Friday’s scores

Richie Bolin is no stranger to putting out fires, literally and figuratively.

The 2021 high school football season in Kern County has already experienced air-quality delays and COVID-19 cancellations. Friday brought its first set of air-quality cancellations.

With the first week of Southwest Yosemite League volleyball play in the books, defending co-champions Liberty and Stockdale have already taken big steps toward a possible repeat.

Cal State Bakersfield's defense held firm for about 80 minutes Thursday night.

It’s been an unusual last 48 hours for all those involved with the Foothill and Bakersfield High football programs.

During his second year at Fresno State, Colby Warkentin, a redshirt freshman defensive end out of Centennial High School, decided he didn’t fit well with the defensive coaching staff under new head coach Kalen DeBoer. After the season ended, Warkentin announced on Dec. 26 that he was seeking…

Talk about living on the edge. The Stockdale volleyball team did just that in Tuesday night’s Southwest Yosemite League opener against Frontier.

Bakersfield standouts have ventured across the country to play college football at the highest level in recent years: Krys Barnes at UCLA, Jordan Love at Utah State, D.J. Reed at Kansas State and so on. But right now, one much closer Division I school seems to be attracting them in particula…

When Rob Kaler, chief operating officer of the U.S. Soccer Foundation, first learned he was going to work alongside Quincy Amarikwa, co-founder of Black Players for Change, Kaler had a preconception of the “constantly talking, hilarious” striker he had admired from afar at D.C. United games.

TAFT — Individually, the Garces girls golf team is solid, but not quite at the level of some of the area's elite. But collectively? The Rams are a force to be reckoned with.

MAXPREPS CENTRAL SECTION FOOTBALL RANKINGS

As most of the area’s high school football teams close out their preseason schedules within the next two weeks, with the exception of the South Sequoia League which opened play this week, some of the top players are starting to distance themselves from the pack.

Jake Cipres missed a potential game-winning field goal from 24 yards away with 10 seconds left as the Bakersfield Renegades held on to beat the Golden West Rustlers 20-19 Saturday afternoon in Huntington Beach.

It’s still early in the cross country season and runners are obviously still working themselves into shape following a nearly two-year hiatus from the sport while working through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Thursday’s scores

It’s fair to say the Stockdale football team entered this season with a chip on their collective shoulders.

Friday night's game at Golden Valley featured a pair of equally run-heavy, but otherwise completely distinct offenses.

Starting Monday, events at Mechanics Bank Arena will require proof of either COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test within the previous 72 hours, the Bakersfield Condors announced Friday.

High school football

Whatever confidence the Centennial volleyball team may have lost during an 0-4 start to the season, has officially been restored — and then some.

The Ridgeview Wolf Pack used three tiebreaker wins in singles to clinch a 7-2 victory over the previously undefeated Golden Valley Lady Bulldogs Thursday afternoon.

Homecoming may be three weeks away, but fifth-year Wasco football coach Chad Martinez has received an early dose of what to expect when his team hosts Chavez on Oct. 8.

High school football

Girls tennis

Coaching changes in the middle of the season are never easy, but the remaining football staff at Bakersfield High is committed to making the transition as smooth as possible.

Saturday was supposed to be a banner day for West Coast Arena Football. The California-based low-level arena football league had been planning a long-awaited exhibition game that would introduce a new local team, the Pantheons, to Bakersfield and beyond.

Volleyball

In their most emphatic win of the season so far, the Bakersfield College Renegades routed the East Los Angeles Huskies 4-0 Tuesday afternoon, evening up their record at 2-2-2 after a slow start to the year.

Girls golf

Saturday night’s season opener for the Bakersfield College Renegades is a prime example of a game in which statistics do not tell the whole story.

West High has had plenty of success on the football field in the last 20 years, including league championships and a Central Section title with former NFL standout running back Ryan Mathews leading the way.

Thursday's scores

On a night of firsts, the Foothill football team closed out a memorable night with a defensive effort that had fourth-year head coach Brandon Deckard smiling from ear to ear.

In its dying moments, a game marked by turnovers and poor offensive execution managed to become even more tumultuous.

Michael Stewart's tenure as football coach at Bakersfield High is over less than three seasons after returning to his alma mater, according to school administration.

Running on the beach this time of year has become a tradition for the Stockdale cross country team, as the athletes have escaped the Bakersfield heat to participate in the Morro Bay Invitational in five of the past six years. The only exception was last year, when the event was canceled due …

Prior to Thursday night, it had been 10 years since Delano and crosstown rival Kennedy had met on the football field.

Football

Fresh off a three-day Labor Day weekend, local high school football fans will get a redo of sorts with back-to-back-to-back nights of gridiron action.

In pools all across Bakersfield, Wednesday evenings have been reserved for an on-the-job training of sorts, giving dozens of student-athletes a crash course on playing water polo.

An unassuming beige building sits on the side of Golden State Highway with a cavernous warehouse looming behind it. The building still features the signage of its previous owner, the farm equipment store Bear Ag.