People, listen up.

The Southwest Yosemite League championship is the North High football team's to lose.

Did you catch that? Not Centennial. Not Stockdale. Not West.

North. All by itself atop the SWYL and on the verge of winning its first league title since 1986, when the Stars won the old South Yosemite League.

North's 34-19 defeat of South on Friday was, as coach Mark Camps told me, as complete a victory as his team has notched this season. "Very complete game," he said. "Great effort by our kids. We’re one step closer to where we want to be.”

One step closer to a league title that would be a longtime coming.

The Stars' performance couldn't have come at a better time, as they will gear up this week for, essentially, a league championship game with Stockdale. Oh by the way, the Mustangs were upset by Ridgeview 30-15 last night, putting the Stars in control of their own fate.

Ridgeview ran all over Stockdale for 330 yards in the win. Have we mentioned that's what North does best?

Whether its Julian Dean-Johnson, Seth Vlach, Ruben Suarez, Joe Clevenger, or Juan Rodriguez, North's ground attack is tough to stop. The Stars racked up 353 yards on the ground against South, and much of the same could happen next week against Stockdale.

If it does, well, you can figure what the end result would be.

The kicker was an anonymous e-mail.

For a couple of years now I had toyed with the idea of doing a story about the honor system in golf and tennis. When I covered my first high school tennis match in 2005 for the North County Times in Escondido, it took me by surprise that there were no officials present. I had no idea that was the norm. I had never been to a tennis match before. As time passed, I thought it might be an intriguing topic to explore -- see how well it works, the problems that arise, etc., etc.

I came here to The Californian last month and presented the story to my editor, who liked my idea. I wasn't sure that I'd actually get around to doing it, though -- until my in-box one day a few weeks back contained an e-mail from Love Golf with a subject line that read "(Team) Girls Cheating" (we'll keep the accused school anonymous, too).

The author was upset about what he/she felt was going on with this particular school, writing in the e-mail: "A person that cheats in golf isn't a real golfer." Whether or not someone cheats in these sports isn't the kind of thing I can verify.

But when I received that e-mail I knew for sure I had to write this story.

I gathered a ton of information from lots of people involved in both sports. The general consensus from those people was this: Cheating happens, but not all the time. Basically there's lots of good, mixed with some bad.

Stockdale tennis coach Dave Hillestad told me about a time this season at a tournament in Fresno where it got kind of ugly between two Fresno schools over a disputed call. Apparently, girls were making snooty comments at one another, and coaches and the tournament director had to get involved.

One of the issues that came up that I alluded to but didn't elaborate on was whether or not most golfers even know USGA rules. Players and coaches said this was a concern particularly for younger, inexperienced players. Who knows that moving, say, a gum wrapper to improve your putting line is OK, but that moving a leaf is illegal because the rule specifies nature vs. unnatural? Or how many strokes you're supposed to add on for water hazard or out of bounds? I don't. And, apparently, neither does every high school player. Some girls said they carry rule books with them, but even that sometimes doesn't help.

Frontier golf coach Tony Bernardin said part of the problem is the girls' fear of confrontation. To help his team, he and his assistant, Tom Aguilar, role play in front of their girls so they can learn how to deal with confrontation.

Central Section commissioner Jim Crichlow told me in our interview that nothing ever makes its way to his desk, in terms of complaints or protests. Certainly that's a good sign.

All in all, the system is far from perfect. It has its wrinkles. By and large, though, it works. I'm surprised the situation doesn't get out of hand, which says something about the student-athletes and their character.

Clearly, most care about their reputations -- not just as athletes, but people.

-- You can read the story about the honor system in golf and tennis by clicking here.  

I'm 26 years old and consider myself in decent shape. Maybe not the best, but decent. I try to make it to the gym three, four days a week, lift a little weights, run a few miles. You know, the basics.

But, man, I need to be in Jimmy Watkins shape. He's 26, about 6-1 (maybe 6-2), in top physical condition, has forearms the size of my calves, and is built like a fullback. Which makes sense when you think about it because that was Watkins' position at Stockdale High. In fact, in my interview with him, he told me he had planned to play football after high school at Bakersfield College but said he re-injured his shoulder the summer before in an all-star game, forcing him to think twice about it.

So he became a Kern County firefighter, started out as seasonal for a few years, then became full time in 2004. He knew he needed to stay in tip-top shape and so, in effect, began his cycling career. Now here he is just a few years later a national sprint champion.

What I wanted to do in this piece was tell the story of a guy who started cycling as a hobby, as a way just to stay in shape for his grueling job. But he found a strength in cycling, which made him take it seriously, and began competing, and eventually became one of the best. I also wanted to convey that Watkins has other top priorities and that cycling, even though he takes his training seriously now, is still just a side gig.

He's married and said he just bought his home on the northwest side of town, where I interviewed him. He's got two small dogs, one of them a dachshund I believe, and the other I'm not sure (both kept barking at us through the sliding window while we talked). And he mentioned that he and his wife are thinking about starting a family soon.

If he's cycling four years from now, he'll try for the Olympics. But he won't spend these next four years training specifically for London 2012. It sounds like Watkins will compete as long as he can, but it doesn't seem like the success will alter his life plans.

Hey, you can't fault a guy for having his priorities in line.

- You can read the story about Jimmy Watkins by clicking here.

You've heard it before.

Bigger. Faster. Stronger.

That's exactly what the Bakersfield High football team was in its 41-7 rout of Garces last night.

We thought we'd get a showdown for Southeast Yosemite League supremacy between the Drillers and Rams but, honestly, I didn't expect it — believe I even said as much on this week's podcast, maybe vaguely and nicely.

Look, Garces is a good football team; BHS, though, is on a different level. No disrespect to the Rams — like I said, a good football team — but the size difference between the two teams, at times, felt like JV against varsity. When you face that type of disadvantage and can't make up for it in speed and strength — as BHS is clearly the more athletic team — then you need to play just about perfectly to compete.

Some other thoughts...

— Wow. I was overwhelmingly impressed with BHS sophomore quarterback Brian Burrell. The kid was Drew Brees out there, completing 85 percent (17-of-20) of his passes for 253 yards and three touchdowns. In his first career start, too. And we're talking down-the-field passes, not a lot of dinking and dunking. Don't know how long senior Alex Mitchell will miss, but I'm sure coach Paul Golla won't stress over it.

— You know how they call Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall 'Baby T.O.'? How about calling BHS senior running back Jerek Johnson 'Baby B.J'? As in Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants running back. You see the resemblance, too, don't you? Or am I just crazy. And it seems like it always takes more than one guy to bring him down. Johnson, though, is a better threat as a receiver.

— Garces I think has some of the best fans in the area. There the Rams are, on their way to getting blown out in the fourth quarter, and there the Garces fans are still ringing those cowbells and blowing those horns like they're still in it. And I've got to say, the parents lining up to welcome in their sons after halftime is pretty damn cool.

Finally, after some tough wins and losses, the Bakersfield High football team came away with a convincing win, 34-0 over Centennial, reminding us all who the defending Central Section Division I champions are.

It was much-needed — not just the win, but the way BHS won. The players said as much after the game. The big thing was that BHS did this without the two Jacksons, Alfonso and Tevin. That's huge.

The Drillers defense was on point and clearly the star of the night, harassing Centennial QB Cody Kessler the entire game. He was sacked seven times (BHS had eight altogether), and I can guarantee you the young sophomore felt the pressure. Meanwhile, the BHS offense was solid, and Jerrick Johnson stepped up and had a monster game with 192 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns. 

Consider this an important victory more than anything for BHS. After winning and losing close games up until this point, a sound, convincing win like this one was just what the Drillers needed to regain that championship swagger. Sure, it was against a Centennial squad that is clearly having a down year, but you have to consider what would be said had the Golden Hawks taken BHS down to the wire.

It could've gone that way had Centennial capitalized early.

Cases in point:

— In the first quarter, from its own 5-yard line, Myren Moore runs for 43 yards, a big play to seize momentum. What happens next? Kessler gets sacked, killing the drive.

— Later in the first, Jon Lee intercepts, giving Centennial the ball at BHS's 19-yard line. What happens? The Golden Hawks fumble the ball away.

—And again in the first, wide receiver Matt Castellano was streaking down the middle wide open, had no defender within a 10-yard radius of him, but Kessler just overthrew him.

Those were the early opportunities coach Bryan Nixon was talking about. A few things early on happen differently, and maybe the complexion of the game changes.

But still, BHS deserves credit for this rout. They needed to win a game like this. Now the Drillers will have to carry the momentum into next week's SEYL showdown with Garces.

All right! I've been here for three weeks, and the 'Hey Jude!' blog is finally up and running.

Now I know some of you might be thinking, "C'mon. Hey Jude? Really?" Well, it was either something like that or the obligatory 'Simon Sez,' and Lord knows I've heard enough of that one throughout my lifetime. Why not play off the middle name instead? So 'Hey Jude!' it is. Besides, who doesn't like The Beatles, especially in this photo?

Anyway, it's good to be in the Bakersfield blogosphere. I first want to give everyone a little background on myself, so you can get to know me a bit.

I grew up in Gonzales, Calif., right in the heart of the Salinas Valley (You know, the Salad Bowl?). If you've ever driven down the 101 and seen that giant water tower off the freeway, that's my hometown. I went to Palma High in Salinas, where I played football and wrestled. After high school it was off to San Diego State, where I graduated in 2005 with my bachelor's degree in journalism and a minor in political science.

Professionally speaking, right out of college I worked at the North County Times in Escondido for two years, covering high school sports, serving as the San Diego State backup beat writer, and the paper's soccer columnist. From there it was up to the Bay Area where I was a sports writer at the Times-Herald in Vallejo, which, considering how down-in-the-dumps that city is, is the hometown to quite a few famous folks — Cy Young Award winner CC Sabathia, NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon, Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin, Bill Buckner (yes, that Bill Buckner), and rapper E-40 to name a few. Anyway, I spent a year there covering the prep scene before coming to Bakersfield last month, and I'm happy to be in town. So far, so good.

With my blog, you can expect some insight and commentary on the sports scene around Kern County. A little bit of everything from me — some preps, some colleges, some community sports, some Jam. One of the entries that's likely to be continuous is the "Story Behind the Story," which I'll use to explain a feature or enterprise piece, maybe give some thoughts on my experience while working on something, and also give you what maybe didn't make the print/online editions of a story because of space. It'll also be a chance to add more game details. Consider the  "Story Behind the Story" posts to be something akin to a behind-the-scenes featurette of a DVD.

All right! Well, 'Hey Jude' is up and running. Now you know, so check back often for a little bit of everything.