Asahi Soft Drink Challengers
The Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers are an American football team located in Amagasaki, Hyogo, Japan. They are a member of the X-League.
| Established | 1978 |
|---|---|
| Based in | Amagasaki, Hyogo |
| Head coach | Takashi Kubo |
| General manager | Shigeru Kaji |
| Owner(s) | Katsuhiko Kishigami |
| League | X-League |
| Division | West |
| Colors | Asahi Blue and White[1] |
| Mascot(s) | Orange Bayarisu boy |
| Japan X Bowl titles: | 2 (2000, 2001) |
| Division titles | 3 (1998-1999, 2008) |
| Website | http://www.challengers-net.com/ |
Team history
- 1978 Team founded as a practice team for the Momoyama Gakuin University's football team. Team was nicknamed the 'Silver Tigers due to a majority of the team being fans of the Hanshin Tigers professional baseball team.
- 1979 Joined the X-League X2 division.
- 1985 Promoted from X2 to X1.
- 1989 Team name changed from Silver Tigers to Red Bears.
- 1993 Sponsorship agreement with Asahi Soft Drinks. Team name changed from Red Bears to Wild Jo. Finished the season 5th in the division. Lost X2-X1 replacement game. Demoted to X2 for the following season.
- 1996 Team promoted from X2 to X1.
- 1998 Team name changed to Challengers. Advanced to the Final6 Semifinals.
- 2000 Won first Tokyo Super Bowl and Rice Bowl Championships.
- 2001 Won second Tokyo Super Bowl championship. Lost to Kwansei Gakuin 30-27 in the Rice Bowl.
- 2007 Won West division title. Lost to Kashima in the Final6 Semi-finals 7-24.
Seasons
| X-League Champions (1987–present) | Division Champions | Final Stage/Semifinals Berth | Wild Card /2nd Stage Berth |
| Season | Division | Regular Season | Post Season Results | Awards | Head coaches | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | |||||
| 1997 | West | 6th | 1 | 4 | 0 | Hiroshi Yamazaki | ||
| 1998 | West | 1st | 5 | 0 | 0 | Lost semi-finals match (at Recruit) 16-21 | Satoshi Fujita | |
| 1999 | West | 1st | 5 | 0 | 0 | Lost semi-finals match (Asahi Beer) 15-20 | Satoshi Fujita | |
| 2000 | West | 2nd | 5 | 1 | 0 | Won Wild card match (Asahi Beer) Won Semi-finals match (at Recruit) Won Tokyo Super Bowl XIV (at Matsushita Electric Works) 20-18 Won 54th Rice Bowl National Championship game (Hosei) 52-13 |
Satoshi Fujita | |
| 2001 | West | 2nd | 4 | 3 | 0 | Won Wild card match (Asahi Beer) 24-6 Won Semi-finals match (at Kashima) 21-13 Won Tokyo Super Bowl XV (Matsushita Denko) 14-7 Lost 55th Rice Bowl National Championship game (at Kwansei Gakuin) 27-30 |
Satoshi Fujita | |
| 2002 | West | 2nd | 4 | 2 | 0 | Won Wild card match (Kashima) 28-10 Lost semi-finals match (at Obic) 0-30 |
Takeshi Yamakawa | |
| 2003 | West | 2nd | 5 | 1 | 0 | Won Wild card match (Obic) 16-9 Lost semi-finals match (at Onward) 17-41 |
Takeshi Yamakawa | |
| 2004 | West | 2nd | 4 | 2 | 0 | Lost Wild card match (Asahi Beer) 7-10 | Masato Takahashi | |
| 2005 | West | 2nd | 5 | 1 | 0 | Lost Wild card match (Asahi Beer) 19-22 | Masato Takahashi | |
| 2006 | West | 3rd | 4 | 2 | 0 | Masato Takahashi | ||
| 2007 | West | 2nd | 5 | 2 | 0 | Lost Wild card match (Onward) 0-20 | Masato Takahashi | |
| 2008 | West | 1st | 7 | 1 | 0 | Lost semi-finals match (Kashima) 7-24 | Yoshito Fujimoto | |
| 2009 | West | 2nd | 6 | 2 | 0 | Won 2nd stage match (Nihon Unisys) 55-13 Lost 2nd stage match (Fujitsu) 21-43 |
Yoshito Fujimoto | |
| 2010 | West | 2nd | 6 | 1 | 0 | Won 2nd stage match (Meiji Yasuda) 29-24 Lost 2nd stage match (Kashima) 23-38 |
Yoshito Fujimoto | |
| 2011 | West | 2nd | 5 | 2 | 1 | Won 2nd stage match (All Mitsubishi) 24-3 Lost 2nd stage match (Obic) 13-20 |
Yoshito Fujimoto | |
| 2012 | West | 2nd | 5 | 2 | 0 | Lost 2nd stage match (at Asahi Beer) 20-26 OT Lost 2nd stage match (at Obic) 12-29 |
Yabe | |
| 2013 | West | 2nd | 5 | 2 | 0 | Lost 2nd stage match (Asahi Beer) 10-34 Lost 2nd stage match (at Obic) 17-44 |
Yabe | |
| 2014 | West | 3rd | 5 | 3 | 0 | Lost 2nd stage match (Lixil) 7-23 Lost 2nd stage match (at IBM) 10-37 |
Tatsuhide Fukuda | |
| 2015 | West | 2nd | 6 | 2 | 0 | Lost 2nd stage match (at Obic) 9-52 Lost 2nd stage match (IBM) 20-37 |
Naoto Matsumoto | |
| 2016 | West | 3rd | 3 | 6 | 0 | Won Wildcard match (All Mitsubishi) 20-6 [2] Lost quarterfinals match (at Fujitsu) 6-42 Won Super9/Battle9 classification match (AS ONE) 39-7 |
Naoto Matsumoto | |
| 2017 | West | 3rd | 4 | 5 | 0 | Won Super9/Battle9 classification match (AS ONE) 27-7 | Takashi Kubo | |
| 2018 | West | 3rd | 4 | 5 | 0 | Takashi Kubo | ||
| 2019 | X1 Area West | 1st | 9 | 0 | 0 | Lost X1 Area Final (at Asahi Beer) 31-34 | Garret Safron (X1 Area MVP & ROY) | Takashi Kubo |
| 2020 | X1 Area West | 1st | 3 | 0 | 0 | Takashi Kubo | ||
| 2021 | X1 Area West | 1st | 5 | 1 | 0 | Takashi Masahige | ||
| 2022 | X1 Super Div. B | 4th | 3 | 4 | 0 | Lost quarterfinals match (at Panasonic) 28-38 | Takashi Masahige | |
| Total | 118 | 53 | 1 | (1997–2022, includes only regular season) | ||||
| 15 | 23 | 0 | (1997–2022, includes only playoffs) | |||||
| 133 | 76 | 1 | (1997–2022, includes both regular season and playoffs) | |||||
Head coaches
| Coach | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Hiroshi Yamazaki | 1997 | 1-4 (.200) |
| Satoshi Fujita | 1998-2001 | 26-7 (.813) |
| Takeshi Yamakawa | 2002-2003 | 15-5 (.750) |
| Masato Takahashi | 2004-2007 | 18-10 (.630) |
| Yoshito Fujimoto | 2008-2011 | 27-10-1 (.730) |
| Yabe | 2012-2013 | 10-8 (.556) |
| Tatsuhide Fukuda | 2014 | 5-5 (.500) |
| Naoto Matsumoto | 2015-2016 | 11-11 (.500) |
| Takashi Kubo | 2017-present | 21-11 (.656) |
Current import players
| Jersey # | Name | Position | Years with the team | Alma Mater | Achievements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Robert Earl Johnson II | WR | 2018-present | Mississippi State | All X-League Area Team member (2019) |
| #5 | Davion Washington | DB | 2022-present | Wingate | |
| #10 | Robbie Wallace | LB | 2022-present | Wingate | |
| #8 | Garrett S. Safron | QB | 2019-present | Sacramento State | X-League Area MVP & ROY (2019) All X-League Area Team member (2019) |
Former Import players
| Name | Position | Years with the team | Alma Mater | Achievements |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brison Burris | DB | 2019-21 | Miami University | All X-League Area Team member (2019) |
| Michael R. Taylor Jr. | LB | 2019-21 | Florida | All X-League Area Team member (2019) |
| Clint Floyd | LB | 2017-18 | Arizona State | |
| Alex Niznak [3] | QB | 2017-18 | Central Michigan | |
| Brandon Berry | LB | 2018 | Buffalo | |
| Donnie King | WR | 2015-17 | Hawai'i | |
| Makani Kema-Kaleiwahea | DL | 2017 | Hawaii | |
| Darwin Rogers | TE | 2016 | Arizona State | |
| Paul Porras | SS | 2016 | Rice | |
| Albert Griffin | DE | 2015 | Lindenwood | |
| Kaniela Tuipulotu | DT | 2014 | Hawaii | |
| Siasau Matagiese | DT | 2014 | Hawaii | |
References
- "X-League profile, Asahi Soft Drinks Challengers". April 17, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2015.
- Marantz, Ken (November 7, 2016). "Challengers, Finies notch wild-card victories". xleague.com. Retrieved November 29, 2016.
- Marantz, Ken (May 21, 2017). "Continental Drifter". insidesportjapan.com. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
External links
- Official website (Japanese)
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