FIRST HALF DOWNS GENERALS ... WARRIORS CLINCH SSL TITLE
Posted 11-01-03

Above: Josh Lange streches for yardage as Mike Papac, Chris Bowman, Kyle Fife, and Trenton Pera look on

It was cold, it was wet, it was complete domination in the first half on both sides of the ball for the Warriors.

Talk about 'bringing the mountain' to Shafter, huh?

There was a little hype coming into this game by the Generals, especially when Shafter were tuning into "23 yard Line", a Monday night show on ABC that has game highlights of some the accolades of valley football the previous week.

Tehachapi made their annual trip to Bakersfield to get some face-time on the show, with Tanner Hutchinson being recognized for player of the week honors with his two touchdown, 168 yard performance.

It wasn't Tehachapi's presence though that hyped up the Generals, but what Tanner said when interviewed....all but saying that Tehachapi could handle the Generals and that the Warriors were concerned more about Garces the following week.

Ouch.

Probably even more unsettling for the General though, after the gun sounded Friday night, 167 yards and four touchdowns later, Tanner's confidence against Shafter was seemingly well placed.

By in large, you never want to go into a game too confident, especially when so much is on the line against a league opponent.  Upsets happen, a concept that Tehachapi has been the unpleasant benefactor of in previous seasons.

But, there is a fine line between having 'the edge' and believing in yourself vs. shooting blanks out of a beebee gun.

No Warrior fans, our Mountain Men are shooting real bullets this year.

And, by in large, you have to love how the Warriors started out their first five series of this game.  Starting at the Shafter 27, 41, 25, and 33, and the Tehachapi 35 yard line, all five drives went for touchdowns.

Yep, all five.  Thirty-four to zip before Shafter even had time to get a foothold on the Tehachapi onslaught.

Hutchinson connected on four of the five touchdowns, with Jeremy Clark the final score with the minutes winding down to halftime.  The 25-yard Clark score was probably 'the straw that broke the camel's back', with Shafter's Daniel Valle irate over the touchdown run, getting back-to-back personal foul penalties to get an ejection from the game.

Valle's temper was probably justified a little, I don't think any player wants to lose, but the tough pill to swallow for the Generals on the ejection was 1) They lost their starting defensive back and wide receiver for the rest of the game against Tehachapi, and 2) The ejection forces Valle to sit out against league rival Wasco the following week.

That second little factoid really hurts...but sorry Daniel...CIF rules, man.

Despite the woes that Shafter was facing, Tehachapi still had to play football, and they did, with most of the bench emptied the second half by the coaching staff to get assessment on future Warrior stars.

On defense, many-a-Warriors were swarming around the ball, with Anthony Scott leading the way with seven tackles and three pressures.  Josh Lange chipped in with five tackles, Vincent Flores, Sean Finley, and Mike Faulkner had four tackles, Kris Haycock had three tackles and a pass deflection, and Zack Harris and David Gonzalez combined for three pass deflections, an interception, and fumble recovery.

On offense, the tell-tale sign in the game was the running game, with Tehachapi blasting four players with 40+ yards or more, with Sean Finley with 40 yards on five carries, Jeremy Clark with 49 yards on eight carries, Josh Lange with 54 yards on four carries, and Hutchinson's outstanding 167 yard performance on 15 carries.  With so many players doing well, the reason must be attributed to a big push on the offensive line, which the Mountain men got plenty-of and more with the starting front-six helping to hash-out a dominating 362 yards on the ground.

Player of the week honors go to the Mountain O-Line, who in week 9 showed the true heart of smash-mouth Mountain Football.  Congrats!

Ralph Curiel (#64), Sean Rogers (#52), Kyle Fife (#50), Chris Bowman (#54), and Trenton Pera (#77)
Mike Papac (#85) <not pictured>

WEEKLY WARRIOR PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Above: Action against the Generals

It's here, Warrior fans.  No more waiting. If you live in Tehachapi and you think of prep-football, Tehachapi vs. Garces is a contest that is widely anticipated deep within the cranial junctures of all football enthusiasts. This is the big game.  You suit up, and you lay it all out on the field.  You can throw out the records when these two teams come to play, but usually you don't have to.  More often than not, the final game of the season between Tehachapi and Garces usually decides the SSL champion. Since the Warriors' inclusion in the Sequoia Division in 1992, the Tehachapi vs. Garces game has determined the SSL Champion seven times in 12 seasons, with the first deciding game in 1993, which Tehachapi won, and the final one being in 2002, when a Derik Easttom two point conversion try was nullified in overtime, giving Garces a 19-18 win and a three-way tie for the SSL with Liberty. The rivalry between the Warriors and the Rams is one that is positive spirited, creating one of the most exciting games of the year not only in the Sequoia Division, but in the Central Valley overall. After Garces's dominating 12-0 (5-0 SSL) CIF championship run last year, the Rams 19-6 victory over Tehachapi gave Garces an overall lead in the series 14-13-2, dating all the way back to a game in 1946, when the Warriors faced off with St. Francis (soon-after known as Garces Memorial High School when the two teams faced off for the second time in 1948). Tehachapi would love nothing more than to even the overall series record against the Rams, but they will find that task daunting against one of the best defenses in the valley. Garces boasts one of the best run and pass defenses in the central section, giving up only 1,479 yards on the ground and 538 yards through the air, and 121 total points.  In the Rams four league games this season, they have only given up only one touchdown to their SSL rivals in Taft, Shafter, Wasco, and Arvin. Part of the group that has helped Garces reach a high-level of defensive play this year is a vested front defensive line led by (#72) Eric White, (#53) Philip McDermott, (#86) Aaron Guillen, and defensive book-ends (#58) David Fillmore, (#45) Kalub Flory, and (#65) Noe Flores.  At linebacker, the Rams have received solid play from talented sophomore linebacker (#33) Ryan Drakos, Seniors (#57) Justin Barrera and (#55) John Stenderup, and Juniors (#8) Braxton Tarver and Junior (#32) Clint Keown. In the secondary, Garces is led by talented defensive back (#85) Robert Richardson, who's seven interceptions leads the SSL in 2003.  Richardson is joined by some other talented speedsters in (#2) Scott Barry, (#19) Tommy Etchechury, and (#22) Scott Strasner, who have combined for 10 take-aways in the Rams first nine games. On offense, the Garces Wing-T spreads the ball out well, with Braxton Tarver leading the way with over 800 yards and seven touchdowns on the year.  Junior Quarterback (#5) Jake Cauzza is second on the team in rushing with over 300 yards on the ground and seven rushing touchdowns.  Through the air, Cauzza has completed over 300 yards passing and one touchdown strike, hitting Senior (#40) Marc Eyherabide for a 58-yard touchdown in the Rams 39-20 victory over cross-town parochial rival, Paraclete-Lancaster. Other threats on the ground include Clint Keown, who's 65 rushes for 326 yards and a score is third on the team overall.  Other darkhorse ball carriers include (#20) Nathan Tudor, who had 82 yards on 7 carries in a win against Wasco, and Scott Strasner and (#26) Joey Bravo, who have just over 200 yard combined in 2003. Without a doubt, the game pitting Tehachapi and Garces has potential to be one of the greatest games in these two teams storied rivalry.  For Garces, a win over the Warriors could force a potential three-way tie for the SSL crown with Arvin, and a Tehachapi win could give the Mountain Men their first out-right SSL title since 1997. With both teams vying for a league championship, the anticipation is finally over....Warriors vs. Rams is just about to start! Hit and fly, Warriors! Above: Mike Faulkner Fights and Claws to Drag down Garces's Adam Cook in the 2002 loss

Yet another congratulations go out to the Junior Varsity team, who's 8-1 (4-0 SSL) has just clinched the South Sequoia League Championship outright!!  I'm sure you've seen it already, but if not, there's a story on the Braves Title Run on the main page.  An article on the Braves' big win over Shafter in the title game will follow soon on that same link.  Congratulations guys!

Notable games showed Yosemite staking a claim for at least a #2 seed in the large school sequoia playoffs with a 24-14 win over Dos Palos, Washington Union cruised to a perfect 9-0 record with a win over Coalinga, Dinuba edged Woodlake 22-20 to set up an Orosi/Dinuba ESL showdown for the title, and of course, Arvin had the biggest sequoia shocker of the night, downing the Rams to give Tehachapi at least a share of the SSL title.  GO BEARS! Notable match-ups in week 10 Garces @ Tehachapi (A Ram win could force a three-way champ with Arvin) Dinuba @ Orosi (Both 3-0 in ESL...winner take all game for playoffs) Sierra & SJM (The Chieftains can improve their playoff seed with a win) Washington @ Selma (The Panthers would wrap up the large school #1 seed with win) Wasco @ Shafter (Throw out the records, this one is gonna be fierce!)