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PART ONE: AN EARLY-BIRD LOOK AT NEXT YEAR'S SCHEDULE Posted 01-03-04 THE PRE-SEASON Fresh off a championship season, the road to a back-to-back title will prove to be daunting for the 2004 Tehachapi Warriors. With some of their stiffest pre-season competition in the new century, the Mountain Men will have some formidable tests to overcome before their south sequoia league schedule begins. This weekly warrior is the first of a four-part series highlighting Tehachapi’s opponents for 2004 and what the Warriors will have at their disposal for the new season next fall. The season may seem like it’s far off…but it will be here before you know it! In this part, we'll focus on each of the Warriors’ pre-season opponents for 2004: Burroughs Burros If past seasons are any indication, Tehachapi should match up well with the ’04 version of the Ridgecrest contingent. A good portion of the upcoming junior class, led by Anthony Williams (RB) and Shawn Parker (LB), lost a nail-biter to Tehachapi on the Mountain in 2002, 22-20. That same 2002 season, the upcoming senior class dispatched of a Matt Williams-led junior varsity squad 20-13, totaling 250 yards rushing in the win. That, coupled with the fact that All-Area 1st Teamers Craig Owen (RB) and Anthony Celestine (WR) are graduating, you would think that Burros might be a bit more manageable.
Then again, Burroughs might have just taken the next step to football prominence after a Division XII championship appearance in 2003 and a 12-2 record overall. Back for Burroughs is All-Area Karsten Sween (QB), who’s 40 touchdown passes should find new welcome targets next season in returners Matt Williams (RB), Anthony Williams (RB), and Ethan Cubit (WR). Sween is coming off a record-breaking junior year, where he threw for 3,762 yards on 244 completions. Next to Stockdale, Burros should provide Tehachapi it’s toughest game of the pre-season and the year overall, and could be the area’s game of the week in week 1, pitting two of area’s best from 2003. Paraclete Spirits The Spirits have always been a team that played above and beyond their capability, a quality that returning head coach Jeff Jambertz has come to expect in his tenure with the parochial school. Paraclete is the known as the hybrid to San Joaquin Memorial and Garces in Antelope Valley area, and in recent memory has enjoyed success in the CIF and league ranks, having won the CIF championship in Division XI five straight years from 1997-2001. Coming off a 6-5 season in 2003, the Spirits’ play was sub-par by their standards but it still was good enough to take their first Olympic League crown with victories over Montclair Prep, Kilpatrick, and Cerritos Valley Christian. In the playoffs, the Spirits’ league title was good enough to mark a date with the Carpenteria Warriors in the CIF Southern Section Division XI first round, but the Spirit’s victory bid fell short in a 21-6 loss to the Tri-Valley’s fourth place team.
QB Keeper: Spirit Quarterback Aaron Merlo scrambles out of the pocket to avoid heavy pressure in the 2003 contest with Montclair Prep High Leading rusher Jared Nelson, who had 1,908 yards on the year, will not be available to the Spirits next season due to graduation. Paraclete will also lose a significant amount of their supporting cast on the ground, with Justin Lane and Aaron Merlo (above) set to graduate as well. Nate Bailey, who had 82 yards on 19 carries in 2003, is the top rusher for the Spirits returning, while also leading his team in interceptions last fall with four. Also coming back is leading receiver Domenic Donato, who had 63 yards catching in his junior season, and Kris Martin, who was second on the team in tackles with 38. The 2004 Spirits will depend heavily on a 4-2 Junior Varsity squad to fill some gaps of graduated personnel. Foothill Trojans After three successful seasons, lone blue-chip player Dan Ingle has made his way off the prep-football scene to graduation. You really had to feel for Ingle too the last couple of years…after suffering through an 0-10 junior campaign, the talented quarterback had to virtually carry the entire team on his back in the two-win season in 2003. However, two wins was a vast improvement on what many predicted would be a repeat of their 2002 season.
I-Spy: Warrior Mike Faulkner eyes the Foothill backfield...looking to make a play in the 2003 contest. Tehachapi took a commanding 35-0 lead to coast in the win, 49-13. Second year Head Coach Scott Douglas has found his tenure trying after taking over for legendary head coach Ned Permenter, who compiled an astounding 220 win record from 1965-2001 before giving way to assistant Douglas. Foothill will have some talent to work with in 2004, with the centerpiece being wideout Manuel Martinez, who enjoyed a solid day against Tehachapi last fall, with seven catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Also back for the Trojans is upcoming senior runningback Eric Velez, who will be needed to spell the departed passing game by Ingle. On defense, returnees Rayland Rice (LB), Ivan Quiroz (DL), Moises Rodriguez (LB/DB), and Sherrell Robertson (DB) should help shore up some of the defensive blows that Foothill has endured the past few years…but with one of the area’s best wing-t programs coming to town, Foothill should have some trouble with a young (but talented) Tehachapi group. Stockdale Mustangs Well everyone, you can chalk up this game as the ‘Clovis East’ of the 2004 pre-season schedule. Tehachapi will definitely have their hands full in this one, especially when you consider that one of the area’s best runningbacks, Francis Ojukwu, is back for action after reeling off a 2,016 yard season for Stockdale in 2003.
Ojukwu won’t be alone in the talent category either, with two all-area linemen in Ryan Hernandez and Anthony Phillips looking to pave even more running room for #32 in 2004. Also back is All-SWYL wideout Garrett Anthony (who had over 700 yards receiving and 7 TD’s), and defensive standouts Aaron Baughman (DE), Ben Ossai (DL), and Mitch Farley (CB). Farley should also get some playing time on offense, where Mike Jones (WR) and Sergio Hernandez (RB) should fill in nicely for departing seniors Travis Arburua (RB) and Josh Scurlock (QB). Ojukwu accounted for over 70% of Stockdale’s total yards from the line of scrimmage last year, so their offensive output shouldn’t miss a beat. Look for the Mustangs to not only be a favorite to win this game against Tehachapi, but be an outside favorite to win the Large School Yosemite CIF Title. This one will be tough, the Mountain Defense will need to be ready. Garces Rams This game could possibly signal in Tehachapi’s homecoming…but with the schedule not approved completely (this might be an away game), it’s not a lock....so don’t get too excited. But, if this does end up being the homecoming game, that’s definitely one perk to having Garces out of the league…what better than to have your biggest rival on homecoming night? Wouldn’t have it any other way, would you? Garces has a lot of baggage to sort out for their 2004 run. While it might be considered an honorable gesture to have a school with 500+ students receive a ticket to the Yosemite bracket division, the timing couldn’t be worse. Garces is a far cry away from their days of Adam Cook, D.T. Hronis, Matt Pearl, Clint Tobias, and the Antongiovani’s. In fact, if it wasn’t for returning runningback Braxton Tarver, the Rams would be in trouble…serious trouble…heading into next fall, assuming that some late transfers don’t eek their way into the fold before next season commences.
Incoming: Garces runningback Braxton Tarver braces for a hit against the tenacious Tehachapi Defense in last year’s SSL contest. I suppose it’s not as bad as I’m making it out to be as far as the Rams go. One feather in the cap of 2nd year head coach David Fannuchi is the fact that most (practically all) of his players experienced significant playing time last season. Along with Tarver’s 1,020 yards and seven scores, Quarterback Jake Cauzza is back for another year after firing for over 400 yards passing and nine touchdowns. The Rams will also have a few good two-way lineman returning in Noe Flores and Joaquin Villareal, and some decent supporting cast on the ground in Nathan Tudor, who had a 5.8 ypc and a score, and Clint Keown, who was a nice addition to the Tarver running game with over 400 yards rushing on the year. Overall, Garces will have to rely on experience to fair well next year…and don’t look for Garces to receive much help from the underclassmen…the Ram junior varsity squad ended with a 1-9 (1-4 SSL) record, their only win coming against Wasco.
The next weekly warrior (February) will highlight Tehachapi’s south sequoia league games, part three (march) will touch on some of the playoff opponents that the Warriors could potentially face....and part four (april) will highlight the returnee's and up-and-comers for the Mountain Men next season...stay tuned!
Questions? Concerns? Corrections? Praises? Send Tom Shea an email, he'd like to hear from you. |
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