1967 Warriors
The 1967 Warriors include, front row, left to right, Bobby Delgado, Mike White, Richard Davies, Jim Quesada, Garry Witty, Joe Bravo, John Valenzuela, Brad Scott,
Nick Damian, Mike Douglas, Frank Bachara, Greg Mazzanti, Dae Lantz, back row, Wes Smith, Bob Casey, John Valdez, J. Scafide, Tom Dineley, Mike Clayton,
John Bradley, Pete Hernandez, Allan Austin, R. Valdez, Mike Avila, D. Thompson, Brian Villalobos, Larry Wiggins, Demecio Aguilar, and Wayne Brown.
The 1967 Warriors won a co-championship in the Desert-Inyo League under fiery first year coach Bill Carll. The Warriors finished the season Warriors Capture 1967 DIL Championship
Garry Witty Named Team MVP
with a league record of 6-2-1. The Warriors shared the crown with Paraclete of Lancaster.
In the season opener, the Warriors blanked Kern Valley, 33-0. Garry Witty scored twice on runs of 7 and 5 yards; Manuel Avila scored on a 2 yard run play
(and kicked 3 PAT's); Wes Smith scored on a 2 yard dive play; and Dan Henderson returned a fumble 10 yards for the final score.
In Week 2 at The Pit, the Warrios again shutout an opponent, dumping Trona, 14-0. Witty scored the first TD on a 9 yard run (Dineley PAT kick) and
Brian Villalobos scored on an end around sweep (Dineley PAT kick). Avila led Tehachapi with 74 yards rushing in 13 carries.
The Warriors only loss in league play came at the hands of the Bishop Broncos, 19-0, in Week 7. It was the eighth straight game
in which the Broncos defeated the Warriors, and the eleventh loss in the past twelve meetings --- and the 4th consecutive shutout loss!
The Warriors defeated Paraclete in the last game of the season, 12-0, in Lancaster, earning a share of the title with the Spirits.
The Spirits would go on to advance to the small schools championship game of the post-season CIF Southern Section playoffs, earning a 7-7 tie with Calipatria.
In the opening round of the CIF playoffs, Tehachapi met Desert High on neutral turf in Mojave. Ironically, for the second time in one season, the game ended in a thrilling 6-6 tie. But the tie game ended utilizing the CIF tie-breaking system and Desert won the game, scoring a TD, in dramatic fashion --- on the last play of the game! The game was played on a wet turf, with Avila picking up 40 yards and Witty managing 30 yards. Douglas connected on 3 of 12 passes for 43 yards.
The Warriors had the toughest defense in Kern County in 1967, yielding only 34 defensive points during the regular season.
The Warriors shutout SIX opponents --- a school record.
On offense, Garry Witty was named the Most Valuable Player for the champion Warriors. Witty rushed for 441 yards, and scored 6 TD's for Tehachapi, leading the team with 36 points. Witty was also on the receiving end of 11 passes from quarterback Mike Douglas, good for 153 passing yards. Witty also filled in as quarterback for 2 games when Douglas went down with an injury. Witty was 7-13 passing for 237 yards.
Sophomore Manual Avila was the top Warrior rusher with 533 yards in 72 carries. Senior power running back John Bradley played a
critical role for the Warriors in the second half of the season. Bradley missed a number of games early in the season due to an injury.
Recognizing the Warriors outstanding defensive play throughout the season, linebacker John Valenzuela, lineman Larry Wiggins,
and defensive back Witty were selected to the defensive all-league first team.
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LISTING OF DIL CHAMPS
FROM 1957-1991
The 1967 Warriors were led by Garry Witty #46, team Most Valuable player and all-DIL defensive back;
Larry Wiggins #54 all-DIL lineman; and John Valenzuela #35 all-DIL linebacker.
Game-by-Game Results
OPPONENT THS OPP L GAME HIGHLIGHT Sep 23 Kern Valley (Lake Isabella) 33 00 H Garry Witty: 2 TD's Sep 29 Trona 14 00 A Garry Witty: 1 TD, 37 yds. rushing Oct 6 Mojave 20 00 H Garry Witty: 2 TD's Oct 13 Boron 00 00 A Oct 20 Desert (Edwards AFB) 13 13 H John Bradley: 1 TD Oct 27 Rosamond 06 02 H Wes Smith: 1 TD Nov 3 Bishop 00 19 A Nov 11 Lone Pine 29 00 H John Bradley: 2 TD's Nov 18 Paraclete (Lancaster) 12 00 A Tom Dineley: 1 TD Pass Rec.
CIF Southern Section Small School Playoffs
OPPONENT THS OPP L GAME HIGHLIGHT Nov 25 Desert (Edwards AFB) 06 12 N John Bradley: 1 TD Run
