Submitted by Coach Lindsey Cota

9/26/18 - Fillmore vs. Nordhoff; Score: 10 - 1 Nordhoff

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9/27/18 - Fillmore vs. Villanova; Score: 26 - 0 Villanova

Although the scores may not reflect it, our boys are improving and made some improvements from the first game to the second this week. Every team we've played has brought a different strength to the table, so every game so far has been a major learning opportunity for our players.

The biggest issue our kids face is probably conditioning. This is a fairly new program for our high school and we really struggle with recruiting our male students to come out and give the sport a shot. Not being able to have that depth on the bench kills us every single game. Imagine running a football program with little more than the 11 players required on the field. There are no breaks in each quarter and play is continuous, so with very few subs to give our players the breaks they so need, it becomes difficult for them to keep up with teams that are able to field every required position two or even three times over. I've definitely seen improvement from year to year, but next year I'd like for our kids to come out of the gate with a serious fighting chance so we're going to have to hit both the conditioning and recruiting hard.

For the rest of this season we're going to have to find a way to be confident enough in our actions on the field to play aggressively and commit to our choices even if that means making mistakes. Although, like every other coach, I'd obviously prefer that they occur during practices and not during games, as long as we can learn from them and not repeat them, I'm all for the mistakes. It comes with the territory of a new program and provides us with learning opportunities to build off of. I'm looking forward to watching these boys improve through the rest of this season and particularly, the fact that we get to see all of these teams again. That'll be a great way for us to be able to markedly see the improvements we've made as a team and individually this season.

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Submitted by FHS Tennis Coach Lolita Bowman

Fillmore high school girls tennis traveled to Nordoff high school on September 25. The final score was Fillmore 1, Nordoff 17. Two days later, we traveled to Santa Paula high school where the final score was Fillmore 3, Santa Paula 15. With my humble and young tennis team of three years, I have learned that it is not about the end result, but the times in between. The smiles that I see when new tennis players like Valerie Esparza and Stephanie Garcia hit a great shot, or when they ace their opponent is fulfilling for me as a coach. Frustration is also great to witness as they care about playing better against their opponents. Playing well is what I witness on the courts, and I am happy to teach them a lifelong sport as my friends and I enjoy to this day. This week we play Hueneme high school, ending our first round of play with schools in our league. We will be playing against the same schools for the second time in the weeks to come. I share this famous quote by the late Arthur Ashe as I shared with my players, “You are never really playing an opponent, you are playing yourself, your own highest standards, and when you reach your limits that are real joy.”

Below are the SoCal Fillmore Bears game results for Saturday, September 22nd: SoCal Fillmore Bears Gremlins (away game) vs. Burbank Vikings 50-26, Bears. SoCal Fillmore Bears Pee Wee (away game) vs. Moorpark Musketeers 22-0, Bears. SoCal Fillmore Bears Bantams (away game) vs. Highland Bulldogs 40-14, Bulldogs. SoCal Fillmore Bears Juniors (away game) vs. North Oxnard Warriors 42-6, Warriors. SoCal Fillmore Bears Seniors (away game) vs. Highland Bulldogs 25-12, Bears.
This Saturday’s games will September 29th: SoCal Fillmore Bears Gremlins vs. HIgland Bulldogs 8am at Fillmore High School. SoCal Fillmore Bears Pee Wee vs. Valley Rams 10:15am at Fillmore High School. SoCal Fillmore Bears Bantams vs. Santa Clarita Chiefs 12:30pm at Fillmore High School. SoCal Fillmore Bears Juniors vs. Highland Bulldogs 5pm at Fillmore High School. SoCal Fillmore Bears Seniors vs. Santa Clarita Seminoles 2:45pm at Fillmore High School.

Submitted by Head Coach Lindsey Cota

9/19/18: Varsity- Fillmore vs. Hueneme - Final Score: 15 - 4 Hueneme

We honestly should have had a close game and possibly even won that one, but several of our kids are new to the sport and had never even seen a game before, let alone played in one. Honestly, we made a lot of mistakes, but it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for a young team. I'm glad they got to make mistakes without feeling too defeated, and can now see how competitive they can and should be. Hopefully they also see that the seemingly little things that we go over in practice are significant, and we can learn from yesterdays mistakes. Looking forward to playing Hueneme again this season, and I think the boys are too...we're out for a little redemption.

On Friday, the Cross country teams participated in the Raider Invitational in Oxnard on the College Park Course. This meet had a starting time of 1 P.M. and featured 3 divisions, boys and girls Frosh-Soph, Junior Varsity and Varsity. The course is run mostly on grass with some dirt road over 3 Mile race.

The girls Frosh-Soph kicked of the day with a surprising new leader, Isabella De La Cruz, who finished 41st in a time of 22:40.99, a personal best. She was followed by Angelica Herrera 69th in 23:30.22, Jasmine Vega 179th in 27:06, Emma Ortiz 189th in 27:28.87, Isabel De La Cruz 190th in 27:37.28, and Daisy Guerrero 238th in 33:27.15.

In the Frosh-Soph boys race Jesse De La Cruz tempoed his way to a 25th place finish in 18:05.47. He was followed by Matt Munoz 29th in 18:11.73, James Flores 82nd in 19:41.03, Andres Gonzalez 145th in 20:43.37, Alotl Aparicio 208th in 22:04.02, Eneyin Ortega 215th in 22:16.25, and Anthony Estrella 232nd in 23:04.95.

Emma Orozco led the Junior Varsity girls finishing in 71st place in a time of 24:46.71, she was shadowed by teammate Eva Vieyra who finished one step back in 72nd place in 24:47.72.

In the Junior Varsity boys race Alex Recancoj ran to a 13th place finished and posted a personal best time of 17:42.59, Alex Manzo finished in 19th in a time of 17:58.32. Both these boys medaled. They were followed by Jesus Cadena 24th in 18:08.81, Andrew Otineru 50th in 18:54.8, Jorge Acevedo, 58th in 19:02.89, Luis Leon 90th in 19:54.32, and Daniel Cruz 105th in 20:16.93.

The Varsity girls were led by a determined front running Carissa Rodriguez, Carissa Led from wire to wire and ran away from a strong group of competitors that included the number one ranked team in Division 4, Foothill Technology and Moorpark the number 5 ranked team in Division 3. She was supported by teammates Diana Perez 7th in 18:59.42, Vanessa Avila 13th in 19:29.45, and Nicole Gonzalez 27th in 20:07.27, and Ebony Venegas 66th in 21:59.22. The first three Fillmore athletes were awarded individual medals for their exceptional finish place

The Varsity boy’s top runner for the second time this season was sophomore Rey Laureano. In a quality field, Rey finished in 14th place in a time of 16:13.9 and was the lone medal recipient in this race. He was followed by Nick Villela 24th in 16:23.27, Jesse Martinez 35th in 16:44.55, Fabian Del Villar 42nd in 16:53.03, Davis Flores (place and time N/A), and Erick Gutierrez 67th in 17:22.35.

The Flashes will next compete on Tuesday, 10/02 in Fillmore on our home course at Elkins Golf Course. The meet will start at 4 P.M... We hope to see you there.

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Submitted by Coach Dave Mac Donald

Fillmore lady Flashes traveled to Santa Barbara for its first Citrus View match of the season this past Thursday and came home with a well played 2nd place finish! FHS was led by Alyssa Ibarra who finished 3rd in the individuals with a score of 50. Of special note was the score of Senior Daisy Santa Rosa who shot a 58, her first time under 60 in a match. The ladies continue to represent the community of Fillmore with their outstanding sportsmanship which always brings praises from the other coaches. Our next league match will be at Elkins on September 27th.

Below are the Fillmore Raiders game results for Saturday, September 15th:

Raiders Mighty Mites Black had a Bye week. Raiders Mighty Mites Silver (away game) vs. Saugus Silver 36-0, Raiders. Raiders Bantams (away game) vs. SC Grizzles 18-12, Grizzlies. Raiders Sophomores (away game) vs. Camarillo 22-0, Camarillo. Raiders Juniors (away game) vs. Carpinteria 38-6, Raiders. Raiders Seniors (away game) vs. Newbury Park 28-14, Newbury Park.
This week’s games will be September 22nd: Raiders Might Mites Black vs. Valley Thunder 8am at Fillmore High School. Raiders Mighty Mites Silver has a Bye week. Raiders Bantams vs. Saugus 10am at Fillmore High School. Raiders Sophomores vs. Simi Valley Bulldogs 12pm at Fillmore High School. Raiders Juniors vs. Mid-Valley 12pm at Fillmore High School. Raiders Seniors vs. Camarillo 4pm at Fillmore High School.

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Courtesy FHS Tennis Head Coach Lolita Bowman

The final score with the match against Laguna Blanca was Fillmore 3, Laguna Blanca 15. Singles player Stephanie Garcia scoring one point for Fillmore and doubles teams Maria Gonzales/Amairani Aragon and Karime Renteria/Valerie Esparza scoring the two additional points. I wasn’t surprised when the opposing coach mentioned the good integrity of the girls playing for Fillmore High School. I also see this wonderful quality when I am with this bunch of girls. Briana, Maria, Karime, Amairani, Jessica, Valerie, Michelle, Valerie and Melissa are all a joy to have on the team. I can say that this nice group of girls have supportive parents and are devoted to the game of tennis, explaining it all. Remember, being able to play this sport takes a lot of effort. Learning how to serve, volley, hit forehands and backhands are only a few skills among many to learn. During a match, I see smiling faces as they score points on the court; a well deserved emotion as many hours of practice have been endured. The girls are playing well as they have been putting in the effort running sprints, jumping rope and completing drills. One drill, I have nicknamed “the Massachusetts drill” works on two goals: hit a lob over the net player’s head and keep moving on the court. Working on strategies to score more points on the court is a primary goal after basic skills are learned. Finally, This week we play against Malibu and Carpinteria. Go Flashes!

Submitted by Head Coach Tanya Gonzales
On September 6th the Lady Flashes kicked off league against Nordhoff. Scores were: Varsity 12-25, 10-25, and 12-25. Stand out players were Emma Ocegueda 11 digs and Tori Gonzales with 2 serving aces and 9 digs. JV 13-25, 15-25 & Frosh 20-25, 25-27.

On September 11th Fillmore hosted Santa Paula. Scores were: Varsity won 25-16, 25-20, and 25-20. Stand out players were Jessica Velasquez had 4 aces and 7 digs, Emma Ocegueda 3 aces and 13 digs, Tori Gonzales 11 digs, 5 kills, and 7 assists. JV won 25-19 and 27-25 & Frosh lost 10-25, 25-17, and 8-15.

On September 13th the Flashes hosted Hueneme. Scores were: Varsity lost 21-25, 14-25, and 10-25, Stand out players were Jessica Velasquez with 5 serving aces 8digs and 2 kills, Emma Ocegueda 12 digs. JV won 25-22, 16-25, and 15-12 & Frosh won 25-21 and 25-14.