It’s official. Barstow’s historic football season added another victory this week.
Six months after becoming the first High Desert football team to win a CIF State championship, the Aztecs earned another honor, this time from local fans.
There were 8,859 votes cast in the Joe Orthodontics Team of the Year, which was made up of three High Desert championship teams from the 2025-26 school year.
Barstow received 4,378 total votes, finishing with 49.42% of the vote.
The results reflected the impact of a season that will forever occupy a special place in both school and High Desert sports history.
The Aztecs finished 12-3 overall and captured the Desert Sky League championship with a perfect 4-0 record. But their legacy was built in the postseason, where they repeatedly found ways to win close games against elite competition.
Barstow’s championship run included a 10-7 victory over Apple Valley in the CIF-Southern Section Division 7 championship game. The win delivered the program’s first section title since 1969 after years of near misses and marked one of the defining moments of the school year.
The Aztecs were not finished.
In the CIF State playoffs, Barstow survived a tense Southern California regional championship game, edging Immanuel 13-12 to advance to the state final. One week later, the Aztecs traveled to Buena Park High School and delivered the biggest victory in program history.
Behind two touchdowns from Nicholas Gaoa and a dominant defensive performance, Barstow defeated Sutter 17-7 on Dec. 12 to capture the CIF State Division 4AA championship. The defense intercepted three passes, with Degan Cardenas, Elijah Leleimene and AJ Lealofi each recording a takeaway.
The reader poll featured three teams that delivered historic championship seasons. The Aztecs just edged out the Victor Valley boys basketball team, which trailed with 3,995 votes (45.10%), while Riverside Prep softball received 486 votes (5.49%).
Victor Valley ended a 72-year drought for High Desert boys basketball programs by winning the CIF-SS Division 8 title, while Riverside Prep softball captured the first CIF-SS championship in program history before adding a CIF State regional crown.
This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Barstow football voted the Joe Orthodontics High School Team of the Year
Reporting by Jose Quintero, Victorville Daily Press / Victorville Daily Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jose Quintero, Victorville Daily Press | USA TODAY Network
