2009 Arkansas Twisters season

The 2009 Arkansas Twisters season was the franchise's tenth season as a football franchise, last in the arenafootball2 league, and final season as the "Arkansas Twisters". The National Conference team, led by head coach Chris Siegfried, played their home games on Allstate Field at Alltel Arena (which changed names to "Verizon Arena" mid-season) in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Diamonds finished the 2009 regular season with an 11-5 record and 2nd place in the Southwest Division. The team's playoff run ended with a 36-77 loss to the Boise Burn in the first round.

2009 Arkansas Twisters season
OwnerJim Smith
Jeff Everetts
Head coachChris Siegfried
Home fieldVerizon Arena
North Little Rock, Arkansas
Results
Record11-5 (regular season)
Division place2nd, Southwestern Division
Playoff finishLost to Boise Burn in 1st Round

Off-field moves

After two seasons in the Central Division of the National Conference, the Twisters were realigned to the Southwest Division for the 2009 season. They joined the Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings, Corpus Christi Sharks, and Rio Grande Valley Dorados in the Southwest Division.[1]

The Twisters re-signed head coach Chris Siegfried for a second season after leading the team to a winning record and a short playoff run in 2008.[2] The assistant coaches for 2009 were former Dallas Cowboys fullback and first-year coach Robert Thomas, four-time ArenaBowl champion player and 2004 ArenaBowl Defensive MVP Omar Smith, plus veteran assistant coach and East Tennessee State University alum Travis Crusenberry.[3]

In April 2009, the team was alerted that two active players had been assigned the "retired" jersey numbers of former Twisters players Reggie Swinton and Kahlil Carter. The team blamed the error on a "former employee" who had ordered the team's new uniforms without checking with veteran front office staff.[4]

2009 was the final year for Arkansas in arenafootball2 (af2) as the league was merged with remnants of the original Arena Football League to create Arena Football 1.[5] Although they signed on as a charter member of Arena Football 1, Twisters ownership soon had issues with league restructuring and financial stability so they jumped to the Indoor Football League.[6] To avoid buying the rights to the team's name and logo, the Arkansas franchise held a "name the team" contest and became the Arkansas Diamonds for the 2010 season, their last before relocating to Texas.[7][8][9] Arkansas is the site of the only diamond mine in the United States.[10]

Roster moves

When pre-season training camp began on March 6, 2009, players included the 2008 AF2 Offensive Player of the Year, quarterback Kyle Rowley, plus defensive back Lawrence Richardson, wide receiver Robert Johnson, kicker James Paul, and prospect Xavier Lee.[2]

Receiver Rod Harper left the team mid-season in June 2009 when he signed with the NFL's New Orleans Saints.[11] Harper was the second Twisters player to jump directly from AF2 to the NFL. (The first was Reggie Swinton who played for the Twisters in 2000 before being signed by the Dallas Cowboys in 2001.)[11]

Schedule

  Win   Tie   Loss   Bye

Pre-season
Week Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location
Final Score Team Record
1 Wednesday March 18 7:05pm at Spokane Shock L 28-35[12] --- Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena

Regular season
Week Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location[13]
Final Score Team Record
1 Saturday March 28 7:05pm Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings W 39-38[14] 1-0 Alltel Arena
2 Saturday April 4 7:00pm at Amarillo Venom W 45-24[15] 2-0 Amarillo Civic Center
3 Saturday April 11 7:05pm Rio Grande Valley Dorados W 77-64[16] 3-0 Alltel Arena
4 Saturday April 18 7:05pm Tennessee Valley Vipers L 60-61[17] 3-1 Alltel Arena
5 Friday April 24 7:30pm at Green Bay Blizzard W 62-47[18] 4-1 Resch Center
6 Saturday May 2 7:00pm at Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings L 61-69[19] 4-2 CenturyTel Center[20]
7 Saturday May 9 7:05pm Florida Firecats W 55-42[21] 5-2 Alltel Arena[22]
8 Saturday May 16 9:00pm at Central Valley Coyotes W 68-51[23] 6-2 Selland Arena
9 Bye
10 Saturday May 30 7:05pm at Corpus Christi Sharks W 82-59[24] 7-2 American Bank Center
11 Saturday June 6 7:05pm Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz L 54-56[25] 7-3 Alltel Arena[26]
12 Saturday June 13 7:00pm at Tulsa Talons L 47-56[27] 7-4 BOK Center[28]
13 Saturday June 20 7:05pm Amarillo Venom W 63-62[29] 8-4 Alltel Arena[30]
14 Saturday June 27 7:05pm at Rio Grande Valley Dorados W 57-54[31] 9-4 Dodge Arena[32][33]
15 Bye
16 Saturday July 11 7:05pm Corpus Christi Sharks W 57-47[34] 10-4 Verizon Arena*[35]
17 Saturday July 18 7:05pm Tulsa Talons W 81-55[36] 11-4 Verizon Arena*[37]
18 Saturday July 25 7:00pm at Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings L 50-64[38] 11-5 CenturyTel Center[39][40]

Playoffs
Round Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location
Final Score Team Record
1 Saturday August 1 7:00pm at Boise Burn L 36-77[42] --- Qwest Arena[43]

Roster
2009 Arkansas Twisters roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

  •  8 Brandon Freeman
  •  2 Lawrence Richardson
  •  4 Travis Roland
  • 21 James Todd

Kickers

 Injured Reserve
  • currently vacant

Exempt list

  • currently vacant

rookies in italics
Roster updated July 25, 2009
20 Active, 0 Inactive

→ More rosters

References
  1. "Arena Football: Twisters Change Divisions, Release 2009 Schedule". Arkansas Sports 360. Arkansas Business Publishing Group. November 12, 2008. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  2. Seaton, Philip (January 23, 2009). "Arkansas Twisters' Roster Starting to Take Shape in Preparation for Upcoming Season". Arkansas Sports 360. Archived from the original on July 22, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  3. "Twisters Coaching Staff Brings Rings". Our Sports Central. March 9, 2009. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  4. Seaton, Phillip (April 18, 2009). "Twisters' Flub, Use Retired Jerseys". Arkansas Sports 360. Arkansas Business Publishing Group. Retrieved October 16, 2014.
  5. "Twisters join new AF1 league". Victoria Advocate. Associated Press. September 29, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  6. "Arkansas Twisters Join IFL". Our Sports Central (Press release). Arkansas Twisters. November 19, 2009. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  7. "Twisters taking suggestions for new name". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Associated Press. January 29, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2012.
  8. "Legal issue forces change by Dusters". Amarillo Globe-News. January 29, 2010. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  9. "Twisters now the Diamonds". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. February 4, 2010. Retrieved October 13, 2012.
  10. "Twisters Change Name to Arkansas Diamonds". KARK-TV. February 5, 2010. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  11. "Twisters' Harper Signs With New Orleans Saints". Arkansas Sports 360. Arkansas Business Publishing Group. June 4, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  12. "Shock Win Exhibition; Spokane holds off Arkansas in sloppy preseason game". The Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. March 19, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  13. "Arkansas Twisters Release '09 Schedule". KARK-TV. November 11, 2008. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  14. "Battle Wings lose season opener". Shreveport Times. March 29, 2009. p. 4. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  15. "Arena Football: Rowley Accounts for 6 TDs in Twisters Second Win". Arkansas Sports 360. Arkansas Business Publishing Group. April 6, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  16. "Twisters Down Rio Grande Valley; Improve to 3-0". Arkansas Sports 360. Arkansas Business Publishing Group. April 11, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  17. "Tennessee Valley Drops Twisters 61-60 in Final Seconds". Arkansas Sports 360. Arkansas Business Publishing Group. April 19, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  18. "Arena football: Twisters dismantle Blizzard at Resch". Green Bay Press Gazette. Green Bay, Wisconsin. April 25, 2009. p. C1. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  19. "Lancaster, defense impressive in 69-61 win over Arkansas". Bossier Press-Tribune. May 4, 2009. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  20. Watson, Jimmy (May 2, 2009). "Man of many words". Shreveport Times. p. 1. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  21. "af2: Arkansas QB-WR tandem puts away Firecats". Naples Daily News. Naples, Florida. May 9, 2009. Retrieved October 26, 2012. The Arkansas Twisters opened the second half with two scores to wrest control of the game in a 55-42 victory Saturday night over the Florida Firecats.
  22. "Twisters overcome Firecats". The News-Press. Fort Myers, Florida. May 10, 2009. p. C6. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  23. "Twisters Win Again". Our Sports Central. May 18, 2009. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  24. Quintero, Erick (May 31, 2009). "Sharks can't handle Twisters, Harper; Arkansas WR makes 14 catches for 275 yards, 8 TDs". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. Corpus Christi, Texas. Archived from the original on March 30, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  25. Yates, Robert (June 7, 2009). "Twisters stumble minus Harper". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. p. 32. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  26. "Twisters Fall to OKC". KARK-TV. June 6, 2009. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  27. Brown, Mike (June 14, 2009). "Talons hold off Arkansas". Tulsa World. Tulsa, Oklahoma. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  28. "AF2 Offense intercepted in loss by Twisters". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. June 14, 2009. p. 37. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  29. Yates, Robert (June 21, 2009). "AF2 Twisters turn to UCA for help". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. p. 34. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  30. "Arkansas Avoids 3 Game Losing Streak". KARK-TV. June 20, 2009. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  31. Haynes, Darren (June 27, 2009). "Late Field Goal Pushes Twisters Past Dorados". KGBT-TV. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  32. Nolan, Aaron (June 27, 2009). "Twisters Top Rio Grande". KARK-TV. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  33. "Arkansas Twisters". Arkansas Sports 360. Arkansas Business Publishing Group. June 29, 2009. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  34. Crise, Doug (July 12, 2009). "Twisters recover from 2nd-half lull". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. p. 27. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  35. "Twisters Win by 10". KARK-TV. July 11, 2009. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  36. Walker, Nick (July 19, 2009). "AF2 Twisters win to set up showdown in finale". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. p. 25. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  37. Nolan, Aaron (July 19, 2009). "Twisters Keep Winning". KARK-TV. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  38. "AF2 Turnovers doom Twisters in road loss". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. July 26, 2009. p. 37. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  39. "Twisters Move up in Polls". KARK-TV. July 23, 2009. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  40. Watson, Jimmy (July 26, 2009). "Wings take title; Bossier-Shreveport claims second straight Southwest Division championship". Shreveport Times. p. 1. Retrieved October 26, 2012.
  41. "NLR's Alltel Arena now Verizon Arena". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. July 2, 2009. p. 13. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
  42. Wayne, Jeremy (August 1, 2009). "Burn Torch Twisters In First Round Playoff". KMVT-TV. Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
  43. "Shock advance to the second round of playoffs". SWX Right Now. KHQ-TV. August 2, 2009. Archived from the original on May 24, 2014. Retrieved October 25, 2012.
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