Central Florida Jaguars
The Central Florida Jaguars, commonly known as the Jags, were a professional indoor football team based in Lakeland, Florida.[1]
| Central Florida Jaguars | |
|---|---|
| Established 2015 Folded 2017 Played in Bartow, Florida at the Bartow Park CentralFloridaJags.com | |
 | |
| League/conference affiliations | |
| American Indoor Football (2016) Elite Indoor Football Conference (2017) | |
Current uniform | |
| Team colors | Black, Vegas gold, teal, white |
| Personnel | |
| Owner(s) | Neva Green |
| General manager | Dave Douberly |
| Team history | |
| |
| Championships | |
| League championships (0) | |
| Conference championships (0) | |
| Division championships (0) | |
| Home arena(s) | |
| |
The Jags were the third indoor football team to call Lakeland home; the first team was the Lakeland Thunderbolts which played in the National Indoor Football League from 2005 until 2006 and later the American Indoor Football Association in 2007 (where they won the AIFA Championship Bowl that year before folding). After that, the Lakeland Raiders would play in the Ultimate Indoor Football League from 2012 until 2013, after which they would later join X-League Indoor Football and change their name to the Florida Marine Raiders, playing in the 2014 and 2015 seasons before the league's folding[2]
History
The Jaguars joined American Indoor Football (AIF) before the beginning of the 2016 season and played their home games at the Lakeland Center. Their logo and colors were somewhat similar to the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. Following the 2016 season, the AIF ceased operations, leaving the Jaguars without a league. In October 2016, they became the charter member of the Elite Indoor Football Conference for the 2017 season.[3] However, with the instability of the new league, they were removed from their home arena in 2017. All Elite Indoor Football Conference games were then announced to be played outdoors at Bartow Park in Bartow, Florida. The league and the Jags appear to have ceased operations during the 2017 season and all websites have lapsed.
Final AIF roster
| Central Florida Jaguars roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Kickers
|
Injured reserve
Exempt list
rookies in italics | |||
Staff
| Central Florida Jaguars staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
|
Head coach
| |||||
Statistics and records
Season-by-season results
| League Champions | Conference Champions | Division Champions | Playoff Berth | League Leader |
| Season | League | Division | Regular season | Postseason results | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | ||||
| 2016 | AIF | Southern | 6th | 2 | 6 | 0 | |
Head coaches' records
| Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | Win% | W | L | |||
| Ronnie Ghent | 2016 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | — | — | |
2016 season
| 2016 Central Florida Jaguars season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Neva Green |
| General manager | Robert Howe |
| Head coach | Ronnie Ghent |
| Home field | Lakeland Center 701 West Lime Street Lakeland, FL 33815 |
| Results | |
| Record | 2–6 |
| Division place | 6th |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Key: Win Tie Loss Bye
Exhibition
All start times are local to home team
| Week | Day | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | ||||||
| 1 | Saturday | April 16 | 7:05pm | South Carolina Ravens | W 69–0 | Lakeland Center | |
| 2 | Saturday | May 21 | 7:05pm | Osceola Ravens | W 58–18 | Lakeland Center | |
| 3 | Saturday | May 28 | 7:05pm | Palm Beach Phantoms | Cancelled[4] | Lakeland Center | |
Regular season
All start times are local to home team
| Week | Day | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | ||||||
| 1 | BYE | ||||||
| 2 | BYE | ||||||
| 3 | Saturday | March 12 | 7:05pm | Florida Tarpons | L 34–84[5] | 0–1 | Lakeland Center |
| 4 | BYE | ||||||
| 5 | Sunday | March 26 | 7:05pm | Columbus Lions | L 42–90[6] | 0–2 | Lakeland Center |
| 6 | Saturday | April 2 | 7:05pm | Myrtle Beach Freedom | L 34–47[7] | 0–3 | Lakeland Center |
| 7 | Sunday | April 10 | 7:05pm | at Florida Tarpons | L 22–65 | 0–4 | Germain Arena |
| 8 | BYE | ||||||
| 9 | Saturday | April 23 | 7:05pm | at Savannah Steam | W 44–35 | 1–4 | Savannah Civic Center |
| 10 | Saturday | April 30 | 7:05pm | Florida Tarpons | L 25–81[8] | 1–5 | Lakeland Center |
| 11 | Saturday | May 7 | 7:05pm | at Atlanta Vultures | W 2–0 (by forfeit) | 2–5 | Georgia International Convention Center |
| 12 | Sunday | May 15 | 7:05pm | at Florida Tarpons | L 16–81[9] | 2–6 | Germain Arena |
| 13 | BYE | ||||||
| 14 | BYE | ||||||
Standings
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | PF (Avg.) | PA (Avg.) | STK | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus Lions | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 599 | 174 | 74.9 | 21.8 | W8 | ||
| Florida Tarpons | 7 | 1 | 0 | .875 | 489 | 202 | 61.1 | 25.3 | W4 | ||
| Myrtle Beach Freedom | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 259 | 307 | 32.4 | 38.4 | L1 | ||
| Savannah Steam | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 264 | 336 | 33.0 | 42.0 | L1 | ||
| Georgia Firebirds | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 236 | 350 | 29.5 | 43.8 | L2 | ||
| Central Florida Jaguars | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | 219 | 483 | 27.4 | 60.4 | L1 | ||
| Atlanta Vultures | 1 | 5 | 0 | .167 | 67 | 141 | 11.2 | 23.5 | L5 | ||
References
- "The AIF Comes to Central Florida for the 2016 Season". American Indoor Football. August 12, 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-10-03. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
- Fredericksen, Brady (August 31, 2015). "New Lakeland team hopes to find success in 2016". TheLedger.com. The Ledger. Retrieved October 1, 2015.
- "Jags announce membership in EIFC". Elite Indoor Football Conference. Archived from the original on 2017-06-28. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
- "Central Florida Jags end season after cancelling final game". www.theledger.com. The Lakeland Ledger. May 25, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2016.
- James Bennett Jr. (March 12, 2016). "Jags routed by Tarpons in inaugural game". www.theledger.com. The Lakeland Ledger. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
- James Bennett Jr. (March 26, 2016). "Jags lost 90-42 to defending AIFL champions". www.theledger.com. The Lakeland Ledger. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- James Bennett Jr. (April 2, 2016). "Central Florida Jags fall 47-34 to Myrtle Beach Freedom". www.theledger.com. The Lakeland Ledger. Retrieved April 5, 2016.
- "Indoor Football: Tarpons take down Jags". www.naplesnews.com. Naples Daily News. April 30, 2016. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
- "Indoor Football: Tarpons rout Jaguars". www.naplesnews.com. Naples Daily News. May 16, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2016.