The 2010 California Rebel Season saw the Rebels return to prominence from their brief stay in the basement of the Yuma Scorpions Fantasy Football League. 2011, would be the year that the California Rebels took the league by storm and capture the club’s first championship; or so they thought. With 2010 being considered a successful season, despite the Rebels falling one game short of the Yuma Bowl, the team entered the 2011 season hopeful that 2010 was no fluke and that the Rebels could continue and sustain the success the team had the previous fall.
However, as the team entered August, it was surprising but also grateful that we had a season to even play for. All offseason, the NFL and the NFL Players Association failed to come to terms with a new Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), meaning the NFL was experiencing a lockout. The 2011 NFL Lockout was surprising, but not unexpected. Over the previous year, sports analysis talked about the possibility of a lockout if the two sides failed to come to terms on a new deal. This is exactly what happened and in March 2011, the NFL officially began its lockout.
The NFL Lockout meant that no NFL activity, despite the CBA meetings between Owners and Players could occur. Both the Owners and the Players made an exception to this rule, agreeing to have the NFL Draft occur in late April. At the start of the 2011 NFL Draft, fans everywhere were chanting to Commissioner Roger Goodell, “That we want football. We want football.” A deal had to be made.
Negotiations between the Players and Owners went on for another three months, officially ending on July 25, 2011. The new CBA focused on player contracts, television revenues, and the salary cap. I remember during this time I followed the entire lockout situation, only caring about the information that pertained to the return of football. With the July 25th agreement, the new CBA would run for ten years, ending in 2021. Football was back, and fans around the world rejoiced.
Rewinding to a few months before the NFL’s new CBA agreement, I was bored in many of my seventh-grade classes, and to help pass the time, I started creating a new football league that NFL players could play in as they waited for the whole lockout situation to end. This league was called, the North American Football Conference or NAFC for short. This league consisted of twelve teams, with each team participating in a draft to select eligible players. This was a fun way to distract me from the idea of no NFL football in 2011. This league would also serve as the inspiration for the Yuma Scorpions Fantasy Football League’s 2019 rebranding; officially changing the league name to the North American Football Conference in April 2019.
With football officially back, the 2011 California Rebel Season was underway and both Paul Warfield and I needed to start getting ready for the upcoming 2011 Yuma Scorpion Draft. Looking back at the 2009 and 2010 Yuma Drafts for the Rebels, I noticed some trends that I started forming over the last two seasons. The trends I noticed had pros and cons to them, but overall, I saw areas that I needed to improve upon as I prepared for the 2011 Yuma Draft.
I adopted a new strategy heading into the 2011 Yuma Draft. I would start an offseason scouting program where I would look at player’s stats from the previous seasons, as well as, look at the projections for the upcoming season. This offseason scouting program, while successful, was nowhere near the offseason scouting program that the Rebels currently have in place.
Formulating a draft plan, I determined to make 2011 the Rebels year. The 2011 Yuma Scorpion Fantasy Football Draft was scheduled for Monday, August 29. When that day finally came, I was prepared. I remember telling my dad that I wanted the last pick in the first round as this meant every other round, I would be picking two players back-to-back. Faith would be on the Rebels side, as when the draft lobby officially opened, I found out that the Rebels would be picking last in the first round at pick #12.
When the draft started the entire Rebels’ War Room was focused. Paul Warfield was thinking of going running back with the Rebels first two picks, but I had other ideas and told him we were going to draft a quarterback. I wanted Tom Brady to be the Rebels’ quarterback in 2011 as Brady was coming off of his second NFL MVP Award in 2010 and was poised to lead the Patriots back to the Super Bowl in 2011. I was so determined to get Brady and as the first round went it looked as if the Rebels would get their prized signal-caller. I even tweeted out, “It only feels right to draft Tom Brady #12 overall.” That tweet did not age well as Tom Brady was drafted #11 overall to none other than Rebels’ rival the GMEN.
With Brady now off the board, Paul Warfield asked me if the GMEN’s pick changed our draft strategy and the Rebels would now settle for a running back. I contemplated the move but ultimately told Warfield that we were going to draft New Orleans Saints’ Quarterback Drew Brees #12 overall. Brees was coming off of a disappointing 2010 season that started with Super Bowl repeat expectations and ended with Marshawn Lynch’s Beastquake. 2011 was going to be a different year for the Saints as the expectations were not as high, and the Saints reloaded their offense with superior top-level talent. I was disappointed the Rebels did not get Tom Brady but ultimately Drew Brees was the better draft pick and the better value for the Rebels.
As the 2011 Yuma Scorpion Fantasy Football Draft continued the Rebels added two Green Bay Packer Wide Receivers, Greg Jennings, and Jordy Nelson. BenJarvis Green-Ellis of the Patriots was the first running back taken by the club, followed by New Orleans Saints’ Rookie Mark Ingram. When the 2011 Yuma Scorpion Fantasy Football Draft was completed, the Rebels added several top-level NFL names; all of which were determined to bring a championship to Los Angeles.
The 2011 NFL Season began on Thursday, September 8, with the defending Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers playing host to Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints. This was one of the best opening night games the NFL has ever had as both Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees would have a classic prime-time showdown, with both quarterbacks passing for over 700 yards and six touchdowns.
The Rebels started the 2011 season playing host to USMC in the highly anticipated “Battle of the House” matchup. The Rebels had three players playing in the Thursday Night opener, Drew Brees, Mark Ingram, and Greg Jennings. The Rebels had Jordy Nelson on the bench, but Nelson’s performance did not hurt the Rebels as the other three players playing in this game, came out of the gate dominating from the start. The Green Bay Packers would end up winning the game on a goal-line stand, stopping Rookie Mark Ingram in the backfield.
The Rebels ended the Thursday Night Opening Game with a strong lead over USMC. When the Sunday Games started, the Rebels’ hot start continued as they were putting on a clinic against USMC. The game was in the bag for the Rebels, but that didn’t stop my dad and me from watching every NFL game that weekend. For the late game, my dad and I decided to turn on the Carolina Panthers versus the Arizona Cardinals. Both teams had abysmal 2010 seasons, but surprisingly the two NFC teams made this game, a game to remember. Panthers’ Rookie Quarterback Cam Newton put on a performance that showed why he was the #1 selection in last April’s Draft. He also impressed USMC enough for them to sign him with their #1 Waiver Wire Priority.
The following day, the NFL had their annual double-header Monday Night Football games. The Rebels had two people left to play, Running Back Benjarvis Green-Ellis and Wide Receiver Wes Welker. The Patriots were playing the Miami Dolphins and for the most part, this game was a back and forth contest. That is, until Wes Welker stole the show, posting 8 receptions for 160 yards and two touchdowns, with one of the touchdowns coming off a 99-yard touchdown grab. The Rebels would leave Week 1 victorious, defeating USMC 117-79.
With the Rebels moving to 1-0 there was only one game left to watch, the Oakland Raiders versus the Denver Broncos. The Broncos were coming off one of their worst seasons in franchise history with a 4-12 record, while the Raiders were coming off their first non-losing season in 2010, finishing at 8-8. Typically, the late-night Monday Night Football Game in Week 1 doesn’t end until midnight or 1 AM the next morning, but being a die-hard Raiders fan, the time of night was not going to stop me from watching this game until the end.
The most memorable moment from this game came on the last play before half-time when the Raiders’ Kicker Sebastian Janikowski attempted a then record-tying 63-yard field goal. Before the play, I felt confident that Janikowski could make the kick as he had one of the best legs in the NFL. When the ball was snapped, Janikowski kicked the ball straight through the uprights, giving the Raiders a three-point cushion at halftime. That three points would be just enough as the Raiders would hold on to defeat the Broncos 23-20. Both the Raiders and the Rebels entered Week 2 at 1-0 and I couldn’t have been more excited.
With my life devoted to football, I entered my eighth-grade football season, determined to leave my mark on Middle School Football, and impress the high school coaches enough that they would remember my name for when I entered high school the next year. I felt confident that I would be placed on the A-Team like I had the previous season, and therefore I did not do any offseason workouts or training to help prepare me for the upcoming season. My decision to do this would indeed hurt my chances of being placed on the A-Team.
When the final teams and rosters were announced I was told that I would start the season on the B-Team. I was a little disappointed as I felt I was better than some of the players who were on the A-Team. Nonetheless, I was excited that my football season was about to begin. The first game of the season, Carroll Middle School hosted Boone Middle School. I remember all of my teammates making fun of the Boone players because their uniforms looked as if they were getting ready for Christmas, as their uniforms were green jerseys with red helmets. I joked around with my teammates a little, but for the most part, I was very determined and focused on my upcoming game.
With me being placed on the B-Team it meant that I would have to sit through the entire A-Team game before I could get a shot at playing. As mentioned above, I was focused, I remember constantly repeating the Bible verse, Philippians 4:13 which is, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” I said this over and over as a pregame prayer to God to help me play well. I even wrote my pregame prayer on eye-black, similar to what Tim Tebow did while in college. While my teammates were talking and playing around on the sideline, I was praying, and staying warm in my Oakland Raiders jacket. That is right, I put my Oakland Raiders jacket on during my Carroll Middle School football game. This shows that I had more dedication to my Raiders than I did to my middle school team.
When the A Game wrapped up, the B-Team players, including myself, started to warm up. The referees for the game told me that I was not allowed to wear my Philippians 4:13 eye-black as no eye-black with writing was prohibited. I quickly took my eye-black off and prepared for the game. The game did not start well for myself, as I was called for an illegal shift and false-start on the first plays of the game. While on defense, I settled myself down, telling myself to focus on having fun, rather than playing like it was the Super Bowl. That prep-talk I had with myself was all I needed to get my head back into the game.
Heading into the next series of offense for my team, I was warmed up and ready to go. The coach, Korey Jesckee, called for a wide receiver screen that would have me staying near the quarterback to help block and serve as a last-second option in case the screen blew up. My best friend, Keegan Webber was the quarterback, he snapped the ball and he quickly found that the wide receiver who was supposed to get the ball was not open, so he quickly threw me the ball and I caught it and started to run up the field. I had green grass in front of me, no Boone player was around me. I ran as fast as I could and found myself sitting in the endzone. I had just scored a 65-yard touchdown pass. That would not be the final touchdown I scored that day; I would touch the ball two more times that day and both times resulted in trips to the endzone. In total, I scored three touchdowns, two receiving and one rushing. I also scored on a two-point conversion and recorded an interception in the game.