I’m coming home
Alma Mater Celebration. Photos courtesy Crystal Gurrola.
Alma Mater Celebration. Photos courtesy Crystal Gurrola.
Flashes beat Cardinals
FHS new spirit flag
FHS new spirit flag
Hayden Wright goes in for a touchdown after receiving a pitch back from 25 Andres-Andrade
Hayden Wright goes in for a touchdown after receiving a pitch back from 25 Andres-Andrade
11 Carlos Briceno runs for a first down
11 Carlos Briceno runs for a first down
44 Justin Coert and 5 Daniel Flores Stop Santa Paulas running game
44 Justin Coert and 5 Daniel Flores Stop Santa Paulas running game
61 Gil Sandoval and 31 Nick Liu Stop the run
61 Gil Sandoval and 31 Nick Liu Stop the run
Celebrating after receiving the helmet
Celebrating after receiving the helmet
Coach Dollar and Mr. Ito Pose with the Helmet
Coach Dollar and Mr. Ito Pose with the Helmet
Fillmore and Santa Paula Band Perform together
Fillmore and Santa Paula Band Perform together
Football team and Cheer Leaders Pose with helmet after exciting win
Football team and Cheer Leaders Pose with helmet after exciting win
Varsity Cheer
Varsity Cheer
Varsity Cheer Halftime
Varsity Cheer Halftime
Angel Velez with an interception
Angel Velez with an interception
Daniel Tafoya with a touchdown
Daniel Tafoya with a touchdown
Trysten Riddle Carries the ball for a first down while he gets a block from 40 Alex-Vargas
Trysten Riddle Carries the ball for a first down while he gets a block from 40 Alex-Vargas
Saul Santa Rosa dives into the end zone for a touchdown
Saul Santa Rosa dives into the end zone for a touchdown
40 Alex Vargas and 35 Anthony Aguilera with the help of a couple more flashes stop the play in the back field
40 Alex Vargas and 35 Anthony Aguilera with the help of a couple more flashes stop the play in the back field
50 Mylo Lieghton makes a tackle for a loss
50 Mylo Lieghton makes a tackle for a loss
J.V. Halftime Cheer
J.V. Halftime Cheer

Friday nights game proved to be an exciting one between Fillmore and Santa Paula. Its going to go down as one of the most exciting games in this 90 years long rivalry. This game always provides us with exciting finishes as was the case this time around. You could feel the electricity in the air as the fans were ready, and the players were ready.

The Cardinals received the ball first at the 33 yard line. On the first play from scrimmage the Cardinals rushed the ball 34 yards down to their own 33 yard line. Santa Paula got the ball into their own 20 yard line that set up a quarterback keeper for a touchdown to put them up 7-0 with 9:37 left in the 1st quarter. The Flashes started on offense with the ball on the 6 yard line of Santa Paula. Fillmore got a 1st down on a 10 yard pass. A personal foul against the Cardinals put the ball on their 32. The Cardinal defense stepped up and forced Fillmore to punt it away. Santa Paula got the ball on the 36, however they weren’t able to do anything with the ball and they were forced to punt it back. The Flashes returned the ball down to the 42 yard line. The Flashes had the ball 3rd and 6 at the 41 yard line, but a false start penalty forced them into a 3rd and 11 from the 47. The Flashes managed to gain 20 yards on the play making it 1st down and 10 yards to go from the 27. Andres Andrade rushed the ball 11 yards down to the 16 yard line. The Flashes handed the ball off to Andrade again and he rushed it down to the 1 yard line. Fillmore got on the board thanks to a quarterback sneak with 48 seconds left in the 1st quarter. The Cardinals lead 7-6 after Fillmore missed the point after attempt.

Santa Paula started the second quarter with the ball on the 40 yard line. Santa Paula took the ball 33 yards down to their 20 yard line. After 2 holding calls against them the Cardinals ran the ball 16 yards for a touchdown to go up 14-6. Fillmore started with the ball at the 19 yard line. The Cardinal defense stepped up and forced Fillmore to punt. Santa Paula started with the ball at Fillmore’s 33 yard line. The Cardinals ran the ball 15 yards down to the 18 yard line. On the next play the Cardinals fumbled the ball, and it was recovered by Fillmore at the Flashes 15 yard line. Once again the Cardinal defense stepped up and forced Fillmore to punt. Santa Paula called for a fair catch at their own 41 yard line. The Flashes defense had to keep the Cardinals from getting into the end zone and they did holding Santa Paula to a field goal, and with 3:48 left in the half Santa Paula extended their lead to 17-6. A penalty on the kick off gave the Flashes the ball at the 35 yard line to start their drive. Fillmore went for it on 4th down and the Cardinals stopped them, but a pass interference penalty gave Fillmore a 1st down at the 49 yard line. With the ball on the 39 yard line the Flashes handed the ball off to Andres Andrade who exploded for 30 yards before being brought down at the 9 yard line. Fillmore gave Andrade the ball again and he bounced off of tackled for a 9 yard touchdown. That cut Santa Paula’s lead to 17-13 with just a couple of minutes before halftime. Santa Paula started with the ball on the 27 yard line. A false start penalty pushed them back 5 yards to the 22 yard line. Santa Paula attempted a half back pass, but it was intercepted by Hayden Wright at the 48 yard line with just 40 seconds left before halftime. On the next play however, Fillmore fumbled the ball away to Santa Paula at the 41 yard line. An interception right before halftime halted the threat of a score by the Cardinals as Fillmore went into the locker room at half down by 4, 17-13.

Fillmore started with the ball at the 26 yard line. Fillmore passed the ball for a 1st down to the 39 yard line. Fillmore got the ball down to the 48 yard line where they handed the ball off to Hayden Wright for a 12 yard run down to the 36. They handed the ball off to Andres Andrade as he ran the ball 14 yards down to the 21. With the ball at the 19 yard line the Flashes handed the ball off to Hayden Wright for a 10 yard run with 7:38 left in the 3rd quarter. The Flashes handed the ball off to Justin Coert who took the ball 6 more yards down to the 3 to make it 3rd and goal from the 3 yard line. Fillmore went for it on 4th down and they didn’t make it, however a face mask penalty against Santa Paula gave the flashes new life down near the goal line. Santa Paula held Fillmore on 3 straight plays from the 1 yard line. Fillmore went for it on 4th down and goal from the 1 yard line. They handed it off to Andres Andrade, but Santa Paula met him with a wall of Cardinal defenders. In desperation Andrade pitched it back to Hayden Wright who scored a touchdown that no one will soon forget, and they put Fillmore up 20-17 with 5:31 left in the 3rd. Santa Paula looked to answer back as they started with the ball at the 33. The Cardinals were called for a chop block making it 2nd and 35 from the 28 yard line. The Cardinals drove the ball all the way down to the 12 yard line before they fumbled the snap and the ball was recovered by Fillmore. Santa Paula got the ball back on an interception at the end of the 3rd quarter.

Santa Paula went for a field goal to tie the game up, but it was blocked by the Flashes, and Fillmore recovered at the 36 yard line. The Cardinal defense held strong as they forced Fillmore to punt. The Cardinals started with the ball at the 31 yard line. Santa Paula ran it 13 yards down to the 44 yard line. On 3rd and 12 Santa Paula recovered their own fumble losing 4 yards in the process. The Cardinals punted the ball on 4th and 16 from the 50 down to the 12 yard line. Fillmore couldn’t do anything on offense as they were forced to punt the ball back to the Cardinals with 4:31 left in the game. On 3rd and 11 the Cardinals were stopped for a 1 yard loss and Santa Paula was forced to punt the ball back to Fillmore with 2:30 left in the game. Fillmore was able to sit on the ball as the seconds ticked away and they brought the helmet back home with them.

Fillmore won by a score of 20-17. This was a great game, both teams played very well. Good luck to Santa Paula on the rest of their season. The Cardinals play Oak Park next week in Santa Paula, meanwhile Fillmore travels to Santa Ynez to take on Santa Ynez high school. GO FLASHES!