The Frontier High School Titans mascot.
Posted by thswarriors.com on September 14, 2008 SSL Ramblings ...
Warriors Heading For A New Frontier
Down In Bakersfield
As the shock of losing to the Garces Rams on the mountain wears off, the Warriors must quickly refocus and concentrate on their next opponent. This is a first time meeting between an older, well storied Tehachapi High School and a brand new high school in Frontier from Bakersfield.
Frontier High School, founded in 2006, began their football program last season. "At Frontier, we are very excited to be placed in the very competitive Southwest Yosemite League ... and for the first year, we have seniors," said first year Coach Rich Cornford. "We expect to compete very well, as our players are working hard in the off-season to get themselves prepared to compete at a very high level."
The Frontier Titans were a freelance team for their first year of football, but they have moved quickly into a strong league. All starters return for this season. The Frontier Titans have plenty of depth and competition at all positions, but they must overcome the challenge of learning new offensive and defensive schemes.
The Titans finished with a final 3-8 record in 2007.
Around the SSL This Week ...
Taft improved to 2-0 with a lopsided 49-0 victory over Avenal. Taft's JV team could have beaten Avenal 49-0. What the heck was Taft doing scheduling Avenal, population 500, for a game?
Arvin defeated Foothill (Bakersfield) by a narrow 30-29 count, look out for Arvin this year, they could be a little tougher than opponents anticipated. Wasco, as expected, walloped Mcfarland 55-13 for their first victory of the season. And Delano shutout Shafter 36-0. Shafter, 1-9 in 2007, could be in for another long season.
Bakersfield Christian, after losing their opening game to Oaks Christian, had a "bye" week this past Friday.
Segerstrom returned to Southern Section action this past week and routed Century of Santa Ana, 42-0. Segerstrom is now 1-1 after losing to the Warriors on September 6.
Segerstrom followed up their opening week loss to Tehachapi with a 42-0 win over Century of Santa Ana.
New Stadium In The Works For The Warriors?
The day could come when the Warriors move out of historic Coy Burnett Field and establish a new home at a state-of-the-art stadium on the current high school campus. After all, its in the high school master plan. This plan may be further along than some people think as the current Tehachapi High School Athletic Director is rumored to be courting major sponsors to finance the planned improvements for the new stadium.
At some point when this plan comes to fruition, what will become of old Coy Burnett Field --- home to some 50 years plus of Warrior memories? Will the name of the field move to the new stadium along with the Warriors --- or will the name remain with the old field?
We bring this up because once upon a time the Warrior football program played at Orris Imhof Field --- directly west of Coy Burnett Field. The Warriors played at Imhof Field from 1930 until 1957. Signage proudly stood at the entry gate to the field stating "Imhof Field".
But time and weather brought the old sign --- and the memory of Orris Imhof --- down. What a shame. Will this also be the fate of Coy Burnett Field at some point in the future?
A beautiful black-and-white picture of Mr. Imhof is displayed on a wall in the administrative offices of the new high school. Who was this guy we have forgotten? Well, he WAS Mr. Tehachapi High School.
Tehachapi High had its humble beginnings in 1928 when 22 students began the school year in an old apartment building. The effort to establish a high school in Tehachapi was led by Mr. Imhof. Before the high school in Tehachapi was established, students would have to take the long bus ride to Bakersfield. A local ballot measure was passed in 1928 to build a new high school and the new facility was constructed in time for the 1930-31 school year. Approximately 94 students walked through the doors of the new high school.
Mr. Imhof was the sole faculty member and Principal during the 1928-29 school year. He went on to serve as the (first) school Principal from 1928-1939. As a tribute to Mr. Imhof, the athletic field south of the (old) high school campus was named in his honor.
It would be wonderful to see a new tribute or a monument to Mr. Imhof erected in the current stadium or the new stadium. He's certainly very deserving and a part of school district history that should not be forgotten.
Orris Imhof led the effort to establish Tehachapi High School.
Celebrating Our 8th Anniversary: thswarriors.com
This website has been online now for eight years! It's been an amazing ride to see the growing popularity of the site year-after-year. In the past year, we have received close to 20,000 "hits" --- with 50% of those hits coming during the primary 12 week high school football season.
While most folks that surf into the site are from California, we get a lot of curious lookers from all over the country, including #2 Maine and #3 Texas. Our Google Analytics program informs us that over the past 12 months, the majority of our hits come from the Bakerfield area, Tehachapi is #2, and the general Los Angeles area is #3. Our sense is that alumni and family from all over the country are keeping up with the Warriors through the website. It' also clear to us that Warrior opponents like to keep tab on the Warriors as well.
It's important to recognize Tom Shea for the tremendous job he does reporting and marketing the Warrior athletic program. Many years ago, he approached this website about opportunities to cover the Warrior football program. The THS alum, and CSU Bakersfield grad, was able to put his writing skills to work and created quite a following with his "Weekly Warrior" column. His work expanded to cover both the Braves and Indians. He is now the Sports Information Director for the Warriors and covers all sports as a part-time reporter for the Tehachapi News. Next time you see Tom, take a moment to thank him for the tremendous job he does promoting the Warriors. Most small communities are not fortunate to have a local high school writer like Tom.
And finally, we encourage your feedback about the ad free Warrior website. If you have comments or suggestions, please contact the webmaster at the e-mail address listed below.
Tom Shea contributes to thswarriors.com with his "Weekly Warrior" column.
You can e-mail the webmaster regarding this column at bigesports@yahoo.com
