La Crosse Spartans

La Crosse Spartans
Founded 2009
League IFL (2009-2011)
Team history La Crosse Spartans (2009-2011)
Based in La Crosse, Wisconsin
Arena La Crosse Center
Colors Green, Black, White
              
President Chris Kokalis
Head coach Kyle Moore-Brown
Championships 0
Division titles 0
Dancers Lady Spartans
Website www.lacrossespartans.com

The La Crosse Spartans were a professional indoor football team. They were a member of the Indoor Football League. They played their home games at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

The team was founded in 2009, and was originally coached by former NFL player Gilbert Brown.[1] They were also coached by his brother Kyle Moore-Brown.[2]

History

On August 6, 2009, Chris Kokalis announced his intentions to start an IFL team in La Crosse for the 2010 season.[3] Former NFL player Gilbert Brown was announced as the head coach.[3] On August 27, the Spartans were conditionally approved as members of the IFL. Such condition is that the Spartans negotiate a successful arena lease with the La Crosse Center.[4] On September 30, the Spartans got the formal go-ahead from the La Crosse Center Board to play at the center.[5] The Spartans are the third indoor football team to call the La Crosse Center home, following the La Crosse River Rats and the La Crosse Night Train.

2010 season

The inaugural season for the La Crosse Spartans was a difficult one. The schedule had the Spartans start the season with 3 tough road games against some of the best teams in the IFL. They lost at both Wichita and Sioux Falls, who eventually played against each other for the United Conference finals. Just before halftime of the very first game the Spartans would lose their starting Quarterback to a knee injury, beginning a season where they would go through multiple Quarterbacks and Kickers, trying to find the right fit for the team. During the following streak of 5 home games they were more competitive, but still finished the first half of the season 0-7. The Spartans earned their first victory against the Chicago Slaughter on April 30 in front of their home crowd. Over the second half of the season they had more close home losses, difficult road losses, and picked up their first road victory against the Chicago Slaughter on June 12 with about 50 Spartans fans in Chicago to cheer them on. Although they finished the season a disappointing 3-11, there were also multiple bright spots in the season both on and off the field, and the team has started building towards a long-term future in La Crosse.

2011 season

The second season of the La Crosse Spartans began February 19, 2011, in the IFL’s showcase game, the Kickoff Classic. La Crosse will play seven regular season games at home over the course of February through early June.[6] Indoor football veteran Jose Jefferson joined the Spartans for the 2011 season as their Offensive Coordinator.[7]

After four games of the 2011 season it was announced that head coach Gilbert Brown would be taking a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons, and that his brother Kyle Moore-Brown would be switching from assistant coach to head coach of the Spartans.[2]

On April 30, 2011 the Spartans became one of the few teams in indoor football history to post a shutout, beating the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks 51-0.

On August 30, 2011, GM and co-owner Chris Kokalis announced the formation of the Cedar Rapids Titans, including former Spartans members Xzavie Jackson, Travis Miller and Mike Polaski. The Titans were listed as members of the Great Lakes division, along with the Green Bay Blizzard, Bloomington Extreme and Chicago Slaughter, but the Spartans were not listed in this division they were previously in. Kokalis said the Spartans franchise will "cease to exist", but also said that the team was up for sale. [8]

Season-By-Season

Season W L T Finish Playoff results
La Crosse Spartans (IFL)
2010 3 11 0 4th Central North --
2011 5 9 0 4th Great Lakes --
Totals 8 20 0 (including playoffs)

2011 Season Schedule

Preseason

Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results
Final Score Team Record
December 31 (Fri) 2:00pm River City Rough Riders
(Family Day Scrimmage)		 W 37-7 ---

Regular Season

Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results
Final Score Team Record
0* February 19 (Sat) 7:00pm Chicago Slaughter L 48-69 0-1
1 Bye
2 Bye
3 March 12 (Sat) 7:05pm @Omaha Beef L 20-40 0-2
4 March 17 (Thu) 7:00pm Kent Predators W 66-28 1-2
5 March 26 (Sat) 7:05pm
(6:05 Central)		 @Richmond Revolution W 39-33 2-2
6 April 3 (Sun) 3:00pm Nebraska Danger W 50-44 3-2
7 April 9 (Sat) 7:05pm @Chicago Slaughter L 40-54 3-3
8 April 15 (Fri) 7:05pm @Sioux Falls Storm L 10-77 3-4
9 April 22 (Fri) 7:00pm Bloomington Extreme L 26-71 3-5
10 April 30 (Sat) 7:00pm Lehigh Valley Steelhawks W 51-0 4-5
11 May 7 (Sat) 7:30pm @Green Bay Blizzard L 21-44 4-6
12 Bye
13 May 21 (Sat) 7:05pm
(6:05 Central)		 @Richmond Revolution L 37-40 4-7
14 May 27 (Fri) 7:00pm Green Bay Blizzard L 31-66 4-8
15 June 3 (Fri) 7:07pm @Bloomington Extreme L 29-45 4-9
16 June 11 (Sat) 7:00pm Lehigh Valley Steelhawks W 27-22 5-9

* = Kickoff Classic Game, before week 1 starts.

Division Standings

2011 Great Lakes Division
W L T PCT PF PA DIV GB STK
y Green Bay Blizzard 11 3 0 0.786 764 508 4-2 --- W4
x Bloomington Extreme 9 5 0 0.643 561 473 4-2 2.0 L1
x Chicago Slaughter 8 6 0 0.571 624 627 4-2 3.0 L3
La Crosse Spartans 5 9 0 0.357 495 633 0-6 6.0 W1

Roster

La Crosse Spartans roster
Quarterbacks
  •  5 Ryan Maiuri
  •  8 Buddy Rivera

Running Backs

  •  3 Hakeem Abdullah
  •  6 LaRon Council

Wide Receivers

  •  7 Phillip Ditto
  • 11 Christopher Headd
  • 16 Aaron Rhea
  • 18 Emmanuel Spann
 Offensive Linemen
  • 67 Courtney Abbott
  • 70 Juliene Adams
  • 73 James Washington
  • 78 Travis Miller

Defensive Linemen

  •  1 Xzavie Jackson
  •  4 Bernard Faithful
  • 44 Michael Ebanks
  • 56 Jeremy Maddox

Linebackers

  •  9 Joe Bevis
 Defensive Backs
  •  2 Walner Belleus
  • 13 Tim Corrish
  • 21 Kevis Buckley
  • 26 Richard Chambers

Safety

  • 20 Jamil Abdullah
  • 37 George Carpenter

Kickers

  • 10 Mike Polaski
  • 30 Rubio Radamez

Multiple Positions

  • Currently vacant
 Injured Reserve
  •  9 Antonio O'Neal DL
  • 24 Tommie Williams DB
  • 31 Wes McDermott LB
  • 83 Antonio Overstreet WR

Inactive

  • 36 Brandon White DB
  • -- Larry Dibbles DL
  • -- James Dudley Jr. RB
  • -- Joe Manning DB
  • -- Jermaine Pruitt OL
  • -- Steve Smith RB
  • -- Antawan Walker WR

Practice Squad

  • Currently vacant

Rookies in italics
Roster updated June 1, 2011
25 Active, 11 Inactive, 0 PS

→ More rosters

Attendance Statistics

Season By Season Average Attendance

Year Average Attendance
2010 2574
2011 2280

vs Opponent

Opponent OVERALL HOME AWAY PLYFF
Alaska Wild (1-0) (0-0) (1-0) (0-0)
Bloomington Extreme (0-5) (0-3) (0-2) (0-0)
Chicago Slaughter (2-2) (1-1) (1-1) (0-0)
Fairbanks Grizzlies (0-1) (0-0) (0-1) (0-0)
Green Bay Blizzard (0-4) (0-2) (0-2) (0-0)
Kent Predators (1-0) (1-0) (0-0) (0-0)
Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (2-0) (2-0) (0-0) (0-0)
Nebraska Danger (1-0) (1-0) (0-0) (0-0)
Omaha Beef (0-2) (0-1) (0-1) (0-0)
Richmond Revolution (1-1) (0-0) (1-1) (0-0)
Sioux City Bandits (0-1) (0-1) (0-0) (0-0)
Sioux Falls Storm (0-2) (0-0) (0-2) (0-0)
West Michigan ThunderHawks (0-1) (0-1) (0-0) (0-0)
Wichita Wild (0-1) (0-0) (0-1) (0-0)

Year-by-Year Leaders

Passing (Yards/Touchdowns/Completions) [9]

YearPlayerAttCompPctYdsTDIntQB RTGGP
2010Buddy Rivera1528556%8566863.47
2011Buddy Rivera1809653%978221281.013

Rushing (Yards/Attempts) [9]

YearPlayerAttYdsAvgLngTDGP
2010Mark Bonds923373.731128
2011LaRon Council1776403.6341314

Rushing (Touchdowns) [9]

YearPlayerAttYdsAvgLngTDGP
2010Buddy Rivera842863.426137
2011LaRon Council1776403.6341314

Receiving (Yards/Touchdowns) [9]

YearPlayerRecYdsAvgLngTDGP
2010Antonio Overstreet2943715.144612
2011Christopher Headd3336010.940713

Receiving (Receptions) [9]

YearPlayerRecYdsAvgLngTDGP
2010Aaron Straiten362386.64017
2011Christopher Headd3336010.940713

All Purpose (Yards) [9]

YearPlayerYdsTDGP
2010Antonio Overstreet1007912
2011LaRon Council10671814

All Purpose (Touchdowns) [9]

YearPlayerYdsTDGP
2010Buddy Rivera286137
2011LaRon Council10671814

Returns (Yards/Returns) [9]

YearPlayerRetYdsAvgLngTDGP
2010Antonio Overstreet3049716.650112
2011Kevis Buckley3758815.948114

Returns (Touchdowns) [9]

YearPlayerRetYdsAvgLngTDGP
2010Antonio Overstreet3049716.650112
2011*Kevis Buckley3758815.948114
2011*LaRon Council1320715.956114

Kicking (FG Percent) (minimum 10 attempts) [9]

YearPlayerFGMFGAFG%LngGP
2010Jared Keating31030%444
2011Rubio Radamez31127%473

Kicking (EP Percent) (minimum 10 attempts) [9]

YearPlayerEPMEPAEP%GP
2010Jared Keating111385%4
2011Mike Polaski324965%12

Tackles [9]

YearPlayerTacSoloAstGP
2010Walner Belleus69462313
2011Joe Bevis74363812

Sacks [9]

YearPlayerSacGP
2010Xzavie Jackson5.513
2011Xzavie Jackson12.514

Interceptions [9]

YearPlayerIntTDGP
2010Darnell Terrell7012
2011Jamil Abdullah9012

Awards and honors

2011

2010

Past Seasons

2010 Season Schedule

Preseason

Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results
Final Score Team Record
January 29 (Fri) 7:30pm Family Night Scrimmage --- ---
February 21 (Sun) 3:00pm Green Bay Blizzard L 11-14 ---

Regular Season

Week Date Kickoff Opponent Results
Final Score Team Record
1 February 27 (Sat) 7:05pm @Wichita Wild L 20-57 0-1
2 Bye
3 Bye
4 March 19 (Fri) 7:05pm @Green Bay Blizzard L 12-48 0-2
5 March 28 (Sun) 3:05pm @Sioux Falls Storm L 13-45 0-3
6 April 3 (Sat) 7:30pm Omaha Beef L 27-39 0-4
7 April 11 (Sun) 3:00pm Green Bay Blizzard L 30-43 0-5
8 April 18 (Sun) 3:00pm Sioux City Bandits L 20-28 0-6
9 April 23 (Fri) 7:30pm West Michigan ThunderHawks L 58-65 0-7
10 April 30 (Fri) 7:30pm Chicago Slaughter W 36-29 1-7
11 May 8 (Sat) 7:05pm @Bloomington Extreme L 18-54 1-8
12 Bye
13 May 21 (Fri) 7:30pm Bloomington Extreme L 37-40 1-9
14 May 30 (Sun) 5:05pm (8:05pm Central) @Alaska Wild W (by forfeit) 2-9
15 June 5 (Sat) 7:05pm (10:05pm Central) @Fairbanks Grizzlies L 36-64 2-10
16 June 12 (Sat) 7:05pm @Chicago Slaughter W 27-20 3-10
17 June 19 (Sat) 7:30pm Bloomington Extreme L 21-35 3-11
2010 Central North Division
W L T PCT GB DIV PF PA STK
y-Green Bay Blizzard 10 4 0 0.714 --- 4-3 686 538 W3
x-Bloomington Extreme 9 5 0 0.643 1.0 6-2 497 435 W6
x-Chicago Slaughter 6 8 0 0.429 4.0 3-5 577 543 L3
La Crosse Spartans 3 11 0 0.214 7.0 2-5 355 565 L1

See also

References

  1. ↑ "La Crosse Spartans : Coaching Staff". La Crosse Spartans.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Spartans' Brown to Take Leave of Absence". Our Sports Central.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Professional Football to Return to La Crosse". WKBT. August 5, 2009. Retrieved August 5, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Indoor Football League conditionally accepts new La Crosse Spartans team". WKBT. August 27, 2009. Retrieved August 27, 2009.
  5. ↑ "La Crosse Center Board OK’s lease for indoor football team". La Crosse Tribune. October 1, 2009. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
  6. ↑ "La Crosse Spartans : Schedule". La Crosse Spartans.
  7. ↑ "Jose Jefferson to Lead Spartans' Offense". Our Sports Central. November 10, 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  8. ↑ http://lacrossetribune.com/news/article_f20b3458-d351-11e0-a092-001cc4c03286.html
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.9 9.10 9.11 9.12 9.13 "goifl.com: Statistics". IFL. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
  10. ↑ "2011 All-IFL Teams Announced". IFL. June 24, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
  11. ↑ "Vidswap.com Week Five Players of the Week". IFL. March 22, 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  12. ↑ "Vidswap.com Week Eleven Players of the Week". IFL. May 5, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  13. ↑ "2010 IFL Awards". IFL. June 23, 2010. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
  14. ↑ "2010 All-IFL Teams Announced". IFL. June 24, 2010. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Week 9 Vidswap.com Players of the Week Announced". IFL. April 28, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Vidswap.com Week Sixteen Players of the Week". IFL. June 16, 2010. Retrieved June 16, 2010.

External links