This year marks 100 years of Los Banos High School Tigers football. The Tigers first took the field in 1925, and they also have a most storied and most heated rivalry with the Dos Palos Broncos, whose football program began in 1923.
The rivals share a similar historical fact: their stadiums are named after prominent figures in their teams’ respective histories. The Tigers play their home games at Loftin Stadium.
The Broncos have their stadiums named after not one but two prominent figures. Their home games are at Ike Frankian Field and Bill Hume Stadium. This rivalry is locally known as the Battle of the Westside.
Loftin Stadium is named after Carlyle Grieve Loftin (1905–1986), who took over the program in 1930. He provided the Tigers, a squad that hadn’t been around for very long, with their first opportunities for success.
Malcolm John “Ike” Frankian (1907–1963) was Dos Palos’ coach in 1941. He played in the National Football League (NFL) a few years before ever setting a single foot in Dos Palos.
That’s right—he was a wide receiver for the Boston Redskins (nowadays, they are known as the Washington Commanders, and his position was called an “end” in those days) and the New York Giants, whose 1934 team was the NFL champion.
He also played semi-professional football with the Los Angeles Bulldogs. Despite their history, the rivalry between the red-and-gold-clad Tigers and the blue-and-gold-clad Broncos is notable.
The following lines chronicle the Battle of the Westside. They list every year when it occurred, who won when and who lost when, who tied when and when neither team played against each other for whatever reason.
Los Banos beat Dos Palos in 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1941, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1965, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1988, 1991, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022.
Dos Palos beat Los Banos in 1925, 1934, 1945, 1946, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1990, 1993, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024.
Both teams tied in 1932, 1936, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1969 and 1992. For whatever reason, both teams did not play against each other in 1938, 1942, 1943, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1963, 1964 and 2020.
Overall, the Tigers made 37 wins, and the Broncos made 39. The teams tied nine times, and there were 15 no-contests.
In this coming season of 2025, the Tigers will host the Broncos on August 22 at Loftin Stadium.
