Kentucky Drillers
 | |
| Founded | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 2013 |
| League |
United Indoor Football League (2011–2012) Continental Indoor Football League (2013) |
| Team history |
Eastern Kentucky Drillers (2011–2012) Kentucky Drillers (2013) |
| Based in | Pikeville, Kentucky |
| Arena | Eastern Kentucky Expo Center |
| Colors | Black and Yellow |
| Owner(s) | Rick Kranz |
| President | Rick Kranz |
| Head coach | Rick Kranz |
| Championships | 0 |
| Dancers | Drillbits |
| Mascot | Digger |
| Website | kentuckydrillers.com |
The Kentucky Drillers were a professional indoor football team based in Pikeville, Kentucky. The franchise started as the Eastern Kentucky Drillers and joined the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) in 2013 after playing their first two seasons as a charter member of the Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL) for its inaugural 2011 season. The owner of the Drillers was Rick Kranz. The Drillers played their home games at the Eastern Kentucky Expo Center in Pikeville, Kentucky.
Franchise history
2011
On November 26, 2010, the UIFL announced that the team in Pikeville, Kentucky, would be named the Eastern Kentucky Drillers.[1] The Drillers lost their first game in franchise history, a 44-49 defeat to the hands of the Saginaw Sting.[2] Even in the defeat, two Drillers (Aric Evans and David Jones), won the first ever Offensive Player of the Week and Special Teams Player of the Week Awards in the history of the Ultimate Indoor Football League.[3] The following week, the Drillers played their first ever home game at Eastern Kentucky Expo Center, and in front of 3,500 fans, the Drillers won 37-26 over the Huntington Hammer.[4]
2012
The Drillers made few changes to their team going into 2012, but the hiring of defensive coordinator, Jimmy Brookins was going to be vital to another Ultimate Bowl run, as he looked to keep the Drillers atop the UIFL rankings for defense.[5]
2013
On July 19, 2012, it was announced that the Drillers would leave the UIFL and join the Continental Indoor Football League,[6] and change their name to the Kentucky Drillers.[7] During this season, Prestonsburg, Kentucky, mayor and Drillers' investor, Jerry Fannin, used city money to help fund the team. It was estimated he spent approximately $7,800 on the team and he was charged in February 2017.[8]
Awards and honors
The following is a list of all (Eastern) Kentucky Drillers players who won individual awards and honors.
| Season | Player | Position | Award |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Aric Evans | Wide Receivers | 1st Team All-UIFL |
| 2011 | Rashaud Mungro | Offensive Lineman | 1st Team All-UIFL |
| 2011 | David Jones | Defensive Back | 1st Team All-UIFL |
| 2011 | Jason Connor | Defensive Back | 2nd Team All-UIFL |
| 2011 | Butch Abshire | Defensive Back | 2nd Team All-UIFL |
| 2011 | Daniel Eidson | Kicker | 2nd Team All-UIFL |
| 2012 | Maurice Douse | Running Back | 1st Team All-UIFL South |
| 2012 | Aric Evans | Wide Receiver | 1st Team All-UIFL South |
| 2012 | Joe Parker | Offensive Lineman | 1st Team All-UIFL South |
| 2012 | George Jackson | Defensive Back | 1st Team All-UIFL South |
| 2012 | Allan Holland | Quarterback | UIFL South Honorable Mention |
| 2012 | Lynell Suggs | Wide Receiver | UIFL South Honorable Mention |
| 2012 | Phil Blaising | Center | UIFL South Honorable Mention |
| 2012 | Ellery Moore | Defensive Lineman | UIFL South Honorable Mention |
| 2012 | Shawn Lewis | Defensive Lineman | UIFL South Honorable Mention |
| 2012 | Andre Hatchett | Linebacker | UIFL South Honorable Mention |
| 2012 | Miquel Carodine | Defensive Back | UIFL South Honorable Mention |
| 2012 | Daniel Eidson | Kicker | UIFL South Honorable Mention |
Notable coaches
Head coaches
| Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | Win% | W | L | |||
| Lance Brown | 2011 | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 1 | 1 | |
| Rick Kranz | 2012–2013 | 8 | 12 | 0 | .400 | 0 | 0 | |
Coaching staff
| Kentucky Drillers staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||
Season-by-season results
| League Champions | Conference Champions | Division Champions | Wild Card Berth | League Leader |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | |||||||||||
| Eastern Kentucky Drillers | ||||||||||||||
| 2011 | 2011 | UIFL | 3rd | 8 | 6 | 0 | Won UIFL semifinals (Hammer) 20-4 Lost Ultimate Bowl I (Sting) 69-86 | |||||||
| 2012 | 2012 | UIFL | South | 2nd | 6 | 4 | 0 | |||||||
| Kentucky Drillers | ||||||||||||||
| 2013 | 2013 | CIFL | 7th | 2 | 8 | 0 | ||||||||
| Totals | 16 | 18 | 0 | All-time regular season record (2011–2013) | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | — | All-time postseason record (2011–2013) | |||||||||||
| 17 | 19 | 0 | All-time regular season and postseason record (2011–2013) | |||||||||||
References
- ↑ "Pikeville, KY Team Name Announced: Eastern Kentucky Drillers". www.theuifl.com. UIFL. November 26, 2010. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
- ↑ "Saginaw Sting capture season opener". Midland Daily News. February 19, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
- ↑ "Drillers duo highlight weekly honors". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. February 26, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
- ↑ "Drillers Open with Win". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. February 28, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
- ↑ "Brookins Named EKY Defensive Coordinator". www.oursportscental.com. OurSports Central. September 23, 2011. Retrieved July 22, 2012.
- ↑ "Drillers returning for 2013 season". www.floydcountytimes.com. Floyd County Times. January 11, 2013. Archived from the original on March 13, 2013. Retrieved January 11, 2013.
- ↑ "Drillers making switch to Continental Indoor Football League". www.wkyt.com. WYMT. July 19, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
- ↑ "Ex-Prestonsburg mayor charged with using city funds for his arena football team". Lexington Herald-Leader. February 23, 2017.