TOWN IS ABUZZ OVER THEIR BOBCATS BORON HIGH, WITH ENROLLMENT OF 188, ADVANCES TO SECTION FOOTBALL SEMIFINAL.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Special to the Daily News

BORON - Amid the long miles of barren desert hillsides and dry lake beds in southeastern Kern County, and adjacent to one of the world's largest open-pit borax mines, sits a small piece of Americana.

``Welcome to Bobcats country!'' reads an inscription painted across a tiny wooden Boron High football field snack shack.

A town of about 2,000 near Edwards Air Force Base, Boron is about two hours from metropolitan Los Angeles geographically, but it has a look and feel that more closely resembles a rural Texas outpost.

Boron residents say everybody in town knows everybody, ``and if we don't, then we know you're new.''

With limited entertainment options - the nearest movie theater is an hour's drive away - the local high school sports scene is Boron's biggest attraction.

Nothing in Boron is bigger than the football team, and these days, the Bobcats have the town abuzz over their first deep playoff run in years.

Boron, the Antelope Valley's final football team standing, plays host to top-ranked Aquinas of San Bernardino in a Southern Section Div. XII playoff semifinal at 7:30 tonight.

And the way local residents are talking, a forecasted winter storm that might even dump snow on the town is unlikely to deter the Bobcats' faithful.

``When people come in here, that's pretty much all they talk about,'' said Jen's Barber Shop owner and Boron alum Jennifer Johnson, the winning pitcher when the Bobcats' softball team won the Div. VI Southern Section title in 2000.

Boron (10-2) has given local residents a lot to talk about this year.

The Bobcats, who escaped the quarterfinals with a 21-20 victory at Bishop, have outscored opponents 405-78 during a 10-game winning streak. But they haven't yet met a team quite like Aquinas (11-1), led by brothers Dozie and Chike Amajoyi, who have combined for 4,079 yards rushing.

A blue-collar town primarily made up of multiple generations of mining families, Boron has a long tradition of supporting the football team, which has won four section titles (1969, 1993, 1994 and 1998) since its 1960 inception.

This year's team is especially big in Boron circles because of its ties to history.

The Bobcats feature several players from families that have long lived in Boron. Brad Kostopoulos, the star senior running back, is the son of principal Paul Kostopoulos, a former Boron quarterback who led the 1972 team to the section championship game and coached the 1994 team that won a section title with just 18 players.

Sophomore receiver/defensive back Devan Mattox is a third-generation Bobcat. His grandfather, Charlie, played on the 1969 championship team. His father, Larry, is an assistant coach.

``Bobcat pride is something we all grew up with,'' said senior quarterback James Smith, a second-generation Bobcat.

Said Boron coach Todd Fink said: ``The community here is involved, and I'm not sure that happens everywhere. This is one of those rare places where everyone is so close because it's so small.''

The team's success comes on the heels of some lean years.

Boron had to cancel its 2002 nonleague schedule because it didn't have enough players to field a team, and it was 1-9 the following season.

The program's turnaround began last year, when the Bobcats won the first of back-to-back Desert Mountain League titles.

Despite a minuscule student population - its enrollment of 188 is by far the state's smallest among public schools fielding 11-man teams - Boron competes in Div. XII against schools many times its size.

The small-school Desert Mountain League moved up to Div. XIII in 2002 because the Southern Section uses past success, not enrollment, as the primary criteria for divisional realignment.

``For us to play in Div. XII, especially against some of the teams that are five times our size, it's a testimony to the kids that they're still alive in the playoffs,'' Paul Kostopoulos said.

The football team has, in many respects, taken on the town's personality. The players' camaraderie extends beyond the football field.

``We're a really close-knit group, just like the town,'' Brad Kostopoulos said. ``Most of us have played together since we were 8 years old.''

They also reflect the mining town's toughness with an intensely physical playing style.

``It's just that hard-nosed mentality we have out here,'' Brad Kostopoulos said. ``We're always a physical-type football team, and we may not always win, but we're going to outhit every team we play.''

Boron residents are counting on that.

``From what I've heard, that team they're playing is really good, so it's going to be a really good game,'' Johnson said.

Gideon Rubin, [phone]

gideon.rubin(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1) Boron High players practice in front of a sign that reads ``School of Champions.'' The Bobcats claimed section football titles in 1969, 1993, 1994 and 1998.

(2) Bobcats quarterback James Smith, left, and running back Brad Kostopoulos lead the team into tonight's title game against Aquinas of San Bernardino.

Gideon Rubin/Special to the Daily News

Box:

AQUINAS (11-1) at BORON (10-2), 7:30 p.m.