Bakersfield High School: Difference between revisions

Bakersfield High School
Principal	Mr. David Reese
Established	1893
District	Kern High School District
School Type	Public
Grades	9th through 12th
Street Address	1241 G Street
Location	Bakersfield, California, USA
Campus Type	Suburban
Student Body	Approximately 3,000
Faculty/Staff	Approximately 150
Mascot	Drillers
School Colors	Blue, White
Website	[1]

A view from the science building looking out on Griffith Field

Bakersfield High School (BHS) is a high school located in Bakersfield, California, USA.

First founded in 1893 as Kern County High School, changed to Kern County Union High School in 1915, and finally to Bakersfield High School in 1945. The campus includes Harvey Auditorium which serves as a venue for the local arts community as well as the Industrial Arts building which houses both a functioning car garage along with a wood shop and fitness center. Most of the original architecture has been demolished and replaced by new structures to accommodate the growing number of students over the years. BHS has the most diversity of all the campuses of the Kern High School District, serving students of many ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds. With a student population just over 3000, it is also one of the largest schools in the district.

Notable alumni

• Jeff Buckey - former NFL football player
• Ric Drasin - actor, author, designer of the Gold's Gym and World Gym logos, and retired professional wrestler
• Frank Gifford - Pro Football Hall of Fame and former Monday Night Football commentator
• Jeff Siemon - former NFL football player
• Robert Swift - Current NBA player
• Earl Warren - California Attorney General, three-term Governor of California, Chief Justice of the United States, and chairman of the Warren Commission

Tradition

Tradition is one of the most celebrated aspects of "Driller Life."

Fight Chant: "Yay Blue, Yay White, Yay Drillers, fight, fight, fight."

At the end of every football game the band will perform on the steps of Harvey Auditorium. If victorious, they will flip their hats backward when they perform.

There have long been stories of ghosts that haunt the halls of Warren Hall and Harvey Auditorium. Legend has it that one of the ghosts is the soul of a young boy who was working as a stage-hand. According to the story, he was up in the lighting, and slipped and fell to his death. Many students and teachers have sworn that the ghosts exist and will not enter Harvey Auditorium at night.

Fine arts

The Blue & White is the official, student-run newspaper and is recognized in the National Scholastic Press Association's Hall of Fame.

In the 2006 season, the Forensics team won the Central CIF Championships in both Speech and Debate.

In the 2006 marching season, the Driller Marching Band placed 4th in the 2A division in the state of California by the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA). The Driller drumline took 2nd place in the SCSBOA finals, and was currently undefeated for 5 years in the PPAACC circuit, untill the 2008 lost to Liberty Percussion Ensemble.

Sports

The BHS football team has the most championships in the history of California high school competition with 7 state titles and 34 section titles, commonly called Valley Championships as the Central Section is made up of schools in the southern and central San Joaquin Valley. The Driller football team also has the most wins in state history with over 600 victories and counting. The Drillers have been competing in football since 1896. BHS has long been recognized as one of the most elite programs in the Central Section and state and have produced many players that have gone on to play in the NCAA and NFL. The most recognized Driller Alum is Frank Gifford who played college ball both at Bakersfield College and the University of Southern California, and pro football with the New York Giants. Gifford is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and was a part of the legendary Monday Night Football broadcasting team with "Dandy Don" Meredith and Howard Cosell during the 1970's and 80's on ABC television. The Drillers, have called Griffith Field their home field since 1923. The field features a monolithic concrete structure for home seating on the western home side with the Driller locker rooms inside it. The field is unusual in that the visiting eastern bleachers are located on the grass inside the track. The bleachers run from end zone to end zone with the front row only about 12-feet away from the sideline with nothing separating the fans from the field. Unfortunately, Griffith Field's playing surface is known for being poorly maintained resulting in numerous leg injuries over the years to participants, most notably BHS quarterback Tyler Kay breaking his leg while trying to make a move on a play in the 2005 season in a game against Clovis High School. Visiting teams have been known to prepare for playing on Griffith Field's surface by holding practices in their respective school parking lots.

BHS wrestling is highly successful producing numerous individual Valley and State champions who move onto NCAA competition. The Drillers won a team state title in 2005. Partly due to their success, the CIF State Wrestling Championships have been moved to Bakersfield's Rabobank Arena (formerly known as Centennial Garden).

BHS girl's soccer leads the Central Section in section titles.

On November 30, 2007, BHS won their state record 34th Valley Football Championship against Clovis West High School. The game took place at Griffith Field amid an overflow crowd of over 8,000 spectators. The final score was 19-16 won on a 44-yard field goal by game MVP and BHS quarterback Peter Mitchell with 25-seconds remaining in the game. Peter Mitchell was also named Athlete Of The Year in the Bakersfield Californian.

References

The BHS football team has the most championships in the history of California high school competition with 7 state titles and 34 section titles, commonly called Valley Championships as the Central Section is made up of schools in the southern and central San Joaquin Valley. The Driller football team also has the most wins in state history with over 600 victories and counting. The Drillers have been competing in football since 1896. BHS has long been recognized as one of the most elite programs in the Central Section and state and have produced many players that have gone on to play in the NCAA and NFL. The most recognized Driller Alum is Frank Gifford who played college ball both at Bakersfield College and the University of Southern California, and pro football with the New York Giants. Gifford is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and was a part of the legendary Monday Night Football broadcasting team with "Dandy Don" Meredith and Howard Cosell during the 1970's and 80's on ABC television. The Drillers, have called Griffith Field their home field since 1923. The field features a monolithic concrete structure for home seating on the western home side with the Driller locker rooms inside it. The field is unusual in that the visiting eastern bleachers are located on the grass inside the track. The bleachers run from end zone to end zone with the front row only about 12-feet away from the sideline with nothing separating the fans from the field. Unfortunately, Griffith Field's playing surface is known for being poorly maintained resulting in numerous leg injuries over the years to participants, most notably BHS quarterback Tyler Kay breaking his leg while trying to make a move on a play in the 2005 season in a game against Clovis High School. Visiting teams have been known to prepare for playing on Griffith Field's surface by holding practices in their respective school parking lots.

BHS wrestling is highly successful producing numerous individual Valley and State champions who move onto NCAA competition. The Drillers won a team state title in 2005. Partly due to their success, the CIF State Wrestling Championships have been moved to Bakersfield's Rabobank Arena (formerly known as Centennial Garden).

BHS girl's soccer leads the Central Section in section titles.

On November 30, 2007, BHS won their state record 34th Valley Football Championship against Clovis West High School. The game took place at Griffith Field amid an overflow crowd of over 8,000 spectators. The final score was 19-16 won on a 44-yard field goal by BHS quarterback Peter Mitchell with 25-seconds remaining in the game.

External links

• Wallace, J. S. Recollections of a high school district, 1893-1968 : an informal history of the Kern County Union High School and junior college district. Published circa 1980. ISBN 0-9619924-0-9
• Bakersfield High School
• Driller Marching Band Driller Marching Band
• Bakersfield Haunted History