Perce's Kenpo Karate Studio had its annual karate tournament October 5 at Fillmore Middle School. There were over 130 students competing from schools from Ventura county and Los Angeles county. They had a special guest featuring Hyper Pro Jacob Pinto. Jacob is one of the top martial artist in the naska tournament circuit.

Forms divisions 4-5 yrs. yellow-orange belt 2nd place Jaime Serna. 4-5 yrs. white-orange 3rd place Gabby Perce. 6-7 yrs. white-yellow 1st place Wendy Romero, 3rd place Omar Gamboa, participation Jachob Hernandez, Daniel Salazar. 7-9 yrs. yellow-orange participation Joey Shane, Manuel Valenzuela. 6-7 yrs. Orange 2nd place Brody Addison, participation Edward Sumaran. 10-12 yrs. orange 1st place Chris Anderson, 4th place David Dunham, Participation Andy DeArcos. 8-10 yrs. blue-green 2nd place Ty Morris. 10-12 yrs. purple-green 3rd place Aaron Carranza, participation Desirae Topete.

Forms 8-10 yrs. Jr. 3rd & 2nd brown 3rd place Austin Gunter, 4th place Zackary Addison. Jr. 3rd & 2nd brown participation Erasmo Salazar, Justice Rodriguez, Dave Bustos Jr.. Jr. 2nd & 1st brown 2nd place Faith Bustos, 4th place Emiliano Pinedo, participation Samantha Gunter. Teens 3rd & 2nd brown 4th place Crystal Pinedo. Teen purple-blue 4th place Ivan Zepeda.
Adult 1st brown & black 2nd place Andy Topete, 3rd place Samuel Hernandez.
Teen-adult 1st brown-black 3rd place Anthony Murray. Self defense division winners are jr. Self Defense 1st place Austin Gunter, 2nd place Justice Rodriguez, 3rd place Zackary Addison. Adult self defense 1st place Samuel Hernandez, 2nd place Samantha Gunter. Jr. Showmanship 3rd place Faith Bustos. Adult showmanship 1st place Anthony Murray, 2nd place Andy Topete.

Sparring division winners are 5-7 yrs. yellow-orange 3rd place Edward Sumaran. 9-11 yrs. blue-green participation Celeste Aguilera. 8-10 yrs. green-jr 3rd brown 3rd place Justice Rodriguez. 11-12 yrs. jr. 2nd brown 2nd place Emiliano Pinedo. Teens 1st place Angel Rodriguez, 4th place Crystal Pinedo. Adults 3rd place Javier Rodriguez. We are proud of all the students who participated in Perce's Kenpo Karate Annual Tournament.

Last Friday night Fillmore traveled to Moorpark College to take on the Grace Brethren Lancers. After suffering their first loss of the season against Santa Paula Fillmore looked to get back on track with a win.

It was another low scoring affair with no one scoring in the first quarter. Grace Brethren got the ball first. However they fumbled the ball away with 5:19 left in the first quarter. Fillmore took the ball and proceeded to take the lead thanks to a touchdown by Justin Coert with 10:52 left in the second quarter. The Lancers got the ball back. They were doing whatever they could to get in to the end zone. The Fillmore defense came through once again and intercepted the Lancers pass with 6:01 left in the second quarter. Fillmore couldn't score and they lead at halftime 6-0. The Flashes got the ball and scored again a touchdown run by Carson Mclain. The Lancers tried to stage a comeback after Fillmore fumbled he ball away with 7:59 left in the game. They turned that into a touchdown with 5:49 left. Fillmore lead 13-6 after Grace Brethren failed on a 2 point conversion. The Lancers then stopped Fillmore on their next possession and got the ball back. Fillmore's defense was able to snap any hope that the Lancers had of a come back as Fillmore took the win 13-6. Good luck to the Lancers on the rest of the season. They play at Malibu next Friday. With the win the Flashes move up to a 4-1 record over all and a 1-0 record in league. The Flashes travel to Santa Clara (Oxnard) next week. JV plays on thursday at 4 and Varsity plays Friday at 7. Good luck Flashes.

The Girls' Varsity Cross Country team recently travelled to Stanford University to compete at the Stanford Invitational. The team had an outstanding performance led by Senior Kiana Hope. The team placed 12th overall to the 33 teams that participated. (5k times: Kiana Hope 20:06, Lupita Perez 20:12, Alexis Tafoya 20:24, Jordyn Vassaur 21:18, Sofia Gallardo 22:07, Marisol Martinez 22:34 and Briana Segoviano 22:34)

The Flashes played rival Santa Paula last Friday and came back with a loss. It wasn’t quite the game most expected it to be. Santa Paula won 14-7. With that being said both defenses played great. Santa Paula scored the games first touchdown in the first quarter to go up 7-0. The Flashes defense held strong only allowing only 1 first half touchdown. However the Flashes offence couldn’t get started as quarterback Carson McLain threw 1 interception in the first half. Santa Paula scored again in the 3rd quarter to go up 14-0. Carson McLain scored Fillmore’s only touchdown of the game on a quarterback sneak with 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Fillmore appeared that they were going to force overtime though as they had the ball on the 20 with less than 1 minute left in the game. However, on 3rd down Carson McLain was sacked for a loss and on the next play McLain’s pass was batted down. The Flashes lost 14-7.

Hats off to the Cardinals. Great job on the win. Notable players for Santa Paula were Daniel Kohr and Noel Magana. Notable players for the Flashes were Andrey Sanchez and Daniel Flores. Good luck to Santa Paula on the rest of their season as they play Albert Einstein Academy (Santa Clarita). The Flashes travel to Santa Clara (Oxnard). JV plays on Thursday and Varsity Plays on Friday. Better luck next year Flashes.

Eighty-nine years ago a rivalry was born. Times have changed. Back in 1924 The Model-T was probably the hottest car you could own. Calvin Coolidge was president. Gas was 21-cents a gallon. A new car cost on average $398. A new house cost on average $7,720. Times have changed. One thing has stayed the same though. That one thing is the Fillmore vs. Santa Paula game.

Only twice during that time did Fillmore and Santa Paula not play. Those years were 1942 and 1969. This game means a lot to a lot of people.

“No matter where you are in the country you always want to know what happened in that game, its tradition,” said Joe Woods who experienced this rivalry from 1975-1978 along with his step-dad Robert Spitler (1936-39), brother-in-law Javier Aguilar (1970-74), Shane Woods (late 80’s/early 90’s), Robby Aguilar (late 90’s/ early 2000’s) and his nephew JD Smallwood (2008-2011). Joe even coached this rivalry. “It’s in our veins” Woods said.

When I asked Kameron Klein of Santa Paula what this rivalry means to him he said, “Two towns pitted against each other to play for bragging rights. It’s unbelievable. You can win CIF and [still] have a bad year because you lost against Fillmore.”

Eighty-nine years and 102 games. That’s a long time. As a matter of fact that’s longer than the UCLA vs. USC rivalry. I asked Joe and Kameron why this rivalry went on so long. Joe simply said, “There wouldn’t be a football season without playing Santa Paula”. He also stated, “Not playing Santa Paula would be like eating the ice cream cone without the ice cream.” Kameron said, “We’re so close that it would be wrong to not play each other,” adding, “Its tradition and some traditions shouldn’t be broken”.

What makes this rivalry so special is that it has been going on for generations. Some kids who recently played or are playing have had parents who played, grandparents who played, great-grandparents who played, and maybe even great-great-grandparents who played. Not only that but you grew up playing with some of the kids you played against whether you played for the Fillmore Raiders or the Santa Paula football league. And… we’re only 9 miles apart!

I even asked Joe and Kameron what their favorite game was playing for their respective teams. Joe said his was “Junior year in 1977 when I started against Santa Paula and we beat them 6-0 in Santa Paula and held them to 0 yards passing for 0 completions”. Kameron said his was the 101st game against Fillmore. “It was a game full of huge momentum shifts. I remember we were down 20-23 in the second overtime facing a 4th and 3 with the game on the line. Both crowds were going crazy. The Fillmore crowd was chanting DEFENSE! The Santa Paula crowd was chanting OFFENSE! It was defining. I remember the game was on my shoulders to get the first down and I did and we won the game 26-23.”

There is always a buzz around both schools and towns during rivalry week. Good luck Flashes and Cardinals. A lot is on the line this week. Live it up. It is expected that there is going to be a sell-out crowd and it’s going to be electric.

Maria "Lupita" Perez

The Fillmore High boys cross country team is off to a strong season. Led by Junior Jorge Hurtado, the flashes have been building up the boys side after graduating 6 state champions last season. Jorge led the Fillmore Flashes at the Seaside Invitational as well as at the Fastback Shootout at Mt. San Antonio College

The Fillmore High girls varsity cross country team, led by sophomore Maria "Lupita" Perez at the Seaside Invitational. Lupita also led the lady Flashes at the Fastback shootout this past Saturday at Mt. San Antonio College. She has been a great addition to the team and we are excited to see her throughout the season.

The Fillmore Flashes flexed their muscles again Friday night as they beat the visiting Bosco Tech Tigers 48-0. Fillmore kicked the ball off first. The defense held as Bosco Tech punted the ball away. Fillmore took over on their own 35 yard lineas they used a series of passes by quarterback Carson McLain to set up a touchdown by Hayden Wright with 8:56 left in the first quarter. The defense held once again and the offence took over on the tigers 25 yard line. A few plays later Carson McLain hooked up with Carlos Briceno for another touchdown. Fillmore took over in the second quarter looking to extend on their 2 touchdown lead. Fillmore went up 21-0 on a 20 yard touchdown by Adam Jimenez. Fillmore proceeded to go up 27-0 on a touchdown by Andrey Sanchez. Fillmore threatened to score again before the half as Justin Coert recovered a fumble. The threat didn't come to pass. Fillmore went in at half up 27-0. Fillmore received the ball to start the second half.

The second half proved to be more of the same as Fillmore's defense held strong. The offence started the second half with an 80 yard burst by Hayden Wright. Adam Jimenez followed that up with another touchdown run. The Tigers recovered the ball with 7 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and Justin Coert scored another touchdown for the Flashes. Fillmore slowed the pace down in the 4th quarter as they beat up Bosco tech 48-0. Some notable players for the Flashes were Hayden Wright, Andrey Sanchez, Justin Coert, and Carson McLain. Good job to the defense and good luck to Bosco Tech on the rest of their season as they play Westminster High School next Friday. The Flashes meanwhile look to keep their perfect 3-0 season intact as they play at rival Santa Paula next Friday.

Fillmore Unified School District

This FRIDAY the Flashes will be traveling to Santa Paula for the 103rd Meeting of the Counties longest rivalry. Gates will open no later than 4PM. The JV Game will begin at 4:30, followed by Varsity at 7:30PM. Pre-Sale Tickets will be on sale at the Student Store until Noon on Friday. Adults are $7, Student and Children are $4 and Senior Citizens are $3.

Santa Paula High School Campus is currently under construction. There will be NO PARKING on Palm Court as well as on 5th Street from the baseball field south to Santa Paula Street. Guests can park on 5th Street North to Virginia Terrance as well as other surrounding areas.

Please note that Santa Paula will not allow guests to “re-enter” once they choose to leave the field and anyone entering with bags, backpacks, etc. may be subject to search.

The Fillmore Flashes traveled to Saint Genevieve last Saturday night. Despite a good effort by the Valiants it was the Flashes who came out on top. Fillmore scored the first touchdown of the game on a run by Andrey Sanchez with 9 minutes left in the first quarter. Saint Genevieve came back with a touchdown of their own to get within 1 point of the Flashes after their extra point attempt was blocked. Fillmore lead 7-6 after the first quarter. Fillmore expanded their lead to 10-6 thanks to a field goal by Joseph Magana. Saint Genevieve scored a touchdown and Fillmore went into the locker room at halftime trailing 13-10.

In the 3rd quarter Fillmore took the lead back thanks to a touchdown by Justin Court to take a 17-13 lead with about 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter. However, the Valiants were able to score 6 more points as the Flashes trailed 17-19 with one quarter to play. Fillmore opened up the 4th quarter with another touchdown from Andrey Sanchez taking a 24-19 lead with 11 minutes left in the game. The Flashes defense held strong as the Valiants couldn’t score another point. Fillmore won its second game in a row to start off the year 2-0 while Saint Genevieve drops to 1-1. Good luck to the Valiants on the rest of their season as they play Mission Prep (San Luis Obispo) on the 14th. The Flashes look to improve on their 2-0 record next Friday here at home as they play Bosco Tech (Rosemead, CA).

Enlarge Photo

Friday night marked the first game of the football season for the Fillmore Flashes as they played the Desert Scorpions. The Scorpions struck first 6-0 after their extra point was blocked. Desert got the ball back only to give up a safety with 8:16 left in the first quarter. Fillmore added two touchdowns to go up 16-6 after the first quarter. However, no one scored in the second quarter and Fillmore went in to the locker room at halftime leading 16-6. The running game worked well for the flashes. However, they only passed the ball three times and completed one.

The second half started out the same way as the first with the Scorpions scoring the first touchdown to get within three points. However, that’s all they would manage to score as the Flashes defense held strong. Fillmore scored 4 touchdowns in the 3rd quarter, the last one coming with 38 seconds left on the clock. That would be the last touchdown of the game as there were zero points scored in the 4th quarter. Good luck to both teams on the rest of their season. The Scorpions stay on the road next week as they travel to play Vasquez on the 6th. The Flashes play their first road game of the year as they travel to play St. Genevieve (Panorama city) on the 7th.