Weekly Warrior

STOCKDALE STING Warriors lose tough one against SWYL power Mustangs

SWARMING MOUNTAIN D- The Tehachapi defensive-line plowed by the Mustang front-five early and often, but Tom Brezenski (#1) still snuck a couple of passes by to help give Stockdale the win in Bakersfield, 20-0.

Posted 10-01-05

Ask anyone but Tehachapi coaches, players, and fans...this one was to be expected. Just about anyone you talked to, they had Mustangs winning the game...albeit not by a significant margin, giving nod to the rich tradition of Mountain Football.

It's tough proving people right. But none-the-less, a loss was suffered.

The Warriors were confident heading into this one, as they should have been coming into the game with two convincing wins. On the flipside, Stockdale was coming off of two losses, but to a couple of solid football teams in Bakersfield and Clovis.

The difference in this game? It definitely wasn't the Stockdale efficiency, having suffered from a fair grab of fumbles and 16 overall penalties.

KING OF STOCKDALE - When Kenny Shanahan (#2) started warming up on the North Field prior to game action, a tough match for the Warriors was on. Shanahan finished with 182 yards rushing on the night.

If you wanted to point a finger, put it on Kenny Shanahan, who returned for the first time since suffering an injury in a week 1 win over Atascadero. He did most of the dirty work against Tehachapi, and was very difficult to stop. The good news for the Warriors though, they wont have to face a back of his caliber until Ben Estill and the Taft Wildcats comes to town in a couple of weeks.

20-0 is far from the end of the world. In the grand scheme of the Warriors mission, this game didn't mean all too much. It's just another pre-season game.

TOUGH GOINGS - The Warrior offense didn't find the endzone for the first time in 26 games. The last time the Warriors were shutout, it was against Clovis East at Lamonica Stadium, 27-0. The Warriors would go on to win the CIF Championship that same year.

The bigger concern probably came when final scores were announced from other pre-league games of SSL foes. Notably, Golden Valley hanging tough with a very good Burroughs squad in a 35-28 loss. The Bulldogs used their skilled position players to the utmost in this contest, putting up an output that represents how much Golden Valley has matured. Week 10 might be an SSL deciding game, folks.

Another score was Taft, who demolished Santa Maria 42-14. Taft High Head Coach Steve Sprague predicted 33-13 heading into the game...he was close. But, you got to give credit to the Wildcats for putting up solid wins even though they've had a few players quit the team in the past few weeks for lack of playing time. The notable name is Elijah LeClair, who left the team in a tiff after his job was given to sophomore Dalton Botts after the Morro Bay loss.

Wasco trounced Parlier, and Shafter surprisingly fell flat on their face after a 3-0 start, losing 31-0 to Garces.

Ties will be renewed this week with the Rams...and after the past three weeks...and the fact that it's homecoming...it should be a very electric Friday night.

Stockdale is over and done. WAR (Warriors against Rams) is on again!

MOUNTAIN FOOTBALL VIDEO
Game-By-Game Video Highlights

	Boy, the game against Clovis East and Midland Lee must have been a great one. Clovis East represented California well, pulling out a thrilling 38-37 win in overtime, with an estimated 10,000 folks in attendance. As an added bonus, it was a victory on Midland's homecoming night! Great job, T-Wolves!
	Be sure to check out the Warriors stat sheet at the end of every weekend, which will have the latest and greatest on the defensive and offensive statistics for mountain football.
	THSWARRIORS.com PLAYERS OF THE WEEK WEEK 4 THSWARRIORS.com players of the week go to Levi Kerstiens and Steffan Bekker #75 Levi Kerstiens and #30 Steffan Bekker- PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Levi was all over the ball on the defensive line, helping to log in high marks in the stat column with seven tackles and a sack. Steffan was also a high leader in tackles, tacking in seven take-downs as well, many of them touchdown-saving tackles on Mustang runners. Bekker also got in the path of a field goal attempt in first half action to help nullify the try. Congrats to Levi and Steffan, THSWARRIORS.com PLAYERS OF THE WEEK!
	MOUNTAIN SCOUTING REPORT: Garces Rams (3-1) @ Tehachapi Warriors (2-2) Homecoming. Tehachapi vs. Garces. Does it get any better, folks? Before the season started, many Central Valley observers would have considered this a ‘gimmie game’ for Tehachapi. Four weeks into the season, no one is saying that now. In 2004, the inclusion to the newly re-vamped Southeast Yosemite League couldn't have come at a worst time for Garces and their record showed in a 2-9 (1-4 SEYL) stumble. Athletic Director Vince Fanucchi and most of the Garces coaching staff have squawked since day one at the fact that they have to play in the bigger and tougher Yosemite league...as have their parochial sister school San Joaquin Memorial, who has been bumped up to the North Yosemite League in Fresno. Overall, many of Garces key performers from last season are gone, with All-SEYL second team players Quarterback Jake Cauzza, Runningback Clint Keown, lineman Joaquin Villarreal, and Defensive Back Tommy Echechury lost to graduation. Despite the losses, the Rams are expected to return two All-SEYL second-teamers on the offensive line in Marshail Dietrich (#78) and Josh Carrera (#68), while also returning first-team SEYL linebacker Ryan Drakos (#33), who was also an all-area honorable mention. Expected to take snaps under center for the Rams is second-year Quarterback Brenden Barkete (#7), who threw for 332 yards in 2004 in significant playing time...mostly due to injury by Cauzza, who was thrown around like a rag-doll virtually all season long. Barkete is the heart and soul of this years’ Ram squad, having thrown for 584 yards on 42 completions, including seven touchdown strikes. THE ONE-2-WATCH - Tommy Barron (#16) was only a sophomore last season, but still ran for over 500 yards and a 8 yards per carry average. Garces expects big things from their young back this fall after a solid season as a 10th grader. The Rams are also hoping for big things from Tommy Barron (#16), who as a sophomore last season had over eight yards per rushing attempt for 564 yards overall. Barron turned some heads in the Ram's post season match-up with West last year, reeling off 126 yards and two scores against a stout Viking defense. Garces scored 25 points in the contest, with Barron the only real offensive force for the Rams in the 48-25 defeat. Barron has been hampered by injury this year, but returned to help Garces plow over Shafter last week 31-0 in a 49 yard performance on four carries. Barron is not alone in the backfield, with Garces expected to hand off early and often to Junior (#6) Xavier Tavorn, who has rushed for 252 yards on the year and reached the endzone five times. Junior runningback (#20) Stephen McDermott is also a rushing and receiving threat for the Rams, having rushed for 175 yards this season and catching six passes for 76 yards. On defense, Ben Sill (#65) leads the team in tackles with 30, and is assisted by some other talented down-linemen in Tony Rosales (#51), Zach Lewis (#87), and Nick Pruett (#72). Garces also has a solid secondary led by Jess Thomas (#24) and Brett Willis (#4), who will keep a close eye out for the Warrior short pass. The Rams also have at their disposal the before mentioned Ryan Drakos (#33), considered to be one of the best linebackers in the Central Valley this season. Tehachapi owns an overall 15-14-2 record over Garces. The Warriors won the last meeting between the two schools last season in a 21-6 victory at Sam Tobias Field. For a brief history of each of the games that the Warriors and Rams have played each other, click here. You can also view 2004 Weekly Warrior analysis and 2004 game stats of the last meeting between these two teams.
	Congrats to the 14-2-3 Tehachapi Varsity Volleyball team! The ladies dropped a best-out-of-three match against Ridgeview, but have whipped through the rest of the competition as of late. If you get a chance, go to the Lady Warrior Volleyball schedule and check out a future match if you can. Support your Lady Warrior Volleyball team!
	Be sure to tune in each week to get the latest new, highlights, and commentary! Thanks to all of you for logging in and supporting Tehachapi High School Warrior athletics!

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