Trona High’s once-mighty Sandmen fight to keep football alive in wake of earthquakes Leave a reply TRONA, Calif. — Only nine kids show up for football practice on a brutal afternoon in August, the sun lingering stubbornly over this desert town, keeping the temperature in triple digits. Tugging on shoulder pads and helmets in a cramped locker room, the players hold their chatter to a minimum, cleats ticking across the concrete floor as they head outside to a field that is barren because not a blade of grass grows at the edge of Death Valley. And it seems like the wind blows constantly here, pushing waves of dust across the landscape ….. [more] Los Angles Times — David Wharton