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"Golden Empire Making an Impact
at the Next Level"
several Kern County All Area
Players got their start right
here in
Golden
Empire including the 2011 Kern
County
Player of the Year Chris
Hannibal
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BHS quarterback Hannible named
All-Area Football
Player of the Year
BY ZACH
EWING Californian staff writer
zewing@bakersfield.com
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Saturday, Dec 31 2011 08:37 PM
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Michael Lopez /
Special to The
Californian
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Bakersfield High quarterback Chris
Hannible is The Bakersfield
Californian Football Player of the
Year.
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Bakersfield
High quarterback Chris Hannible is The
Bakersfield Californian Football Player of
the Year.
Pressure, Chris Hannible
has discovered, is nothing when mixed with talent and a
lot of preperation.
Sure, Hannible had the
unenviable task of replacing three-year starter Brian
Burrell as Bakersfield High's quarterback. But it didn't
take him long to realize he could make it work.
"Yeah, there was a little
pressure, coming in with a team so young, first year
starting at quarterback," Hannible said. "But it's been
a dream of mine to live up to those big standards, and I
was very excited to take charge."
Did he ever. In
Bakersfield's triple-option offense, Hannible threw for
1,541 yards, 20 touchdowns and just 4 interceptions, and
he ran for 1,239 yards and 22 touchdowns. Most
important, he led the Drillers to a 13-0 season -- the
legendary program's first unbeaten run since 2001 -- and
their record 35th Central Section championship.
For that, Hannible is
The Californian's All-Area Football Player of the
Year.
"He did an unbelievable job
of managing the game when it needed to be managed,"
Bakersfield coach Paul Golla said. "For a first-year
starter, that's pretty special."
Of course, Golla had more
than an inkling his offense would be OK with Hannible
taking over. Rewind back to the 2010 section playoffs,
when Hannible would stay after practice and zip around
passes for the scout team, doing a passable
impersonation of Centennial's All-American quarterback,
Cody Kessler.
"He's explosive, he's
strong, he works hard in the weightroom," Golla said.
"He's really developed himself in those areas. But he's
always been a team guy. You tell him to play whatever
position, and he'll do it. He just wants to compete.
Even as a scout-team quarterback, he's yelling at our
guys. He's special in that way."
And the Drillers needed
that quality during several sticky spots during their
unbeaten run. First, at Frontier, the host Titans erased
a big deficit to tie the game 35-35 late. Bakersfield's
Kevin Elijah -- The Californian's Defensive
Player of the Year -- made an interception with less
than two minutes left, and Hannible did the rest,
running the ball in for the winning touchdown.
More notably, with
Bakersfield facing a 42-21 deficit and the premature end
of its season in the section quarterfinals against
Centennial, Hannible went to work.
He was 6-of-7 for 154 yards
and two passing TDs and ran the ball six times for 42
yards and a touchown in Bakersfield's frantic comeback,
including two perfectly placed deep balls to Kevin Hayes
for the tying and winning touchdowns in a 49-42 victory.
"We just said, 'Heck yeah,'
which to us means not to get down, just go forward, stay
calm and do your technique," Hannible said. "That was a
huge down, but we had to keep our heads up."
Hannible was more of a game
manager in a semifinal victory against Clovis -- the
Cougars took away his lane to run in the option, so he
handed off to fullback Silas Nacita 16 times for 153
yards -- but he was back to his explosive self against
Bullard, throwing for 154 yards and running for 98.
"It was crazy how it's all
worked out," said Hannible, who started on defense as a
sophomore and junior. "My sophomore year we lost in the
semifinals. Last year, we lost in Valley, and my senior
year we made it back and won it. All in order."
Hannible, who has moved
around Bakersfield with relatives because of an unstable
family situation, is waiting on first-semester grades to
come in before he's certain he'll qualify academically
to play in Division I college ball.
"Football has been
everything to me," Hannible said. "I've played since I
was 8 years old, and it helps me a lot.
If Hannible does continue
his career at a four-year school, there is plenty of
interest from Fresno State (as a safety) and Nevada
(possibly as a quarterback). If that route doesn't work,
he'll likely play at a junior college near you.
"It really doesn't matter;
I'll play anywhere," Hannible said.
Wherever he lands, be
assured that Hannible plans on making an impact.
"He wants to compete, and
when he understands what he's supposed to do, he's going
to get it done," Golla said. "He's a lot like (Fresno
State standout safety and former Driller) Phillip
Thomas. He's extremely intelligent and he understands
the game.
"He's a gift."
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Featured Team of the Week: Golden Empire Youth Football & Cheer
With Golden Empire Youth Football & Cheer, Athletes Excel On and Off the Field.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (CSD) – Golden Empire Youth Football and Cheer is a home-grown organization. And has it ever grown!
The program was launched in 1998 by current Executive Director Ron White and 14 other board members, and it now includes 2,300 football players and cheerleaders, plus 400 coaches and countless volunteers.
“We’re one of the largest high school feeder programs in the state,” said White, a former East Bakersfield High School player who went on to play at Porterville Junior College. “High school coaches see us as a huge benefit for them because we develop these young men and women, and use the high school’s philosophies, fundamentals and techniques.
“When a 7-year-old starts in our program, by the time he gets to the high school level, he already has seven years of experience in the same system that his high school football program uses. Golden Empire uses the same play-calling systems as many of the local high schools, but modified to meet the age and ability of youth football players.”
Golden Empire Youth Football games are played on local regulation high school and collegiate fields. Currently, the organization has 15 geographic programs inclusive of four divisions: freshman level (ages 7-9), sophomore (10-12), junior varsity (11-13) and varsity (12-14), with rosters of approximately 30 players each.
Each team plays a minimum of seven regular-season games, followed by playoffs that are similar to the structure used by the NFL.
“We’ve had some great young athletes advance through our program, and some have gone on to play at colleges including USC, UCLA, Nebraska, Colorado State and Fresno State,” White said. “And last month, Fresno State running back Ryan Mathews, who played in our organization, was drafted by the San Diego Chargers with the 12th overall pick.”
In recent years, Golden Empire Youth Football and Cheer has been represented by 10 teams that have earned championships, including three last year, at the National Youth Football Championships in Las Vegas.
White said that Golden Empire Youth Football and Cheer would not exist were it not for the tireless work done by volunteers.
“The strength of our organization is volunteer coaches,” White said. “We also have 22 men and women on our board who are professionals in the community, and they give much of their time to make this work, including some as coaches. We coach a lot of at-risk kids and give them the type of structure they need in their lives. And for families that are struggling financially, we offer the Community Athletic Scholarship Program.
“First and foremost with our group is sportsmanship. What we teach goes way beyond the X’s and O’s of football. We train these young people in how to conduct themselves, how to display sportsmanship and how to provide community service.”
Tryouts are held in early March and full-contact practices begin in July. The season runs from early September through mid-November.
Those interested in learning more about Golden Empire Youth Football & Cheer may visit www.geyf.org or call 661-837-GEYF.
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FORMER GOLDEN EMPIRE PLAYER
POISED TO TAKE OVER FOR L.T.
Former GEYF Tomahawk player and West High Grad Ryan Mathews was recently selected by the San Diego Chargers in the First Round of the 2010 NFL Draft. Ryan is poised to take over for future NFL Hall of Fame Running Back& Ladanian Tomlinson. Ryan is a perfect example of what hard work and dedication can bring to those who dream of one day playing football at its highest level.
We are all very proud of Ryan as well as the GEYF Tomahawk coaching staff that helped develop such a fine young man.
"IF YOU BELIEVE YOU CAN ACHIEVE"
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"2009 GEYF Freedom Players will compete
on a "National Stage"
Colton Foster, Anthony Mariscal, and
Justin Nieto have been selected to represent Golden
Empire's Far west Freedom Football Program in the 2009
FBU U.S. ARMY YOUTH ALL AMERICAN BOWL. The game
will be played in the Alamodome in San Antonio Texas on
Sunday January 10, 2010.
Colton, Anthony, and Justin were selected
as three of the top youth football players in the
nation.It is quite an honor to have these three fine
young men represent not only Golden Empire Youth Tackle
Football, but our Bakersfield Community as a whole.
The following Photos of the U.S.
ARMY ALL AMERICAN SELECTIONS, GEYF Board
Members, and Coaches.were taken during the U.S.
ARMY BOWL SELECTION PRESENTATION Press
Conference held at Kern Security on Tuesday 12,15,2009.
(
Photos taken by Action
Digital Photography )
Congratulations to all who made this
possible, and a special thanks to our Community for the
continuing support of Golden Empire Youth Tackle
Football and Cheer...
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Freedom in
the News
Article
from Bakersfield Press
Local Athletes Promote
Cancer Awareness
Topics:
Youth Football Cancer
Awareness October
Posted by
PaulTGarcia Tue Oct 20,
2009 23:20:42 PDT
Local
Athletes Promote Cancer
Awareness
Freedom Freshmen
Football team shows
support by wearing pink
From
national teams to those
at the club level,
athletes around the
country are wearing pink
and recognizing Breast
Cancer Awareness Month.
My son
plays for a Golden
Empire Youth Football
team, Freedom’s Freshman
team, and after practice
one evening he
approached me with some
pink shoelaces. He
explained to me that a
parent donated them to
the team, to be worn for
the next few games. I
knew why and this gave
me an opportunity to
explain to my son why.
Throughout October, NFL
athletes have been
wearing pink during
games. Brett Favre,
Larry Fitzgerald, Drew
Brees and many other NFL
stars will wear pink
cleats and other
pink-colored gear during
games this weekend as
the league supports
October's National
Breast Cancer Awareness
Month.
Jessica
Ramirez, a Freshmen
Freedom football parent,
may have seen the NFL
players doing it on the
field and thought what a
great idea for our
football team to do as
well. She invested in
pink shoelaces and
donated them to the
team.
The pink
laces have been proudly
worn by the Freshmen
Freedom football team
during the month of
October.
This has been a
great way to educate
our youth and get
them actively
involved in
supporting cancer
awareness.
Many of
our families have been
affected by breast
cancer and many people
know someone who has
been affected by it.
Freshmen
Freedom football has
something in common with
the NFL and now breast
cancer awareness. This
is a really cool idea to
unite the nation’s
sports and it’s
athletes, at all levels
of the playing field,
and bring awareness to
breast cancer.
How
wonderful for our area's
youth athletes, as well
as national athletes, to
support awareness for
such a worthy cause.
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Former Golden
Empire Southeast Varsity Wolverine, Steven
Roberson, represents the United States in the
Global Callenge Bowl held in Kawasaki, Japan
Every once in awhile a player
comes along that is destined for greatness, both
as an athlete and a human being. That
individual is Steven Roberson. I
had the distinct pleasure of coaching Steven as
a member of the 2005 Golden Empire
Varsity Wolverine
Conference Championship Team. To be honest
I'm sure I actually learned more from Steven
than I was ever able to teach him. As an
extremely humble, unassuming and hard working
player, I could think of no one better to not
only represent Golden Empire, but the United
States in this international competition.
Sincerely,
Ron L White
Former Southeast
Varsity Wolverine Head Coach
1999 to 2006
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Former Golden Empire Southeast Varsity
Wolverines Players
(Christian Taylor and Jake Peterson)
Help bring home a Valley Title
Jake Peterson and Christian Taylor are
outstanding young men both on and off the
football field. It was really a blessing to have
the opportunity to coach and help mold these
young athletes. Both Jake and Christian led the
2004 Varsity Wolverines to the Conference
Championship Game and went on to help bring
Bakersfield Christian High a Valley
Championship. Jake and Christian proudly
represents not only Golden Empire and
Bakersfield Christian, but the whole Kern County
Community. We look forward to big things from
both these young men in the near future.
Ron L. White
Southeast
Varsity Wolverine Head Coach
1998 to 2006
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Mark Forrest -
Ex-Fighting Irish Player
Oak Grove football standouts
Mark Forrest and Aaron Huck made oral
commitments to attend
Nevada
on Wednesday night.
The pair have been friends
since before grade school - their fathers Mark
Forrest and Rick Huck, an Oak Grove assistant
coach, played football together at
San Jose
State.
"At the beginning of the
season we talked and said 'Whoever is recruiting
us - we have to tell them it's a package deal,'"
said Forrest, a 6-foot-7, 205-pound linebacker,
who is expected to move to defensive line in
college.
Right tackle Huck took his
recruiting trip to the Reno campus last weekend
with his father.
"I just thought it was a good
fit. Nevada has a great young quarterback with
freshman Colin Kaepernick. And the linemen are
older, so I should get a chance to play soon,"
said the 6-foot-3, 290-pound Huck, who paved the
way for a pair of 2,000-yard rushing seasons by
Eagles running back Nevin Gardiner. "The team
has been to Bowl games for three years in a row,
it's a program on the rise."
Forrest, who is also a
standout basketball player, underwent two knee
surgeries during his sophomore year and decided
football was his best bet in college. He also
received scholarship offers from
Fresno
State and Wyoming.
"My knees just couldn't
handle all the jumping in basketball, so
football was actually easier on them," said
Forrest, who had 13 sacks and 65 tackles this
year.
Huck and Forrest were both
key in the Eagles' run to the Open Division
title this year
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Nathan Mantle was a member of the GEYF Varsity Freedom
Championship Team in 2001. Nathan also was elected to
the GEYF All Area Varsity Team that finished 2nd in the
2001 National Youth Football Championships in Las
Vegas. As an Ohio State Buckeye "True Freshmen"
Nathan is playing on a national stage and represents
Golden Empire and the
Bakersfield Community proudly.
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City of Shafter Honors the Gladiators with
a display in the Town Plaza |
Ten years in, Golden Empire Youth Football one of
state's largest leagues
The Bakersfield Californian |
Monday, Jun 23 2008 9:43 PM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Jun 25 2008 9:27 AM
The Golden Empire Youth Football League, which has
grown to 1,700 players on 56 teams with 350 coaches
and 500 cheer participants  one of the
largest independent youth football and cheer
organizations in the state and will be
celebrating its 10th season this year.
Although tryouts
were in March, many teams are still accepting
players. The season will get jump-started in August
with the "Kickoff Classic," festive,
carnival-like day at Garces High that will include
team scrimmages.
The following is
an informational background of Golden Empire Youth
Football League, which was founded in 1998.
Age groups/divisions
Freshmen Division -- Ages 7-9
Sophomore Division -- Ages 10-11
Junior Varsity Division -- Ages 12-13
Varsity Division -- Ages 13-14
Membership
areas
-- Arvin, Bakersfield, Shafter, Tehachapi, Wasco
Timeline
Team tryouts - March
(Some teams are still accepting
players)
Instructional football camp -- June
Kick Off Classic (all-day
carnival-type event, with scrimmages) -- August
Regular season -- September-November
Postseason -- November
Financial aid
-- GEYF offers the Community Athletic Scholarship
Program. Participants who need assistance to
participate in the league may apply for help with
registration costs. Golden Empire never turns a
player away in need of financial assistance.
* GEYF mission: To provide a competitive youth
tackle football and non-competitive youth cheer
program for local elementary and junior high school
students. The primary goal of this organization is
to provide a training ground for the basic
fundamentals of youth football and cheer, to develop
sound mind, body, and character and first and
foremost to have fun.
* Executive director
Ron White says: "One of the reasons we opened this
league ... is that we saw a need for a more
competitve football organization. There was really
no venue or forum for a competitive league with
multiple levels."
* Structure -- GEYF is governed by a volunteer board
of directors comprised of 22 local men and women.
Awards -- GEYF just received a 10 year Commitment To
Youth Award from the Kern County Superintendent of
Schools.
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Gladiator Honored by Shafter Chamber of
Commerce
Courtesy of the
Shafter Press/ Reed Print Inc.
Shafter Youth Football program was the
recipient of the Youth Development Award at the 60th
Annual Shafter Chamber of Commerce Awards dinner.
This award was given in part for the positive
impact that this program has had in the community. Operating
on program fees and donations, over 115 young people are given the
opportunity to play football yearly. The countless hours of
volunteer time put in by the Board and Coaches was recognized also.
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