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ENLARGE
Tanner Mathias didn't necessarily set out to become a three-sport high school athlete. He just didn't want to have to hop on the bus once the school day was over.
“Really,” Mathias said. “It was just a way to keep me busy. I didn't want to ride the bus home as a freshman or sophomore.
“I always wanted to keep doing something after school, which kept me out of trouble, and meant my parents would pick me up.”
And along the way, Bear River High School has picked up a number of victories in football, basketball and track with Mathias wearing the cardinal and gray. For his efforts, he is The Union's choice as 2008-09 Male Prep Athlete of the Year.
As a 6-foot-3, 207-pound senior quarterback for the Bear River football team, Mathias completed 110-of-171 passes (64.2 percent) for 1,523 yards, 15 touchdowns and four interceptions. He connected with his top target, fellow senior Garrett Barbic, on 53 passes for 802 yards and nine scores.
Mathias helped Bear River to an 8-3 season that earned second place in the Pioneer Valley League and a berth in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. But there's no doubt at all what he considers his top accomplishment with Bruin football.
“Beating Colfax,” he said. “That was big, definitely big. We thought about it every day, since we lost last year and because we had beaten them as freshmen and sophomores.”
The 31-12 win was Bear River's first over the rival Falcons at the varsity level since 2000, snapping a seven-game skid to Colfax.
Mathias also took pride in passing for more than 1,000 yards and setting Bear River's school power clean record at 330 pounds during the annual lift-a-thon.
While he might have been the marked man on the football field, having the ball snapped into his hands each play, the role at which he excelled on the basketball floor was every bit as pivotal to the team's success if not as a prominent one.
Having high scoring classmates like Patrick Scott (25.7 points per game) and Barbic (13.7 ppg), Mathias wasn't going to be in the middle of the offensive production. But he was Bear River's man in the middle, playing the post in true blue-collar fashion. He grabbed 6.9 rebounds to go along with his 4.4 points per game, as the Bruins claimed their first league championship since 2003.
“I told him he was going to be one of those artists who aren't fully appreciated until they're dead,” said Duwaine Ganskie, Bear River boys basketball, and athletic director. “Now that he's not on the team, I fully appreciate what he did for the team.”
Ganskie said Mathias also was somewhat invaluable due to his sense of humor, able to break the tension when the team found itself in a tough moment.
“We'd go into a huddle and he'd ask ‘Are we running a 3-pointer for me?'” Ganskie said with a laugh, not bothering to note that Mathias missed the only 3-pointer he attempted on the season. “He's that kind of kid, always keeping things light. He's a good guy, who always has a positive attitude.”
Mathias said sharing his sense of humor has always seemed like just another avenue on which to act as a team leader. Cracking the occasional joke can help everyone feel a bit more comfortable together, if they're on the court or on the bench.
And that's why even if his coach and teammates knew there was absolutely zero chance that Ganskie was going to go to him, he still might ask for the ball behind the 3-point arc.
“I figured no one's going to cover me, right?” Mathias said. “I mean, if you really want someone who's going to be open.”
Each spring of his school career, Mathias was completely open to trying out a new event for the track and field team. As a freshman, he tried out distance running as a miler. In his sophomore year, he gave the high jump a shot and as a junior he was a triple jumper. This year, he took up the shot put and promptly placed third in the Pioneer Valley League.
Mathias, who is already practicing for the fall with the Sierra College football team — lining up alongside the likes of former Colfax rivals Jeff Divine and Justin Chastain — plans to become eventually become a teacher and coach.
But as he looks forward to his college career, he also enjoy looking back on what he and his teammates accomplished during his Bear River playing days.
“It was awesome,” he said. “I did everything I could do there. I feel like I opened every single door Bear River has to offer and walked through it. I tried to do just about as much as I could.”
“Really,” Mathias said. “It was just a way to keep me busy. I didn't want to ride the bus home as a freshman or sophomore.
“I always wanted to keep doing something after school, which kept me out of trouble, and meant my parents would pick me up.”
And along the way, Bear River High School has picked up a number of victories in football, basketball and track with Mathias wearing the cardinal and gray. For his efforts, he is The Union's choice as 2008-09 Male Prep Athlete of the Year.
As a 6-foot-3, 207-pound senior quarterback for the Bear River football team, Mathias completed 110-of-171 passes (64.2 percent) for 1,523 yards, 15 touchdowns and four interceptions. He connected with his top target, fellow senior Garrett Barbic, on 53 passes for 802 yards and nine scores.
Mathias helped Bear River to an 8-3 season that earned second place in the Pioneer Valley League and a berth in the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs. But there's no doubt at all what he considers his top accomplishment with Bruin football.
“Beating Colfax,” he said. “That was big, definitely big. We thought about it every day, since we lost last year and because we had beaten them as freshmen and sophomores.”
The 31-12 win was Bear River's first over the rival Falcons at the varsity level since 2000, snapping a seven-game skid to Colfax.
Mathias also took pride in passing for more than 1,000 yards and setting Bear River's school power clean record at 330 pounds during the annual lift-a-thon.
While he might have been the marked man on the football field, having the ball snapped into his hands each play, the role at which he excelled on the basketball floor was every bit as pivotal to the team's success if not as a prominent one.
Having high scoring classmates like Patrick Scott (25.7 points per game) and Barbic (13.7 ppg), Mathias wasn't going to be in the middle of the offensive production. But he was Bear River's man in the middle, playing the post in true blue-collar fashion. He grabbed 6.9 rebounds to go along with his 4.4 points per game, as the Bruins claimed their first league championship since 2003.
“I told him he was going to be one of those artists who aren't fully appreciated until they're dead,” said Duwaine Ganskie, Bear River boys basketball, and athletic director. “Now that he's not on the team, I fully appreciate what he did for the team.”
Ganskie said Mathias also was somewhat invaluable due to his sense of humor, able to break the tension when the team found itself in a tough moment.
“We'd go into a huddle and he'd ask ‘Are we running a 3-pointer for me?'” Ganskie said with a laugh, not bothering to note that Mathias missed the only 3-pointer he attempted on the season. “He's that kind of kid, always keeping things light. He's a good guy, who always has a positive attitude.”
Mathias said sharing his sense of humor has always seemed like just another avenue on which to act as a team leader. Cracking the occasional joke can help everyone feel a bit more comfortable together, if they're on the court or on the bench.
And that's why even if his coach and teammates knew there was absolutely zero chance that Ganskie was going to go to him, he still might ask for the ball behind the 3-point arc.
“I figured no one's going to cover me, right?” Mathias said. “I mean, if you really want someone who's going to be open.”
Each spring of his school career, Mathias was completely open to trying out a new event for the track and field team. As a freshman, he tried out distance running as a miler. In his sophomore year, he gave the high jump a shot and as a junior he was a triple jumper. This year, he took up the shot put and promptly placed third in the Pioneer Valley League.
Mathias, who is already practicing for the fall with the Sierra College football team — lining up alongside the likes of former Colfax rivals Jeff Divine and Justin Chastain — plans to become eventually become a teacher and coach.
But as he looks forward to his college career, he also enjoy looking back on what he and his teammates accomplished during his Bear River playing days.
“It was awesome,” he said. “I did everything I could do there. I feel like I opened every single door Bear River has to offer and walked through it. I tried to do just about as much as I could.”
