Desert Scorpions: Bringing Semi-Professional Football and Community Support to the High Desert
The High Desert may not be anywhere near the caliber of sustaining a major league sports team like the Los Angeles Rams or the San Francisco 49ers, however, in the past, many, many moons ago, the region did have the pride of hosting the High Desert Mavericks in Adelanto, California. Minor league baseball in recent years has been a hit and miss, despite the need for more entertainment-style activities for the ever-growing desert population. A brief stint with the High Desert Yardbirds appeared promising, however, due to issues this year with the Pecos League teams overall, the Yardbirds were unable to become a viable sports outlet this year.
One minor league team has emerged from the dry spell and is currently on a mission to bring some meaningful sports entertainment to the region. The Desert Scorpions are ready to kick off their inaugural season opener this August. The team says they are an 18 and over semi-professional football team. Anyone who wants to play tackle football or who has just left high school, but didn’t get a scholarship and still wants to play, is welcomed to play. They also say that anyone who just wants to stay active and represent the High Desert can come and play as well. The team’s goal is to be known as an organization that supports its community. All they ask in return is for the community to support them back. The team has aspirations to get involved in helping the homeless and the less fortunate. They plan on holding food and clothing drives and giving it all to the people of the High Desert that could use it.
The team invited a local news outlet to a recent football practice to provide more insight into what makes this team “semi-professional.”
The team’s owner, Robert Ponsor, explained how the organization operates. Ponsor says that although there is a good mix of ages on the team, the average age of the athletes is around 25. Ponsor wanted to bring a semi-professional team to the High Desert, something that was much needed. From observation, it doesn’t appear that a lot of sports-oriented activities are available in the High Desert compared to the San Bernardino area.
So where exactly are the games anticipated to be held?
Ponsor says that Darrel Courtney, General Manager for Adelanto Stadium and Event Center, has given full support to the semi-pro team. In fact, the event center is on board to be the home field for the new Desert Scorpions when they kick off their first season next month.
Of course, in order to play a football game, it’s important to have two teams during the game. Ponsor disclosed to a local news outlet that they have opponents throughout Southern California, hailing from communities like San Diego, Lancaster, Fontana, Riverside, Long Beach, and Los Angeles — even one team from Las Vegas. All teams, including the Desert Scorpions, are members of the PCFC or Pacific Coast Football Conference.