Friday Night Heroes: About the Author

About the Author

Rick Van Horne is a third-generation Bakersfield High School alumnus who became a Friday Night Hero, as did his father and son as championship players for the California's Bakersfield High Drillers. His father Richard was a member of the 1954 and 1955 Valley Championship teams at Bakersfield High. Like his father, Rick also played for legendary Bakersfield Football Coach Paul Briggs. Rick's son Vincent would carry on the legacy as a member of the 2006 Valley Champion Drillers of Bakersfield, California.

Rick Van Horne began his coaching career at Bakersfield High School in 1984, later becoming the first varsity football coach at Bakersfield's Liberty High School, where he guided his team to a Valley Championship in 2001. In 1994, he became head coach at East Bakersfield High School, where he led the Blades to two playoff appearances — the first for East High in 60 years. In 1998, Rick was selected All-Area Coach of the Year for football.

The author of Friday Night Heroes has been teaching in the Kern High School District in Bakersfield since 1994, after 10 years as a Kern County Deputy Sheriff. Today, he also serves on the Board of Education for the Bakersfield City School District — the single largest K-8 District in California.

More than a decade of scholarly research and hundreds of personal interviews capture the excitement of every win and the heartache of every loss inside the pages of Rick Van Horne's “Friday Night Heroes,” the landmark history of the legends and legacy of one of the nation's most famous high school football teams — the Bakersfield High School Drillers.

Rick Van Horne lives in Bakersfield with his wife Kimberly and their three sons, Vincent, Richard and Derick. He currently is at work on his next book.

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