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.

Perce’s Kenpo Karate recently had two students compete in the San Diego AKA American Open Martial Arts Championship.

Gabby Perce who is 4 years old and holds the rank of orange belt took 1st place in Kenpo Forms, 4th place in traditional forms, and 5th place in creative forms. She worked very hard to prepare for this tournament and her hard work paid off. Great Job Gabby!

Anthony Murray is a 1st degree black belt and took 1st place in Adult Kenpo Forms, and 2nd place in musical weapons. Anthony has become very proficient in his nunchux training and has worked very to prepare for this tournament. Anthony did an outstanding job representing our studio and we are very proud of him and his accomplishments.

Congratulations to both competitors they did an awesome job participating in the Hyper Camp in San Diego for two days and then went on to compete in the tournament their dedication is admirable. Congratulations Gabby and Anthony.

In October you can expect to see both Gabby and Anthony compete, and see an awesome karate demonstration by the students and a special celebrity Hyper Athlete at Perce’s Kenpo Karate’s Annual Tournament October 5th at the Fillmore Middle School.

Jose "Chepe" Lira

Fillmores Jose "Chepe" Lira wins 2nd MMA fight on August 18th 2013 at Mansions fights in North Hollywood ca. Jose stepped into the fight at 5'9 185 lbs. In the middle weight division v.s his opponent Pat Mcginty at 5'11 185lbs from Lancaster CA. The fight started out with Jose striking his opponent with a couple jabs which dazed Mcginty. Jose then struck him with a right straight to the face which landed Mcginty to the fence. Mcginty was hopelessly offending himself. As the two exchanged punches Jose ends up taking his opponent down to the ground. The fight becomes a sudden standoff once again. Jose dazed Mcginty luckily the end of the 1st round approached. The second round starts after a short 1 minute break. As the fight started jose hurts Mcginty. He was then showing obvious rage wanting to get jose back with bad intentions but was no match. Jose kept up with his leg kicks an head movements to avoid getting hit. Now the final 3rd round both opponents full of anticipation of wanting the win. Jose throws jabs as Mcginty shows extreme obvious signs of being dazed. Mcginty still wouldn't go down. Jose plays the last round smart knowing he has won the 1st and 2nd rounds. Jose throws faints to keep Mcginty at a distance while waiting on the bell to ring to get his win. Jose "Chepe" Lira won all three rounds in a superior fashion. He would proudly like to thank his family, friends girlfriend Brittany Gonzalez and coach Eric "Killa" Escoto for all their support. Jose looks forward to his next fight on November 3rd 2013.

In Peoria AZ at the Western National Championship Tournament in temperatures of over 100 degrees The Team in Pool Play started by beating Desert Thunder 14-0 and West Valley 6-3 sending Fillmore to the winner’s bracket. In bracket play they defeated Electric City Heat 8-0, Santee Gold 5-4 and suffered their first loss against Rancho Trabuco 2-0 sending them to the loser’s bracket.

On the loser’s bracket they battled their way and defeated Bonita Valley 6-1, Escondido Extreme 3-0, PQ Lightning 13-0 and Charter Oak 7-5. Leaving them to face Rancho Trabuco in the semi-final, The Team battled through 7 innings with a score of 0-0 sending them to international tie breaker. On the 8th inning with a runner on third, Jordyn Walla hit a textbook sacrifice bunt scoring Olivia Robledo for the winning run sending them to the championship game to face West Valley.

In game one of two; Pitcher Lexi Garza and her defense Held West Valley to a single run defeating them with a final score of 15-1. In game two Pitcher Jessie Fontes and her defense shut out west Valley for four innings, on the top of 5th inning West Valley scored a run and pitcher Jessie Fontes tagged out the second run at home for the third out. On Bottom of 5th inning with a runner on third Pitcher Jessie Fontes scored Audrey Clay for the tying run, the very next batter Olivia Robledo Hit a triple down right field scoring Jessie Fontes for the go ahead run. On the last inning with the tying run on third, Pitcher Jessie Fontes struck out the batter for out number three and earned Fillmore 10U B Gold the Western National Champion Title.

The Western National Champions are Isabella Ayala, Sabrina Bracamontes, Janeah Castro, Audrey Clay, Jamie Fontes, Jessie Fontes, Ciana Garcia, Lexi Garza, Zoie Isom, April Lizarraga, Olivia Robledo and Jordyn Walla. The team is managed by Jeff Fontes. Coaches are Louie Garza, Mario Robledo and Karen Fontes. Team mom is Maribel Garza.

Fillmore Girls softball is very proud of this group of Individuals and commend them on their accomplishments.

Fillmore Girls 10U All-Stars have qualified for Western B Nationals and will be traveling to Peoria AZ. to represent Fillmore July 31- Aug 4, 2013. Please come out and support their local fundraisers. Thursday July 25, 2013 we will be having a chicken drive thru dinner at the Fillmore Fire Station from 5-7:30pm. Your $10 donation will include chicken, rice, beans, salad, roll and drink.

Saturday July 27, 2013 we will also be having a $10 donation carwash from 9-1:00pm 847 Ventura St. across from 7-Eleven.