A California high school football team will be forced to vacate four wins after two star players were ruled ineligible following an investigation by a private eye.
According to a local private investigator, his research proved that two football players from Garces Memorial High School in Bakersfield, California, were not qualified to play for the team. The investigator told KGET News that the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) used his findings to disqualify the players and require Garces to forfeit the games.
The private investigator, Paul Lopez, claims that his findings are detailed in a 57-page report that includes exhibits, multiple photos, and firsthand accounts of the athletes and their close relatives moving into a residence that did not correspond with the one listed in their transfer documents.
Consequently, brothers Carter and Bryce Hanson, who transferred from rival Liberty High School during the winter, had their eligibility revoked by the CIF Central Section.
Both of the players deemed ineligible are on the college football radar
In five games for Garces, junior running back Carter Hanson rushed for 400 yards and five touchdowns. According to 247Sports, he is one of the top 20 California running backs in the Class of 2028 and has received fourteen NCAA Division I offers from schools like UCLA, Arizona, Oregon and Texas Tech.
Senior defensive back Bryce Hanson has eight tackles and two interceptions this season. He has reportedly verbally committed to Southern Utah.
The Garces Memorial High School Rams were 5-1. The ruling has now left the Rams at 1–5 following a 20–16 victory without the brothers this past Friday. Garces will travel to play Centennial High School this Thursday.
Additionally, Lopez said “other claims about student transfers at numerous other Kern County schools” have come to the attention of his investigative firm. He added, however, that “no findings or conclusions concerning those additional allegations are being revealed or publicized at this time.”
Which Kern County schools he is referred to is currently unknown. Lopez claims that no coaches or school employees were involved in his investigation.