Lightning Football News...

Hello Lightning fans, summer is over and the campus is buzzing with excitement as Joshua Springs High School begins its 10th year as a school. This year JSHS has an enrollment of over 160 high school students which is a 25% increase over last year and the largest we have ever had. More students, mean more players and this year 32 players have come out for varsity football.

We were able to get Asst Coach Hagerman to give us a short interview about this year and what he likes about the team. "Speed" was his overall topic. "The Tim Krapivkin Offense, what we call TKO, will be fast. Tim has had a great summer and we are looking forward to begin this year's march to the championship game." Krapivkin was the QB of the JV team last year and they went undefeated also during regular season. Krapivkin is taking over the reins from Nate Rynning who was injured in last year's basketball playoffs and is unable to play football or basketball this year. This is a big loss for the program as Nate was coming off an all CIF year and his play had led the Lightning to back to back Agape League championships and two back to back trips to the CIF 8-man Championship finals. The good news is Nate should be able to play baseball this year which is his main sport. So, what about this TKO?

The coaches are very excited about Krapivkin. "He's fast and he is a really smart player, maybe the smartest I have coached!" said Coach Hagerman. "Tim is just a sophomore but he thinks like a leader." Who else will play a big part in the TKO? The Offensive line will be led by returners Bryan Bates and "Big" Jon Ashton. JC Roberts will be the center this year. At receiver we have returning Chris Bridenstine who had 17 catches for 276 yds and 4 TDs in 2002 (2nd place) and joining him is Kevin Adair who is one of the faster players on the team. The running backs will be returner Stephen Wilcox who ran for 526 yds on 101 carries (5.2 avg) and 6 TDs last year (2nd on the team) and the #1 rusher on the JV team, last year, Tony Garrido. Moving over to running backs this year will also be Jordan Leichtner and Jerry Thorn. Leichtner had 8 catches for 109 yds and 2 TD's last year at the tight end position.

Returners on defense from the 2002 squad, which allowed only 7.9 ppg (13 games) and created 5 shutouts, will be Leichtner (85 Tackles), Bridenstine (79 tackles), Wilcox (39 tackles), Bates (30 tackles) and Dustin Pourtemour starting at Nose Guard. Dustin will be filling the shoes of last year's graduate and Hi Desert Star's Player of the Year, Justin Peterson. "Dustin is fast and strong" said Coach Johnson. He'll be a big factor on defense. At defensive end we have Kyle Cleveland and Richard Ressa. So, will this year's team be as good as the 2002 squad? The only way to find out is to come to the games and be a part of the Lightning "Big Game" Experience.

The year's schedule is the toughest the Lightning has ever had to face. Five of the 9 games are against playoff teams from the 2002 year. The Lightning will play Southlands Christian and Bloomington Christian at home but have to play Riverside Christian, Hesperia Christian and Desert Christian-CSOD on their fields. It all starts on Sept. 19, 2003 at Lightning stadium when the Lightning take on Southlands Christian. Southlands Christian is in the small school 8-man league but they went undefeated, 9-0 last year. So, it is going to be a good one. The game will start at 7:00PM.

The their team will also start their season against Southland Christian. Their game starts at 4:00. so, come out early and catch two great games. Remember, everyone wearing a JSHS Purple football shirt gets in FREE! Bring some cash to pick up one of those Tri-Tip sandwiches and other goodies too! See ya there!