La Crosse Spartans

The La Crosse Spartans were a professional indoor football team based in La Crosse, Wisconsin. They were a member of the Great Lakes Division, of the United Conference of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They played their home games at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

La Crosse Spartans
Established 2009
Folded 2011
Played in La Crosse Center
in La Crosse, Wisconsin
LaCrosseSpartans.com
League/conference affiliations
Indoor Football League (2010–2011)
  • United Conference (2010–2011)
    • Central North Division (2010)
    • Great Lakes Division (2011)
Current uniform
Team colorsGreen, black, white
     
CheerleadersLady Spartans
Personnel
Owner(s)Chris Kokalis
PresidentChris Kokalis
Head coachKyle Moore-Brown
Team history
  • La Crosse Spartans (2010–2011)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Home arena(s)

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.[4] On September 30, the Spartans got the formal go-ahead to play at the center.[5] The Spartans were 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. They finished the first half of the season 0-7. The Spartans earned their first victory against the Chicago Slaughter on April 30 in La Crosse. Their first road victory against at Chicago on June 12 . They finished the season 3-11.

2011 season
Main article: 2011 La Crosse Spartans season

The second season of the La Crosse Spartans began February 19, 2011, in the IFL’s showcase game, the Kickoff Classic. La Crosse played 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. The Spartans were not listed in this division. Kokalis said the Spartans franchise will "cease to exist", but also said that the team was up for sale.[8]

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
2010 2010 IFL United Central North 4th 3 11 0
2011 2011 IFL United Great Lakes 4th 5 9 0
Totals 8 20 0 All-time regular season record (2010–2011)
0 0 - All-time postseason record (2010–2011)
8 20 0 All-time regular season and postseason record (2010–2011)

Final 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

  • 44 Michael Ebanks
  •  4 Bernard Faithful
  •  1 Xzavie Jackson
  • 56 Jeremy Maddox
Linebackers
  •  9 Joe Bevis

Defensive backs

  • 20 Jamil Abdullah
  •  2 Walner Belleus
  • 21 Kevis Buckley
  • 37 George Carpenter
  • 13 Tim Corrish
  • 26 Richard Chambers

Kickers

  • 10 Mike Polaski
  • 30 Rubio Radamez
  • 10 Jake Bauer
Injured Reserve
  • 31 Wes McDermott LB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  •  9 Antonio O'Neil DL (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 83 Antonio Overstreet WR (IRTooltip Injured reserve)
  • 24 Tommie Williams DB (IRTooltip Injured reserve)

Inactive

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

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

YearAverage Attendance
20102574
20112280

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

See also

References
  1. "La Crosse Spartans : Coaching Staff". La Crosse Spartans.
  2. "Spartans' Brown to Take Leave of Absence". Our Sports Central. 31 March 2011.
  3. "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. Archived from the original on 2012-07-06.
  7. "Jose Jefferson to Lead Spartans' Offense". Our Sports Central. November 10, 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2010.
  8. "Spartans fold".
  9. "goifl.com: Statistics". IFL. Retrieved July 3, 2010.
  10. "2011 All-IFL Teams Announced". IFL. June 24, 2011. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2011.
  11. "Vidswap.com Week Five Players of the Week". IFL. March 22, 2011. Archived from the original on October 5, 2011. Retrieved March 22, 2011.
  12. "Vidswap.com Week Eleven Players of the Week". IFL. May 5, 2011. Archived from the original on May 6, 2011. Retrieved May 5, 2011.
  13. "2010 IFL Awards". IFL. June 23, 2010. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
  14. "2010 All-IFL Teams Announced". IFL. June 24, 2010. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2010.
  15. "Week 9 Vidswap.com Players of the Week Announced". IFL. April 28, 2010. Archived from the original on September 25, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2010.
  16. "Vidswap.com Week Sixteen Players of the Week". IFL. June 16, 2010. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved June 16, 2010.
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