Heartbreak. Utter heartbreak. That is how I felt at the conclusion of the Rebels 2013 season. In a way, I felt robbed. I felt like the Iowa Rebel Killers came into Los Angeles and robbed the Rebels of a championship. In no other time does a running back score five touchdowns in one game. It just doesn’t happen in the pass-happy 21st century NFL.

As I was forced to congratulate the Iowa Rebel Killers with the presentation of the Sean Metz Trophy and the cash prize, I got the sense that the Rebels 2013 semi- final loss was necessary for what would become a determined, destined 2014 season for the team. The Rebels needed to lose to Iowa so that they could see how hard it is to win a championship. By experiencing a heartbreaking loss as a team, the Rebels could enter the 2014 season with one expectation; avenge the 2013 semi-final loss to the Iowa Rebels Killers and finally finish the playoff race and win the Rebels their first-ever championship.

This idea of finishing the race quickly became the team’s rally cry in 2014. Each practice, each scouting session, and each game the Rebels played in would have one goal in mind. Finish the race at whatever cost. This do or die, championship or bust mentality that Coach Matthew Nevers and I instilled upon our organization was not just an internal mindset, it was an external mindset that fans and other members of the Yuma Scorpions took notice of and bought into.

The 2014 California Rebel season was not like the seasons that had come before it. This was going to be the team’s year, but Coach Nevers, General Manager Dan Thompson, and I could not win a title on our own. We needed to bring in help, preferably in the scouting department. I talked to former Rebels head coach, turned Director of Scouting, Ryan Nevers on what he was looking for in his scouts. He told me he was looking for scouts with excellent knowledge on college football, on top of that, they also needed to be passionate football fans who wanted to buy into the Rebels championship mindset. I found just that with the hiring of my former flag football rival Nathan Simmons and his best friend, Ben Pauli.

The hiring of Nathan Simmons and Ben Pauli as 2014 Rebel team scouts began with a conversation, I had with the two during morning breakfast. I was talking to them about how hurt I was following the team’s 2013 playoff loss to Iowa and how 2014 was a make or break year for the franchise. Nathan then suggested Ben and him become scouts for the team. His pitch was simple; hire us and we will help the Rebels win a title. While his pitch was simple, I hired them on the spot. The California Rebels’ Owner was growing weary for a championship and I was going to do whatever it took to win a championship in 2014, even if it meant hiring an old rival.

Nathan Simmons and Ben Pauli joined Matthew Nevers and staff in March 2014. The new scouts immediately got to work, studying players from the much anticipated upcoming 2014 NFL Draft. Ben looked at the quarterbacks, seeing if any of the nation’s top prospects could make it on the Rebels 2014 team. The quarterback that was most impressive and really the only one who had a shot at making the Rebels, was Fresno States’ Quarterback Derek Carr. Carr is the younger brother to former Houston Texans’ Quarterback David Carr and Rebels’ Owner Hunter Schaal had always admired and respected David Carr. This admiration alone is what put Derek Carr on the watch list for the Rebels.

While Ben was scouting the rookie quarterbacks, Nathan was scouting the running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends. Nathan’s favorite prospects coming out in 2014 were Brandin Cooks, Eric Ebron, and Sammy Watkins. I remember him telling Ben and me that if any of these three prospects went to a good NFL offense, then the Rebels NEEDED to draft them. They were going to be special.

In early May 2014, we found out where these three prospects were heading. Sammy Watkins was heading to Buffalo to become a Bill, Eric Ebron was heading to Detroit to join Matthew Stafford and the Lions, and Brandin Cooks was heading to the Big Easy to catch passes from Drew Brees. Out of those three prospects, Ben and Nathan were must excited about Brandin Cooks. They felt he had the best potential to become a star and help the Rebels win a championship in 2014.

To help make Nathan and Ben’s jobs as scouts official, the two were given official team issued polos. This was a fun addition as the two felt this made their job as scouts much more realistic and to some extent, made them scout players even better! The 2014 California Rebels’ Scouting Department was the best ran scouting department in franchise history. The club set up an Iowa scouting office, allowing Nathan, Ben, and myself to have access to the team’s scouting profiles. President of the Scouting Department, Ryan Nevers also felt the Rebels needed to continue its use of FantasyGuru as the main source of scouting information, so a subscription to that was bought.

2014 was also the season in which I purchased an iPad for one purpose; scouting. I purchased an iPad so I could have unlimited access to the team’s scouting program, and I could conduct mock drafts alongside my scouts, Nathan and Ben, as well as, General Manager Dan Thompson. By the end of the scouting season, I conducted over forty mock drafts. I did roughly two to three mock drafts a day. I was determined to know every player and every possible move that could occur in the draft once the draft finally arrived.

The 2013 season saw tremendous growth for the California Rebels from a popularity standpoint. The team took the success of its popularity and carried it into the 2014 season. The team reopened and rebranded its official team store on their website, selling t-shirts, rally-rags, and jerseys. The rally-rags varied from plain rally-rags with the Rebels logo, to rally-rags with team official sayings like, “Believe & Be Ready,” or “Finish the Race.” These towels were a popular gameday purchase.

The t-shirts the team offered on their website focused on the team’s 2014 saying “Finish the Race,” their rivalry game with USMC, and popular team players like Eddie Lacy (Run Lacy Run). These shirts were a great way to grow the company name that was the California Rebels. While the rally-rags and t-shirts were a success for the small Rebels’ shop, what made the store the most money and most foot traffic was the arrival of the team’s official jerseys. Yes, that is right, the California Rebels officially now had team jerseys and fans could purchase them through the team store.

The Rebels wore five jerseys in 2014, with plans to wear a sixth jersey (Gray) that never came into fruition. However, the jerseys the Rebels did wear in 2014, were based on and created to match the team’s new logo that was adopted the previous season. The Rebels wore a classic “Rebel red” jersey that could have been worn with either red, white, black, or navy pants. The team had their road whites, an alternative “Rebel red” jersey, a blackout jersey, and a navy-blue throwback jersey to celebrate the days of the Hawaiian Rebels. Five jerseys seem like a lot, but each jersey was created and crafted for a specific purpose. These jerseys made the California Rebels feel like champions.

While “Owner” Hunter Schaal was expanding the brand of the California Rebels, “Commissioner” Hunter Schaal was trying to expand the Yuma Scorpions Fantasy Football League. In my first year on the job, I established and implemented regular season awards for the league. These awards were the Commissioner’s Trophy, a trophy/ award given to the team that finishes the regular season with the best record. The California Rebels were the first- ever recipients of that award.

The second award I helped implement into the league goes with the third award as well. These two awards were Yuma Scorpion Coach of the Year and Yuma Scorpion General Manager of the Year. Similar in nature, these two awards are quite different as they focus on the individual coach and general manager’s regular-season performance. The General Manager builds and assembles the team, the coach manages the roster throughout the season. Matthew Nevers won the first every Coach of the Year Honors with a 9-4 record in 2013, while Steve Kopf took home the first-ever General Manager of the Year.

Other than implementing regular-season awards, my second season as league commissioner saw the league adopt a new draft schedule. The days of not knowing one’s draft position until an hour before the draft was in the rearview mirror, as I proposed the draft order be determined by reverse order of standings, similar to how the NFL does their draft order. This proposal was widely accepted and 2014 was going to be the first year it would be implemented.

This wasn’t the only Yuma Draft change to occur in 2014. Starting this season, the league would host the Yuma Draft at Carroll First Assemble Church, allowing each team to walk up to the podium and announce their picks. This was a fun and engaging change, that in my mind, helped build the credibility to the league. All the other Yuma Owners were in favor of this change as well. My second season as Commissioner was off to a great start. I was building off the success I made in 2013, with only hopes to surpass this success in 2014. My approval rating as league Commissioner was its all-time high in the Summer of 2014.

With the draft order now being determined before draft day, General Manager Dan Thompson and his scouts, Ben Pauli and Nathan Simmons went into the scouting season knowing that the team was going to have the seventh overall pick for the fourth time in franchise history. However, a new policy that allowed pre-draft draft pick trading was also passed in the Summer of 2014 and Dan Thompson used this new rule to his advantage. Thompson didn’t find players he truly loved at seventh overall but knew if he traded up, he would be able to get “his guy.” So, on Tuesday, August 5, the California Rebels agreed to trade their first-round pick (7th overall) and their third-round pick (27th overall) to their cross-town rival USMC, in exchange for the Marines 5th overall pick and their second-round pick (15th overall). It was a major draft-day win for the Rebels as it now looked as if the team was going to land their 2013 MVP Calvin Johnson for the second year in a row.

A few days before the 2014 Yuma Draft, the league office was notified that long-time owner and Rebel rival Helmick was no longer going to play in the league and had decided to drop out. I remember panicking. If the league was not full-on draft day then the league would not be able to draft, thus spoiling the Rebels’ hopes of a world championship. I had to find a replacement team, a new owner, and I had to find him fast.

The search for a new owner did not take very long as Rebels’ scout Nathan Simmons suggested a mutual friend of ours. Nathan reached out to Cole Kautzky a day before the Yuma Draft. Cole happily accepted the offer and overnight the Helmick franchise moved from the Chicago area to the Nevada state capital Carson City and became the Razorbacks.

With the Yuma Scorpions now full at ten teams, the California Rebels were only twenty-four hours away from drafting their “championship team.” Even though the draft was right around the corner, General Manager Dan Thompson had yet to decide who the Rebels would take with their top choice. All the experts believed that the Rebels would take a similar route to what they did last season and take Detroit Lions’ Wide Receiver, Calvin Johnson. While the memories of Megatron scoring a touchdown over three defenders was still fresh in my mind, my scouts Nathan Simmons and Ben Pauli had been trying to sell me on Green Bay Packers’ second-year man, Eddie Lacy. They were certain that Lacy was a top-five running back in 2014 and while Johnson was electric, the upside of Eddie Lacy was almost but certain. He was going to produce in 2014.

The scouts spent all summer trying to sell me on the Alabama alum, but I shot my scouts down every time, telling them that I made the final decision when it came to the Rebels. Nathan and Ben respected the hierarchy of the Rebels’ front office and went into the draft believing that the team was going to select Calvin Johnson fifth overall. Heck, when I woke up on draft day, I thought the team was going to take Johnson. However, in the hours before the draft, General Manager Dan Thompson was conducting some last-minute research on the team’s top prospects; more importantly, he was researching Eddie Lacy.

Dan Thompson knew almost everything about Calvin Johnson so there wasn’t much for him to research on. But for Eddie Lacy, more research needed to be done. By looking at an article posted by FantasyGuru.com, Dan Thompson determined that Eddie Lacy would be the better pick for the Rebels in the first round. He had made his decision but neglected to tell anyone his intentions, even the owner. The draft was about to have its first major surprise.

At around 6:30 P.M Central Standard Time, owners began showing up at Carroll First Assembly Church for the first-ever live fantasy draft. Minnesota Destroyers owner Andrew Boell was the first owner to arrive, determined to build on the success of Minnesota’s first season. As owners continued to pile in and take their place in the draft room, the excitement and energy could be felt throughout the room. At 7:29, I took the stage as league commissioner and officially opened the 2014 Yuma Scorpion Draft. Zach Riddle’s team, the New York Rebel Destroyers were officially on the clock.

The New York franchise took little time to decide who the first pick in the draft would be. They selected the most hated player in Rebels’ history, running back Jamaal Charles. Charles was an easy choice for first overall pick, especially after his memorable or in the Rebels’ case unmemorable sixty-point performance last December. The second pick was Minnesota Vikings’ Adrian Peterson he went to team Metz. The third and fourth picks were respectively Chicago Bears’ Matt Forte and Houston Texans’ Arian Foster. No surprises occurred within the first four picks.

When the Rebels were placed on the clock at fifth overall, nearly every team in attendance that night had the idea that the Rebels were going to go with Calvin Johnson. But the Rebels did not select Calvin Johnson, instead, they selected running back Eddie Lacy. My scouts were surprised that Lacy was taken and I even received a text from my Dad who was drafting from the Caribbean, “What happened to Calvin Johnson?” The Rebels surely shocked some people with their top pick.

For the team’s second-round pick, the front office unanimously agreed upon taking Cincinnati Bengals’ Wide Receiver A.J. Green. Green was entering his fourth season, poised to continue his dominant start to his NFL career. The Rebels had another pick in the second round this season and I took the advice of my Quarterback Scout Nathan Simmons and took New Orleans Saint Drew Brees. This would mark Brees’ second tenure with the team, coming to complete unfinished business.

Rounds Four through Eight for the Rebels were used to acquire lackluster, but and efficient group of talent for the team. Vincent Jackson was drafted to star opposite A.J. Green and Andre Ellington was selected as the pass- catching back for the Rebels. Looking back now, these weren’t sexy picks, but they were the right picks for what Head Coach Matthew Nevers wanted to do on offense in 2014.

The Rebels’ Ninth Round pick stands out as one of the best draft picks in Rebels’ history. It was during this round that the Rebels’ drafted a future team captain, future Season MVP, and future inductee into the Rebels Ring of Honor. Carolina Panthers’ Greg Olsen was selected by the Rebels in the ninth round. He had made his way onto the team late in 2013 and both Dan Thompson and Matthew Nevers loved Olsen so much that they decided to bring him back in 2014. The core of the 2014 California Rebels were now assembled, or so I thought.

The 2014 regular season for the Rebels began on Thursday, September 4, in what was a prime-time showdown. The Rebels were chosen as the team scheduled to face the Iowa Rebel Killers on the road the night Iowa was scheduled to drop their 2013 Yuma Bowl championship banner. The Rebels were aware that they would be facing the Rebel Killers since mid-July and Coach Nevers couldn’t have been more stoked. He was determined to defeat Addison Ross and the Iowa Rebel Killers once and for all and get “that monkey off the Rebels’ back.”

In the Thursday opening game, the Rebels had their top selection Eddie Lacy going up against a stout Seattle Seahawk run defense. Lacy would end the night with seven points and an entrance into the Concussion Protocol. It wasn’t the start Coach Nevers, or I was expecting, nevertheless we were happy our star running back’s injury wasn’t going to be too serious.

The next night, a Friday night, I was stuck working into the late hours of the night. I was on Twitter listening and seeing tweets about Carroll High’s huge win over a conference rival and in this win, Quarterback Addison Ross had over 100 yards rushing as well as two passing touchdowns. Being supportive of my high school quarterback, I tweeted out, “Addison Ross will have more fantasy points than his quarterback (Cam Newton) will have on Sunday. Ross commented back in good fun, but he was still certain the Rebel Killers were going to outlast the Rebels in this dogfight.

Two days later on the first regular-season Sunday of the NFL season, it was reported that Cam Newton would not be active for the Panthers and that Derek Anderson would start in his place. Being stuck in a pickle, the Iowa Rebel Killers started former Rebels’ quarterback Tony Romo. In a way, my tweet from that Friday night turned out to be accurate on the technicality of Cam Newton being out.

The Rebels and their Tight End Greg Olsen were the biggest beneficiaries of Cam Newton’s absence. Because Cam Newton was out, Derek Anderson was put in his place and Anderson loved throwing the ball to Greg Olsen. Olsen would be the second-leading scorer for the Rebels that week (22 fantasy points), finishing the day with eight catches for eighty-three yards and a touchdown. Because of the performance, Olsen put on, the California Rebels were finally able to defeat the Iowa Rebel Killers 101-94. Following the team’s Week 1 win, the Rebels tweeted out the final score of the game. Addison Ross was not happy with how the game finished and replied with some vicious comments. The Rebels had finally broken the hump and defeated their newest rival.

Week 2 of the season had the Rebels traveling to Minnesota to take on the division rival Destroyers. The game was a defensive struggle from the beginning as both teams could do nothing offensively. Situations didn’t improve for the Rebels as the game progressed when the team lost star wide receiver A.J. Green to injury. However, the Rebels were bailed out by the Arizona Cardinals defense’s four takeaways and two sacks. The Rebels prevailed and defeated the Minnesota Destroyers 78-71. The team ended its two-week road trip 2-0, the Rebels’ best start to a season since the beginning of the 2011 season.

The 2014 Home Opener for the Rebels saw Metz coming to town. Metz was coming off a disappointing 2013 season and Coach Nevers and the entire Rebels’ organization viewed them as an easy win. Because the Rebels did not take Metz as a serious opponent, the Rebels played sluggish the entire game. The Rebels were not playing up to expectations, but the team’s defense was keeping the Rebels in the game. However, a last-second field goal by Metz sealed the fate for the Rebels. The team would suffer its first loss of the 2014 season, losing 109- 106.

Heading into the final game of the first quarter of the fantasy season, the Rebels stood at 2-1. An improvement from where the team was the previous season at the same point. While the team was playing well, Dan Thompson and I were not fully happy with how the team was playing. I knew the team could play better, but I also recognized a weakness in the Rebels’ offense. The team was not getting enough out of first-round pick Eddie Lacy. I knew that if the Rebels were to finally finish the race in 2014, they would need to get more out of their running backs. Seeing no option on the waiver wire, I helped General Manager Dan Thompson orchestrate one of the top fantasy trades in fantasy football history.

It was Thursday, September 25, 2014. I was on my way to my high school cafeteria to eat lunch when I walked past New York Rebel Destroyer’s Owner Zach Riddle. This was a quick pass, only a matter of seconds, but I took full advantage of these seconds. As Zach and I walk past one another, I jokingly asked him, “Hey $25 for Jamaal Charles?” He quickly replied, “Sure!” I was surprised by his answer, but I told him that we would talk more during our homeroom hour after lunch.

When homeroom came, I walked into Mrs. O’Leary’s homeroom with a giant smile and walked right over to Zach. I was like, “okay are we going to do this? $25 to acquire the rights to running back Jamaal Charles?” Zach agreed to the offer on the spot. To finalize the deal, the Rebels would also send waiver wire pickup, Doug Martin to New York, making it a player for a player and cash consideration trade. As the deal was going down, Iowa Rebel Killer’s Owner Addison Ross and former Dallas Stud’s Owner Levi Shield watched with disgust. The Rebels just made the first paid-for player trade in Yuma Scorpion history.

The moment Zach Riddle accepted the trade offer and the news was announced, I was ecstatic. I had just acquired the one player who single handily ended the Rebels’ 2013 season. It was truly a “if you can’t beat them, acquire them” situation. The Rebels now had a true dominant backfield made up of Eddie Lacy and Jamaal Charles. Don’t forget, the Rebels also had Drew Brees at quarterback, A.J. Green at wide receiver, and Greg Olsen at tight end. The Rebels’ championship odds jumped significantly the morning after the trade.

Having made the trade on a Thursday, rather than a Friday, meant that Jamaal Charles was eligible to play for the Rebels that weekend. And boy oh boy, this was a big weekend. Week 4 of the 2014 Yuma Scorpion season was a much anticipated “Battle of the House” game verses USMC. The Rebels were riding a six-game win streak in the series, having beat USMC every time since their second meeting in 2009. USMC was seen as a bottom-feeding team, having not had much success since entering the league in 2009. However, 2014, was the best team to date for USMC. They were poised, confident, and they knew how to get under their division rival’s skin.

A few days before the Jamaal Charles trade was made and announced by the team, I was hanging around with my Dad and he could do nothing, but trash talk about fantasy football and how he was going to beat me that weekend. The trash talk went on and on and I grew quite frustrated. Frustrated because I was fearful of losing to USMC, as well as, I do not handle trash talk and the feeling of losing quite easily when it comes to the Rebels. The trash talks by my Dad got to the point where I could not handle it any longer. I told my Dad to, “shut the fuck up. I do not want to hear about fantasy football.” My Dad did not appreciate me lashing out on him like that, but you could definitely feel that the rivalry between USMC and the California Rebels was growing into a blood-thirsty rivalry that disrupted the unity of a family.

When the games finally got underway in Week 4, the gloves came off between the Rebels and USMC. Newly acquired running back Jamaal Charles would put on a great performance in his Rebels’ debut, scoring 28 fantasy points, but the surrounding pieces for the Rebels failed to live up to their part. The game was close, but it would be USMC leaving Los Angeles with the win 130-122. USMC recorded only their second win in the “Battle of the House” series, while Rebels fell to a record of 2-2.

Next up on the Rebels’ schedule was a trip to the Nevada Desert to take on Cole Katuskey and the upstart Carson City Razorbacks. The Week 5 matchup began on Thursday, October 2, when the Green Bay Packers were taking on the Minnesota Vikings. The Rebels had and started the second half to their two-headed backfield, in Eddie Lacy. Lacy ran all over the new era of Purple People Eaters, rushing for 103 yards and two touchdowns for a total of 27 fantasy points. Not a bad start to a pivotal divisional showdown. The Razorbacks, on the other hand, were built around two running backs, Marshawn Lynch and Le’Veon Bell. This nasty duo could do nothing against the much superior Rebels’ defense, as the Rebels were able to leave the desert with a 165-98 victory; a blowout win.

The Rebels returned home for Week 6 to face off against the New York Rebel Destroyers. The California Rebels decided to unveil their updated slick black alternate jerseys for this weekend’s contest. However, prior to the matchup with Zach Riddle’s team, Coach Matthew Nevers received news that the foot that had been bothering star Wide Receiver A.J. Green all season long, had taken a turn for the worst, and the Rebels would be without the services of A.J. Green for this week’s contest.

To help replace A.J. Green’s production, Dan Thompson signed fellow Cincinnati Bengal Wide Receiver Mohamad Sanu as a free agent earlier that week. Sanu would turn out to be the player of the game versus the Rebel Destroyers, posting a 10 reception for 120 yards and 1 touchdown stat line. Tight End Greg Olsen also helped with his six catches for sixty-two yards and one touchdown. In total, the Olsen-Sanu duo posted 48 fantasy points for the Rebels. Their combined point total helped lead the Rebels to their first and only home victory in 2014; defeating the New York Rebel Destroyers 133-97. The Rebels were standing pretty at 4-2, with the goal of the post-season only an arm’s reach away.

Due to a terrible coaching decision made by Head Coach Matthew Nevers that saw him bench starting Quarterback Drew Brees for backup Jay Cutler, the California Rebels would lose their Week Seven matchup on the road versus the team’s long-time rival the GMEN 118- 105. When the final whistles blew, team scouts Nathan Simmons and Ben Pauli let their frustrations be known when they yelled at Owner Hunter Schaal for not starting Drew Brees over Jay Cutler. I was shocked that Nathan and Ben, two low-level scouts would have the audacity to yell at the team owner. I could have fired them on the spot that night, but instead, I told them that I stood by the decision made by Matthew Nevers and that Drew Brees would start next week verse Detroit. I told Nathan and Ben that this loss would not define the Rebels’ season and reminded them of their place in this organization. I was not going to tolerate this type of behavior again.

As one could expect, the days leading up to the first- ever “Battle of the House” playoff matchup made for quite a stressful and interesting week in the Schaal House. No, I did not cuss out my father as I had three months prior, rather I chose to ignore him and his delusional comments. While USMC was technically the home team due to them winning the Western Division for the first time in their franchise’s history, the Rebels felt like the home team. This was USMC’s first playoff appearance since 2009, while the Rebels were making their fifth consecutive playoff appearance. On top of this, Rebel fans across Southern California flocked to San Diego, outnumbering USMC by a wide margin. The team, fans, and players were confident and ready for the most important “Battle of the House” matchup in the series.

Despite losing the team’s Week 13 matchup verse the Razorbacks 208-117, Head Coach Matthew Nevers kept the team focused and ready for the playoffs. Nevers told his players to forget the regular season; the real season, the post-season was upon them, and it was up to them to avenge the team’s 2013 Semi-Final loss to Iowa and become world champions. Overall, I felt confident. The Rebels had beaten USMC all but two times in their playing history and the Rebels, more importantly, I, knew the weaknesses to USMC’s game plan. If the team slowed down Andrew Luck, then the Rebels had a great opportunity to win their first playoff game since 2010.

The games began on Sunday with both teams having their players get underway. USMC took the early lead as a result of the team having more players playing in the early 1:00 slot, but once the late afternoon games began, the Rebels took the lead and never looked back. Running back Jamaal Charles and the Chiefs were playing in Arizona, taking on the Cardinals in a pivotal game for both the Chiefs and the Rebels’ playoff hopes. Early in the first quarter, Jamaal Charles did for the Rebels what he did for the Rebel Killers the year prior. He ran all over the Cardinals Defense, finishing the day with 91 rushing yards, twenty receiving yards, and two total touchdowns. In the end, Jamaal Charles scored 25 fantasy points for the Rebels.

The team felt great going into the Monday Night Football matchup. They were up thirty points and still had Wide Receiver Jordy Nelson to play. Nelson made sure the Rebels’ road playoff win ended in a blowout, finishing Monday Night with 8 receptions for 146 yards and two touchdown stat line. The Rebels defeated USMC in the first-ever “Battle of the House” playoff matchup 156-96. The team won their first playoff game since 2010 and set themselves up with a revenge game vs Iowa in the Semi- Finals.

The Rebels’ victory over USMC was short-lived, however, as the focus now turned to the number one seeded Iowa Rebel Killers. Iowa was the one team I didn’t want the Rebels to play as the heartbreak that was the 2013 Semi- Finals still loomed large in the Rebels’ memory. However, demons needed to be exercised if the Rebels wanted to finally call themselves Yuma Scorpion Champions.

When the matchups for the semi-final were set, I remember Iowa Rebel Killers’ Owner Addison Ross not being too thrilled to be playing the Rebels yet again, however, he was confident that his squad could once again thrash the Rebels’ championship hopes. In fact, much of the media and owners around the league discounted the Rebels altogether, saying the team from Los Angeles had no chance in defeating the defending Yuma Bowl Champion. I even remember New York Rebel Destroyers’ Owner Zach Riddle talking to me and naming off players from the Rebel Killers roster and comparing it to the Rebels, saying Iowa’s team was far superior to mine. Collectively, the trash talks and negative media that was received in the days leading up to the game, only added fuel to the Rebels’ fire, in what Coach Matthew Nevers referred to as “Bulletin Board Material.”

When the final spread was announced the re-match of the 2013 Yuma Semi-Finals was expected to be a very close matchup, but surprisingly, the Rebels were favored over Iowa by three points. The game began on Thursday Night when Iowa’s Kerwynn Williams suited up against the Rams. Williams would rush for 75 yards and add two receptions for eleven yards. By the end of the night, Iowa was ahead of the Rebels 10-0.

When Sunday came around, both the Rebels and the Rebel Killers fought back and forth against one another. The Rebels stayed with the Rebel Killers due in large part to TE Greg Olsen’s ten receptions for 110 receiving yards, good for twenty-three fantasy points. Additionally, the Rebels played the Lions Defense against the Rebel Killers, and the Rebels were awarded with two interceptions and four sacks from the Lions Defense. Matt Prater also added three field goals to the Rebels scoring total. Heading into Sunday Night the Rebels had a small lead, but the team would surrender this lead to Iowa, thanks to the play of Iowa’s Quarterback Tony Romo, the Rebels former quarterback. The game would come down to Monday Night as both the Rebels and the Rebel Killers had one player left to play, both of which played for the New Orleans Saints.

The Rebels had Quarterback Drew Brees and the Iowa Rebel Killers had Brees’ favorite passing target, TE Jimmy Graham. It didn’t look good for the Rebels as it was widely assumed that if Drew Brees was to have a great game, so would Jimmy Graham. On top of this, Drew Brees had been struggling and statistically, he does not perform well in outdoor cold venues like Chicago. With the Rebels’ hopes of defeating Iowa growing slim, Addison Ross, Zach Riddle and other members of the Yuma Scorpions started writing Iowa’s name into the next round of the playoff bracket, however, I did not give up on my team and I believed that we could still win, but it would take a miracle Drew Brees performance to do so.

To ensure that this would happen, I went to Twitter and tweeted at Drew Brees to have the game of his life, but to not throw the ball to Jimmy Graham. This was the second time I went to Drew Brees via Twitter asking for help, the other time being a 2011 regular-season game against the GMEN, better known to Rebel fans as the “Believe and Be Ready Game.” Once again, the Rebels, their fans, and I would need to believe that we could win and be ready for anything that could occur throughout the game.

During the week of the Rebels’ semi-final game, I was also having semester ending finals for my Junior year of high school. I had two finals I desperately needed to pass to pass each class (Geometry and Chemistry). For my Chemistry class, we had a rigorous final, on top of a final project. I knew that even if I spent my Monday night studying like my classmates for these finals, I was still probably going to fail Chemistry by the time it came for me to take the exam. With this realization, I decided to forgo any studying and instead, devoted my time to watching the New Orleans Saints vs Chicago Bears Monday Night Football game. I know that I should’ve spent time studying, but deep down and wearing my “owner’s hat” I knew that I made the right decision to watch the game.

When the game began, all I could do was sit patiently as I waited for the final score to be posted. I was a nervous wreck, but thankfully Drew Brees made watching the game a little easier. The Saints controlled the game from start to finish, thanks to three takeaways by Bears’ Quarterback Jay Cutler. These three takeaways gave Brees and the Saints easy field-position, allowing the Saints to score four touchdowns on the day. Three of these touchdowns came from Drew Brees himself, throwing one touchdown to Marques Colston, and the other two to back- up TE Josh Hill. Hill only caught two passes during the game, but his two catches were two of the biggest catches in Rebels’ history and Hill wasn’t even a member of the Rebels.

As for Jimmy Graham, Drew Brees seemed to have read my tweet as Graham did not have the game I or Addison Ross had expected him to have. Graham would finish the game with five receptions for 87 yards or thirteen fantasy points. However, Graham’s night is best remembered for a dropped touchdown pass that would have given the Iowa Rebel Killers the lead and the win. However, Graham dropped the pass in the endzone, and the California Rebels held on to win the Semi-Final matchup 128-122 and with it, the team advanced to their first-ever Yuma Bowl.

When the final seconds were ticking away in what became a New Orleans victory, I opened up the ESPN Fantasy Football App on my phone to check the scores. I had a feeling that the Rebels had won the game, but I was nowhere near certain of it. But when the app loaded and the score was shown, I immediately got a huge grin on my face and started dancing around in circles. I texted Rebels’ Scouts, Nathan Simmons and Ben Pauli, telling them that we were going to the Yuma Bowl. Both of them could not believe it, but they were both very excited and happy for me and the organization.

In a 2016 interview reflecting on the 2014 Semi- Final game versus Iowa, Coach Nevers and I discussed what it meant to win that game. Coach Nevers recalled a feeling that he believed we were going to lose the game, but he could not show his hand and his disappointment, instead, he showcased great perseverance and fought with his players to the final whistle. I, on the other hand, have already discussed most of my feelings towards this game, but in this interview, I described this game, the Rebels upset victory over the defending champion Iowa Rebel Killers, as the defining moment of the California Rebels.

Not only did the Rebels advance to their first-ever Yuma Bowl, but they also displayed the willingness to never give up, as well as, what it truly means to “believe and be ready.”

The very next morning after the Rebels’ upset win, I went to school dressed in my white Rebels’ jersey. I was ecstatic and made sure that everyone knew that the Rebels were on their way to the title game. Just before the school bell rang, Cole Katuskey came up to me and shook my hand and told me congratulations on making it to the Yuma Bowl. His team, the Carson City Razorbacks too just advanced to the Yuma Bowl with their Semi-Final win over Netsch. We both were excited for one another, as well as, excited to get Yuma Bowl VI started.

I was still on cloud nine from the team’s Semi-Final win over Iowa the previous week, but I knew that the job was not yet finished. There was one obstacle still in the way and it was a team that had crushed the Rebels just three weeks earlier. However, things seemed different this time around. Yuma Bowl VI, which was being played in San Diego that year, did not receive as much hype as the Iowa-California Semi-Final Rematch, nonetheless, the narrative for Yuma Bowl VI was bound to be exciting, thrilling, and memorable.

In the days leading up to the game, General Manager Dan Thompson and Coach Matthew Nevers were working around the clock to ensure that the team the Rebels put on the field on Sunday was the best possible team and one that would be declared league champion by the end of the day. Thompson picked up additional players and even placing one into the team’s starting lineup. The Rebels had been waiting their entire franchise’s existence for this moment, they were not about to let this moment slip away from them.

Yuma Bowl VI kicked off on a special Saturday Night Football matchup of the Eagles and the Redskins. Carson City had the Eagles kicker, Cody Parkey, and the Eagles Defense in their lineup. Together, Parkey and the Defense gave the Razorbacks a sloppy start to championship weekend. The sloppiness continued into Sunday for both the Rebels and the Razorbacks. The heroes from last week Drew Brees and Greg Olsen majorly under preformed for the Rebels, but fortunately for the Rebels, Carson City’s best players were also underperforming.

I was getting uneasy as I watched the stat lines run across the bottom ticker of the Miami Dolphins versus Minnesota Vikings game, but it was during this game that my mood began to change. Miami Dolphins Running Back Lamar Miller, a running back that had widely underperformed for the majority of the season, decided to have his best performance in the Yuma Bowl. Miller rushed for 92 yards and a touchdown and then he added five receptions for fifty-eight yards for a total of 25 fantasy points. With Miller’s performance, the Rebels were one step closer to a Yuma Bowl victory.

However, it was another matchup being played in Florida that set the Rebels apart from the Razorbacks. The Green Bay Packers versus Tampa Bay Buccaneers game was not a highlighted matchup across the NFL that week, but it was a game that the Packers needed to help rejuvenate their offense. Over the previous weeks the Packers were struggling on offense, but a matchup verse the league-worst Bucs helped put the Pack back on track. Rebels’ Wide Receiver Jordy Nelson showed why Dan Thompson and the Rebels traded for him back in October, posting 9 catches for 113 yards and a touchdown day. Nelson’s touchdown, which wasn’t necessary for the Packers win over Tampa, came in the final minute of the ballgame, a textbook garbage time touchdown. It is this Jordy Nelson one-yard touchdown that finally made the California Rebels world champions, they just needed Razorbacks’ Running Back Marshawn Lynch to be contained against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday Night Football.

At the conclusion of the early games, I did something I usually do not do and that is, check the score of the Rebels game. I did this because I knew both Cole and I only had one player left to play and thus, Yuma Bowl VI was nearly decided. I saw that the Rebels had a lead of 103-74. ESPN was projecting the Rebels the winner, but Marshawn Lynch had other ideas. During the Seahawks Sunday Night 35-6 route of the Cardinals, Marshawn Lynch ran for 113 yards on ten carries and added two touchdowns to his impressive night. Lynch brought the Razorbacks back to within two, 103-101, but unfortunate for Carson City, they had no remaining players left to play, and the Rebels still had WR A.J. Green to play on Monday Night.

When the final seconds ticked down from the Seattle-Arizona game, Carson City Razorbacks’ Owner Cole Katuskey texted me and congratulated me on winning the title. I replied to Cole saying, “I know that winning the title didn’t mean much to you, but winning the Yuma Bowl meant everything to me.” I then thanked him for his generous text and congratulated him on a great season. The words from Cole on the evening of Sunday, December 21, 2014, meant a lot to me, and it is something that I’ll remember for a long time when I look back at the 2014 California Rebels’ Championship season.

The following evening, Monday, December 22nd, Nathan Simmons, Ben Pauli, and I helped celebrate the Rebels’ first title by a Gatorade Bath and the falling of confetti. I was then interviewed post-game on what it meant for the Rebels to be called champions. The feeling of being a champion had not yet hit me as it felt unreal. The Rebels couldn’t be champions? Their entire history they had fallen short year after year, and last season, 2013, ended most heartbreakingly. I still couldn’t believe that my team had finally gotten over the hump and became world champions.

In the post-game interview, I called the Rebels ‘Road Warriors’ as the team went 9-1 on the road during the 2014 season, only winning one game at home in Los Angeles. This is a record that still stands today in the NAFC, but the accomplishments made by the 2014 Rebels cannot be overlooked. The team devoted hours of scouting and research overcame media scrutiny, and lastly, defeated their arch-rival the Iowa Rebel Killers in a Hollywood script ending. The way the 2014 season ended for the Rebels was nothing short of magical. It feels like the story of the 2014 Rebels could only have been played out in a Hollywood script and not real life; but it was real life, the Rebels were finally champions!

Also, during the post-game interview, Scouts Nathan Simmons and Ben Pauli were interviewed for the final time as members of the Rebels’ organization. We saw the fiery passion in Nathan, the passion he would later bring to his Seattle franchise starting in 2015. But it is the heartwarming story from Ben Pauli that is best remembered from this post-game celebration. Ben, who stepped away from the franchise in early November, told us that the reason he stepped away was that his son Cal, was just born and that he nearly died upon delivery. Ben teared up telling us that the umbilical cord from Cal’s mother was wrapped around Cal when he was born. Doctors told Ben and the mom that Cal was probably not going to make it past a week, but a miracle occurred, and Cal survived. His story and fight for his life, in a way, inspired the Rebels, even more, to continue to fight and finish the race. Cal was our number one supporter during the 2014 playoffs.

As Nathan, Ben, and I was celebrating the Rebels championship, the Broncos and the Bengals were battling it out on Monday Night Football. Although the Rebels had already won, I was still intrigued as to what A.J. Green would do in this game. Turns out, A.J. Green exited the game early with a hamstring injury, ending his Yuma Bowl performance to a 0-0-0 stat line for 0 fantasy points. With Green’s absence, the final score of Yuma Bowl VI became California Rebels 103, Carson City Razorbacks 101. The Rebels won their first championship by two points, adding to the magical 2014 playoff ride. With this two-point victory, it turned out that Cole would have won Yuma Bowl VI over me if he had started TE Jordan Cameron over Bears TE Martellus Bennett. Cameron went off in Week 16 with 3 catches for 88 yards and a touchdown (17 fantasy points), while Bennett had a sad 1 reception for 0 yards (1 fantasy point). I still joke with Cole about it to this day, but it is this start/sit that still haunts the Razorback franchise to this day.

The 2014 season began in early January where the team became focused to make the 2014 season the season of the Rebels. The team adopted the slogan “Finish the Race” to motivate them into getting over the hump and finally winning the Yuma Bowl. While some people say that the Rebels’ 2014 championship was bought through the acquisition of both RB Jamaal Charles and WR Jordy Nelson, the hard work of Rebels’ General Manager Dan Thompson was recognized enough to name him 2013 Yuma Scorpions’ General Manager of the Year. Thompson worked hard year-round for the Rebels and while he may have gotten help through the players listed above, the work and dedication he made in other places throughout the season helped to finally make the California Rebels champions.