State football championship: Tiny citrus belt town is abuzz about the Big Game

In this small town in the citrus belt of the southern San Joaquin Valley, everyone is talking about the state championship football game being played at Strathmore High on Saturday night.

The undefeated varsity team has a 14-0 record – a feat that by itself is a source of pride in the community. The Strathmore Spartans will battle Vallejo’s St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School for the California Interscholastic Federation Division VI-A state championship.

At Strathmore High, replicas of footballs jerseys with the name and number of each player are on classroom doors, and students are making spirit signs with slogans such as “Spartans Bring the Pain.”

With about 2,000 people expected to attend the game, there was talk of holding it in Porterville because the stadium at Granite Hills High has more seats.

But the “Friday Night Lights” vibe at Strathmore High, where regulars set up lawn chairs on the track surrounding the field, is part of the magic of the place. The school covered the field with a tarp to protect it from rain Thursday night and Friday.

At New Look Barber Shop on Orange Belt Drive, barber T.J. Ruiz said the town is getting into it: “I’ve never seen anything like this before. It’s a good feeling. These boys are doing something. We’re proud of these guys.”

Ruiz is a Strathmore High grad who played football back in the day.

“We never won a game,” he said. “We had to go both ways” – play offense and defense – because the roster was so small.

Like just about everybody else, Ruiz credits coach Jeromy Blackwell for the team’s success.

At the entrance of Strathmore High, there is a newspaper article from this season about Blackwell’s 100th victory. He has been head coach for 16 years.

Blackwell is a history teacher at Harmony Magnet Academy, which is next to the high school and whose students can participate in Strathmore High athletics. He is a Lindsay High grad who played football at College of the Sequoias and later at Fresno State under then-coach Pat Hill.

“He learned a lot from coach Pat Hill,” said Strathmore Athletic Director Ryan Born. “He’s very passionate. He’s a great all-around guy.”

Last Saturday, the varsity really got everyone’s attention by defeating a San Diego team, Horizon Christian Academy. Joseph Garcia led the way with 420 yards rushing and seven touchdowns in the 62-22 victory. A video of the touchdowns got a lot of attention and since that victory, a sense of anticipation has been building at the high school and in the community.

“There’s a lot of excitement,” Born said. “It’s a great culture right now. It’s very positive. People are very supportive.”

The game might be the biggest thing to happen in Strathmore athletically since “Lance Armstrong wiped out before he got there,” joked Kuyler Crocker, a Strathmore High grad who is president of the alumni club and who was just elected to the Tulare County Board of Supervisors. (Armstrong was in a bike race in 2010 that went along Tulare County back roads, but he had to drop out when he crashed near Exeter.)

Crocker credits Blackwell and the players, noting that when Garcia was interviewed, “he thanked the offensive line. That’s the type of mentality coach Blackwell is instilling in these young men.”

People in Strathmore are planning their Saturday strategy.

“The community is just so excited,” said Adele Sanchez, office manager at Strathmore Public Utilities District and a Strathmore High grad. “I plan on going at 3 p.m. to actually get a seat.”

She said she will walk to the game so she doesn’t have to worry about parking.

There are about 290 students at Strathmore High, and 35 – including a few from Harmony – are on the varsity football team.

“Everybody’s buzzing with excitement,” said Jeeven Larson, a 10th-grader at Harmony. “It’s the first time it’s happening in Tulare County, and for it to be hosted at our school is something special.”

According to the town’s entry sign just off Highway 65, Strathmore has a population of 2,819. School boundaries also take in Plainview, population 945, and the farm homes in the immediate area.

There is a Dollar General store, a few restaurants, a tire shop, a Mexican market, a few convenience stores including a liquor store, two or three auto repair places, a feed store, a recycling depot, a machinery shop and other businesses.

Small towns often have coffee shops, but the Stuffed Toad closed years ago.

Tulare County Supervisor Allen Ishida of Lindsay is a Strathmore High grad who attended the Dec. 10 game that set up the state championship contest. In his senior year, the football team tied one game and lost the others, he said.

“This is the first time they’ve come that close since 1937,” he told fellow supervisors this week. “We’re the last Valley team left in the state finals.”

The biggest rivalry in town, of course, is the annual football game against Lindsay High. But with Strathmore High undefeated, even Lindsay supporters are rooting for Strathmore.

“It’s always been a rivalry, but I’m supporting the community,” said Natalie Jara, a 2015 Lindsay High grad who works as a server at the Orange Works cafe on Highway 65. “I’m anxious to see what happens.”

Porterville folks are also paying attention, and radio station KTIP (1450 AM) in Porterville will broadcast the game.

“It’s great for this little town,” said Diana McKay of Porterville, who stopped for lunch at the Orange Works. “It’s kind of exciting for them to be so close.”

Orange grower Tony Soto said he got a call from a friend in the citrus industry – Strathmore is surrounded by orange groves – raising money to buy championship rings for the football team.

“I said ‘Count me in,’ ” he said. “Everybody is all excited and hyped up. It’s huge.”

Alumni, including from out of state, are making plans to be there Saturday, said Principal John Buckley. Tailgate parties are expected to start around 3 p.m.

Belen Lara, a cashier at Strathmore Liquor, said her nephew is on the team and two of her daughters attend Strathmore High.

“It’s a good thing for the kids. They are motivated,” she said. “I hope that Strathmore wins.”

This story was originally published December 16, 2016 at 4:58 PM with the headline "State football championship: Tiny citrus belt town is abuzz about the Big Game."