Weekly Warrior

ELATION ON ELM STREET
Posted 11-22-03

THERE HE GOES!: Josh Lange busts through the Washington D-Line for the go-ahead score in the 2nd quarter. #5 finished the game with 14 carries for 101 yards.

Two down...one to go.

In all practicality, many of the so-called prep 'area experts' predicted this would happen. Tehachapi is a running team, Washington is not a running defense. 275 yards to Memorial....249 yards to Chowchilla, 377 yards to Dos Palos. Rushing yards given up to opponents this year by the 11-1, previously undefeated Panthers.

Not good when you have Tanner Hutchinson coming to town.

And Hutchinson didn't take too long to get started either, taking 21 carries in the first half for 125 yards and a late second quarter score. Add on Josh Lange's seven carries for 51 yards, and the 48 yards combined by Mike Wright, Dan Haycock, and Jeremy Clark...

You've probably got one frustrated defensive unit. 224 yards...in the first half. For the game, Tehachapi converted much needed muscle yards for 411 yards overall.

Yep folks, 411 yards, against the Large School's #1 seed. Can you FEEL that?

For the game, Tanner reeled off a season high 43 carries (just five shy of Eric Young's single game carry record) for 282 yards and two touchdowns, and Lange was Tehachapi's second leading rusher, doing the dirty work in the fullback slot, carrying 14 times for 101 yards...with his touchdown score shown above from second quarter action.

This 27-13 win is very gratifying, but the road to a championship continues. A huge test faces the Warriors this week in the championship game, and I don't think anyone would have it any other way. Mountain Football v. Mountain Football. Tehachapi @ Yosemite, Round 3 (First meeting was in 1999, and the last in 2002). CIF Championship, baby!

Can you feel it?

For the Washington Union game, Lange and Vincent Flores get the nod for players of the week. Lange provided another blow to the power-bombs laid down by Hutch, with his 85 yards overall a welcome confusion to the Panther defense. Lange also chipped in on defense with four tackles. Flores has continued his fine play from previous games clogging the middle of the d-front, registering three tackles and two quarterback sacks on Washington's talented Junior gunslinger Matt Garza. Congrats guys, go take it to Yosemite!

Vincent Flores (#58), Josh Lange (#5)
WEEKLY WARRIOR PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Other players that turned in solid performances included Jeremy Clark with three tackles, a sack, and an interception, Jon Anderson with four tackles and two sacks, Kris Haycock with three tackles, Sean Finley with four tackles and two sacks, Zach Harris with four tackles and an interception, Mike Faulkner & Anthony Scott with four tackles, and AJ Barcelona with three tackles and a sack.

Above: Action against #1 Large School Seed Washington Union

Everyone buckle your seatbelts, ‘Clash-of-the-Mountains III’ is about to commence.

In November of 1999, Tehachapi and Yosemite met for the first time in program history in a first round playoff meeting, with the Warriors benefiting from two 69-yard touchdown receptions to post a 19-10 victory at Coy Burnett Field.

In November of last year, Yosemite rose to victory in the sequel, taking a 22-6 playoff semifinal victory en route to their first CIF Football title in school history.

In 2003, November and a playoff meeting with Yosemite has come again, a widely anticipated Sequoia Large School Final pitting the Tehachapi Warriors with the Badgers from Oakhurst.

A wise man once said...be careful what you wish for...you may get it.

The heartbreak from Tehachapi's disappointing second round loss to Yosemite in last year's sequoia large school semifinals comes to a head this Friday night, when the Warriors go on the road to take on the Sequoia ranks 'other' mountain football squad in the Badgers.

This time though, it's for all the marbles. This time...the victor reaps the spoil of a CIF Championship.

And the way Tehachapi and Yosemite have been playing this year, this has all the makings of an epic battle.

Yosemite has managed to refuel the tank and fire the pistons from a memorable 2003 season, where a 12-1 campaign gave way to their first ever CIF championship. Their only loss in 2002 was to San Joaquin Memorial, who eventually fell in the small school CIF finals to 13-0 Garces. Notably, SJM, entering the playoffs this year as a #6 seed, has earned the right to face Dos Palos this season for the sequoia small school title with a 28-6 win over Woodlake.

Much like the 2002 meeting with Tehachapi, Yosemite brings to the table some chilling bullets in their defense of a championship. They only have one loss. Their physical. Their fast. They know what they need to do to win.

Add up those elements, and you have a catalyst that explodes into championships....making this week's meeting with Yosemite a very challenging task for Tehachapi's Mountain Men....and the chance at claiming a first championship in 10 years an arduous task, indeed.

The most dangerous arrow in Yosemite's quiver is their ability to maintain a balanced scoring attack against their opponents. In the backfield, the Badgers feature two of the sequoia league's best runners in (#32) TJ Grijalva and (#1) Alec Campbell, who have rushed for a combined 1653 yards and a 6.1 yard per carry average.

However, if you get too comfortable in your footing and decide to stack the line of scrimmage to stop these two talented backs, that's where the Badgers can really beat you. Behind the talented throwing arm of Junior (#8) Shawn Long, Yosemite has blitzed opponents for over 20 touchdowns this year.

Long's passing game has a few favorite targets in over 1993 yards passing in 127 completions, with focal points being wide receivers (#24) Fred Worstein and (#5) Jon Blea, who have 524 and 248 yards receiving this year, respectively. Tehachapi will catch some-what of a break this week, with Worstein suspended for the rest of the year by the Yosemite coaching staff for violating team rules. But, the main threat for the Badgers is still a factor in (#3) Jake Dodderidge, who has hauled in 43 receptions for 761 yards and 11 touchdowns (second on the team).

Defensively, the Badgers have the ability to stop the opposition both in the air and on the ground, and thrive off the one-dimensional offense. (#44) Nathan Wilkins (37 tackles) and (#57) Casey Wolters (29 tackles) stuff the run with alarming ease, while team leading tackler (#23) Burke Wardle (159 tackles) and (#4) Chris Warder (30 tackles) guard the backfield from the big-play threat.

The strength of the Badgers, much like Tehachapi, is their linebackers, and MAN do they have good ones. (#86) Garrett Tompkins (101 tackles), (#32) TJ Grijalva (67 tackles), (#77) Kevin Rose (58 tackles), (#7) Casey Marr (52 tackles), (#1) Alec Campbell (50 tackles), (#76) David Dan (39 tackles), and (#83) Zach Presho (38 tackles) are all players that are considered some of the best grapplers in the entire valley, and have allowed Yosemite to two-touchdowns-or-less in seven of their eleven wins on the year.

All these defensive accolades add up to one thing...this Badger squad can fly to the football.

It's another championship atmosphere for both football teams, and it should make for an electric night of football.

Let 'Clash of the Mountains' begin!

GO WARRIORS!

Clash of the Mountains: The 2002 #1 seeded Badgers bested Tehachapi, 22-6, in last year's playoffs.

Dinuba can sure light it up on the scoreboard, but against a passive defense, so can the Badgers. The ESL champion Emperors can hang their hats on another great year, as can the NSL champion Washington Panthers, who hope to repeat this year's success with many key players returning like Quarterback Mike Garza, runningback Evan Christin, and wide receiver Therell Clark. It should make for a very tough playoff run again in 2004...

For those that don't know, thswarriors.com is not the only place to get insider information on prep-football in the central valley. www.cvpreps.com, and www.maxpreps.com are two other great resources for mountain football. CVpreps offers a great discussion forum and general information for sports fans in the San Joaquin Valley, while maxpreps offers vital statistics for the Warriors and other teams around the area. Happy surfing!

Questions? Concerns? Corrections? Praises? Send Tom Shea an email, he'd like to hear from you.