1968 Warriors
The 1968 Warriors include, bottom row, left to right, Steve Troy, Steve Smith, Dennis Gary, Larry Morphis, Brad Olson,
Randy Redelsperger, George Sanchez, Leonard Alvarez, Mike Douglas, David Davies (manager), middle row, Dee Fitzjerrell (manager),
Manuel Avila, Jeff Summit, Rick Dawson, John Valdez, Marvin Williams, Russell Ary, Nick Damian, Bob Delgado, Rick Olmstead, Tom Dineley,
Rick Gary, top row, Harold Fite, Don Ward, Rick Valdez, Keith Warner, Steve Helms, Dave Edmiston, Ken Perry, Bob Warner, Randy Perry,
Ed Mata, Tony Samano, and Brian Villalobos.
Warriors Capture 2nd Straight DIL Title
THS Finishes With A Final 9-2 LogFor the second straight year, under head coach Bill Carll, the Warriors won a co-championship in the Desert-Inyo League with a record of 8 wins and 1 loss. The Warriors again shared the league championship with Paraclete.
The magical season began with the Warriors reeling off four straight victories. In the opening game, the Warriors dominated the Paraclete Spirits, 34-0, behind the running of sophomore Rick Gary (108 rushing yards, 2 TD's) and the passing of QB Mike Douglas (5-11, 108 yds. passing).
In Week 2, the Warriors cruised to a 27-13 win over Kern Valley as Manuel Avila rushed for 165 yards, scoring 1 TD. Mike Douglas also returned a punt 65 yards for a TD; Gary scored on a 14 yard run play; and end Don Ward caught a Douglas pass for 9 yards and a TD.
In Week 3, the passing combination of Mike Douglas-to-Don Ward produced three touchdowns in a 41-7 route of Trona. Douglas completed 5-13 passes for 143 yards.
In Week 4 at Mojave, it was again the Mike Douglas show as the flashy quarterback rushed for 107 yards and passed for 83 yards (11 for 13 passing). The 25-0 shutout of the Mustangs gave the Warriors a perfect 4-0 record.
In Week 5, the Warriors played host to the Boron Bobcats on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Some say the Warriors got caught up in the Homecoming activities, others say the Warriors were looking ahead to the Week 8 showdown with the rival Bishop Broncos. Whatever it was, the Warriors came out flat, and were crushed in front of an overflow, standing room only crowd, 34-0. Douglas did not complete a pass all afternoon, and the ground game was held to less than 100 yards.
In Week 6, the Warriors rebounded at Edwards AFB to defeat Desert High, 21-13. Manuel Avila rushed for 110 yards and Rick Gary picked up 60 yards.
In Week 7, in another close contest, the Warriors defeated Rosamond 26-21. Douglas completed 7 of 14 passes for 130 yards. He rushed for 81 yards and scored all three of the Warrior touchdowns.
One of the big stories of the 1968 season was that the Bishop Broncos 'jinx' was finally over! In Week 8, the green and white soundly defeated the Broncos, 26-6, ending a drought in which Tehachapi had lost eight straight games, and 11 of the last 12. In fact, until this game, it had been six years since the Warriors had scored a touchdown against Bishop.
In Week 9, the Warriors put the finishing touches on a co-championship season by blanking Lone Pine, 27-0. Rick Gary had 73 yards rushing, Mike Douglas had 46 yards, scored 2 TD's, and Manuel Avila had 42 yards in a balanced offensive attack. Russ Ary returned an Eagle fumble 35 yards for a TD and John Valdez hauled in a Douglas 25 yard pass for the other TD.
In CIF play, the Warriors defeated Morro Bay in the opening round, 14-13, before a large hometown crowd. In this well played, tense game, a Warrior lineman proved to be the difference maker. Larry Morphis intercepted a Pirate screen pass and raced 55 yards to paydirt. Morphis also blocked a Pirate PAT kick attempt to preserve the one point victory. Tehachapi again used a balanced offense to oulast the Pirates. Douglas completed 6 of 10 passes for 52 yards, and rushed for 28 yards; Avila had 64 yards; and Gary had 29 yards, scoring the other Warrior TD. Tom Dineley booted both PAT attempts.
The Warriors hit the road for a long road trip to Needles for the second round of CIF play. While the Warriors played great on defense, their normally reliable offense could not get untracked against Needles, dropping a 14-0 game. Tehachapi finished with an overall record of 9-2 for the season.
Senior quarterback Mike Douglas led the potent Warrior offense by completing 59 of 133 passes for 824 passing yards in 11 games. Douglas also rushed for 438 yards and led the team with 9 rushing TD's. Junior running back Manuel Avila contributed with 694 rushing yards and 2 TD's and sophomore Rick Gary had 465 yards and 7 TD's. PAT specialist Tom Dineley also booted 25 PAT's in 36 attempts.
The 1968 team was led by 1st team All-DIL selections Tom Dineley (def. back), quarterback Mike Douglas, and Don Ward (def. end). Ward was also selected to the All-CIF Southern Section team. Quarterback Mike Douglas and Ward were named the Most Valuable Players of the 1968 team.
(Note: Mike Douglas went on to play quarterback at the University of LaVerne.)
Special You Tube video of champion 1968 Warriors in action. It appears as though the opponents include
Lone Pine, Rosamond, Paraclete, and Kern Valley. To enjoy this vintage video, please click here.
Warrior runner Randy Redelsperger (#49) runs for big yardage
on a Saturday afternoon game in Tehachapi.
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| OPPONENT | THS | OPP | L | GAME HIGHLIGHT | |
| Sep 21 | Paraclete (Lancaster) | 34 | 00 | H | Rick Gary: 2 TD's, 111 yds. rushing |
| Sep 28 | Kern Valley (Lake Isabella) | 27 | 13 | A | Manuel Avila: 1 TD, 165 yds. rushing |
| Oct 5 | Trona | 41 | 07 | H | Don Ward: 3 TD Pass Rec. |
| Oct 12 | Mojave | 25 | 00 | A | Mike Douglas: 1 TD, 107 yds. rushing |
| Oct 19 | Boron | 00 | 34 | H | |
| Oct 26 | Desert (Edwards AFB) | 21 | 13 | A | Mike Douglas: 2 TD's, 8 yds. rushing |
| Nov 2 | Rosamond | 26 | 21 | A | Mike Douglas: 3 TD's, 81 yds. rushing |
| Nov 9 | Bishop | 26 | 06 | H | Manuel Avila: 1 TD, 62 yds. rushing |
| Nov 16 | Lone Pine | 27 | 00 | A | Mike Douglas: 2 TD's, 46 yds. rushing |
| OPPONENT | THS | OPP | L | GAME HIGHLIGHT | |
| Nov 23 | Morro Bay | 14 | 13 | H | Larry Morphis: 1 TD, 55 yd. interception return |
| Nov 29 | Needles | 00 | 14 | A |