the Warriors gobbled up the ground game to tally two scores in the 15-play series.  Dan Haycock probably had the best rumble from either team on the evening, bulldozing his way 24 yards and knocking over two Viking defenders for the score.  Robert Wright also capped off a 20-yard scoring jaunt off of a sally play, which has become his specialty of sorts in three years of Mountain football.  Sean Finley took the pigskin off the left hash in the third series against a majority of West second-teamers, bolting 50 yards for the final score for either team. Overall, the contest was pretty evenly matched, with the Warriors totaling 250 yards of total offense, while the Vikings picked up 246 yards.
	David Carrillo had an interesting piece on one of his articles previewing the 2004 Stockdale Mustangs in the Bakersfield Californian.  Francis Ojukwu, the two-time 2K back for the 'Stangs, had to play a little "defense" against one of his teammates during summer ball a few weeks ago when one of Ojukwu's "boys", All-SWYL lineman Ryan Hernandez, took a cheap-shot after a drill.  Well...Ojukwu takes care of his o-line apparently...lacing into the back of the perpetrator that blind-gulched Hernandez.  The move by Francis cost him a suspension from practice that day...but it sure sent a message to the team that Ojukwu doesn't mess around when it comes to protecting the hands that feed him.  On another note, Stockdale looked good...real good...in their first round game against Atascadero in a 49-7 win.  It looks like the 1-2 punch of Garrett Anthony and Ojukwu will be tough to neutralize.
	Warriors kicked off another successful "Meet the Warrior Night" on Wed, September 1st.  On the docet for discussion by the THS coaching staff was education as the primary focal point for the program...with Coach Steve Denman saying that "Attitude in the classroom is in direct correlation with performance on the field; if you do well in the classroom, you do well out in football....that's why we stress academics so much." To make sure that his academic speech hit home with the players, Coach was quick to point out Michael Hall, who just recently ended a stint in training camp with the Washington Redskins.  "When Michael Hall was a student here, he went up to Coach Costa the first day of freshman ball and said, I don't smoke, I don't party, and I don't cut class, I'm here to play football and work hard."  With the coaching staff impressed with his initial dediciation, Denman drove home that Hall had to work hard when he first came to Tehachapi academically, needing assistance to bring up his reading levels to that of his peers.  "After seeing what Mike accomplished, working hard, going to Bakersfield College and getting an Associates Degree there, getting a degree at Illinois, and a chance to play in the NFL...there is nothing that you can't do in life if you put your mind to it.  We don't expect any excuses from you (the players) this year, because an alumni from this school beat the odds and proved that success, academic and otherwise, could be accomplished.  We expect the same dedication out of you."
	For all those that are interested a "green seat", a Warrior booster club meeting is scheduled for Wed, Sep 8th, at the North Snack Bar at Coy Burnett Field.  The green seat is $10, and gets you a place between the 40-50 yard line on either side.  They will also have booster club memberships available for $30, which include a free hat and t-shirt.  If you're interested in either, make sure you show up at Coy Burnett at 6pm on Sept 8th.

Stay tuned next week for analysis of the Burroughs game and a preview of Paraclete.  GO WARRIORS