Warrior kicker Jake Reimer was a perfect 7 for 7 in PAT kicking attempts last Friday against Mira Monte.
Holding for Reimer is #7 Chris Rush. Photo by Michael Duffy, The Tehachapi News

SSL Ramblings ...
Round 2: Foothill Coming to the Mountain
Warriors Blast Mira Monte, 49-16

Posted by thswarriors.com on November 26, 2009

As expected, the Warriors dominated the younger Mira Monte Lions last Friday night in Tehachapi, winning by a final 49-16 count. The Warriors are now 9-2 for the season and will host Foothill this Friday in a second round CIF Central Section Division III game. Game time is 7:00 pm.

The Division III tournament went from the original field of fifteen teams to eight teams after last Friday night's games. The four games this week include #10 seeded Foothill at #2 Tehachapi; #6 Ridgeview at #3 Porterville; #5 Hanford at #4 Delano; and #9 Clovis North at #1 Dinuba.

The Foothill-Tehachapi winner will meet the Ridgeview-Porterville winner. If the Warriors win, the game will be in Tehachapi by virtue of the lower seed.

The Warriors have now won eight straight post-season playoff games and have not lost a playoff game at home since 2001 (to Clovis East). Tehachapi improved their all-time home playoff record to 35-7 dating back to 1958, when Coy Burnett Field was first dedicated.

Reimer Could Play Critical Role During Playoff Run

A consistent offense, solid defense, and good special teams are the main ingrediants to a successful team. For Tehachapi, senior place kicker Jake Reimer is an important element of the special teams package.

As the upcoming CIF playoff games get more intense, Reimer, at 6'2" 180 lbs., could play a critical role down the stretch. The ability to make the all important extra point or kick a field goal could be the decisive edge in a high school football game.

Reimer is emerging as one of the best two kickers of this decade for the Warriors, and could be considered one of the finest kickers in school history. Earlier this decade, Johnny Sullivan (2000 & 2001) set the Warrior standard for kickers punching through 43 PAT's on two very successful Warrior teams. After graduation, Sullivan went on to provide kicking duties for the University of New Mexico.

But Reimer is standing in a class all too himself. As a junior, he booted 59 of 62 PAT attempts for the 2008 CIF champion Warriors. Reimer also added 3 field goals in 5 attempts, including his longest of 38 yards. Reimer also launched 83 kickoffs for the Warriors during the 2008 campaign.

This season Reimer was cruising along with more kicking success until a serious non-football injury cut short his season after the September 25 Burroughs game. Warrior coaches and fans alike waited to hear if Reimer would get a release from his doctor to play again? In the meantime, the Warriors suffered in the kicking game and struggled to score PAT's.

With much joy, Reimer was cleared to play after missing four games. He retured to the field against Wasco on November 6 and promptly went 3-3 in PAT kicks. He was a perfect 7 for 7 last week against Mira Monte. For the 2009 season, Reimer is 28 for 30 in PAT kicks, giving him a Warrior record of 87 successfull PAT's for both the 2008 and 2009 seasons combined.

Yes Warrior fans, Reimer is back, giving Tehachapi another scoring weapon in their quest for three straight CIF championships.

Senior #42 Jesus Bueno
The leading defensive tackler for Foothill

Foothill Coming To The Mountain

Two years ago a very talented Foothill High School football team came to Tehachapi in search of a CIF Central Section Division III title. Unfortunately for the Trojans, like so many teams before them, they lost on the mountain to the Warriors, 33-28.

With this bit of recent history, the 2009 version of the Trojans are coming to the mountain with a sense of revenge on their minds. First year coach Mike Gregg has Foothill peaking at the right time, winning two games in a row, and three of their last four. Foothill upset higher seed South Bakersfield last Friday, 21-14, to earn a trip up the mountain.

The Trojans have vastly improved on defense during the course of the season and have been led by seniors #42 Jesus Bueno and #12 Jacob Clagg. Bueno and Clagg each lead the team with 66 tackles apiece. On offense, young sophomore quarterback #8 Ryan Rangle calls the plays and has connected on 49 of 94 passes this season with 3 TD tosses. The leading rusher for the Trojans is #21 Denzel Givens with 988 rushing yards and 9 TD's.

Foothill finished with a 2-3 record in the Southeast Yosemite League and are currently 4-7 for the season. The Trojans and Warriors had two common opponents this season in Arvin and Garces. The Trojans lost to Arvin, 27-0, in Week 1, and lost to Garces 48-7 several weeks ago. The Warriors defeated both of these teams during the regular season.

Around the SSL ... Taft and Wasco Begin CIF Play This Week

In the eleven-team Division IV tournament, eight teams are left after the first week of playoff action last Friday night. This week, undefeated and #1 seed Kingsburg (10-0) will meet Kerman, while #2 seed Washington Union-Fresno (8-2) will host Sierra-Tollhouse. Both Kingsburg and Washington Union had a first round bye, and are heavily favored to win this week.

Taft High School received a #3 seed in the D-IV tournament and will play #6 Dos Palos Friday in Taft. Dos Palos defeated Central Valley Christian-Visalia in the first round. Taft had a bye last week.

Wasco High School (8-2), who won their first SSL title since 1961, was seeded #4 and will meet #5 Exeter (6-4) Friday in Wasco. Wasco also had a bye last week.

In Division V, Bakersfield Christian was eliminated from the playoffs last Friday in San Luis Opispo, as Mission Prep defeated the Golden Eagles.

Warrior fans can view all of the playoff bracketing for Division III if you follow this link to the CIF offices in Porterville:

http://www.cifcs.org/division_iii_football___presente1.htm

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