Fayetteville Force (SIFL)

Fayetteville Force
Founded 2010
League SIFL (2011)
Team history Fayetteville Force (2011)
Based in Fayetteville, North Carolina
Arena Cumberland County Crown Coliseum
Colors Black, Green, Brown, White
                   
Owner(s) AIFA
Championships 0
Division titles 0

The Fayetteville Force is the former name of a professional indoor football team in the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL). They debuted the SIFL following the SIFL/AIFA merger and play home games at the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum.

The Force set the record for the largest single-game losing margin and points allowed in the history of indoor football – in any league – following a 0 – 138 loss to the Erie Explosion on May 21, 2011.[1]

The AIFA entered into an asset purchase agreement of selected assets of the Fayetteville Force from Fanteractive, LLC the Force's parent company but the AIFA did not purchase the corporation that was operating the Force. Under the agreement the AIFA retains the Force name, logo, likeness, playing equipment and the artificial turf. The AIFA guaranteed that it would play the remaining four Force games with the Southern Indoor Football League.[2] On November 17, 2011, a new franchise was announced Cape Fear Heroes that began play in the 2012 season of part of a new AIF.[3]

History

The Fayetteville Guard, began play in 2003 as the Myrtle Beach Stingrays' of the National Indoor Football League in the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, compiling a 6-8 record in their inaugural season.

At the beginning of the 2004 season, the NIFL pulled the team out of Myrtle Beach, and the team almost folded. However, some local investors saved the team, playing as the Carolina Stingrays in the Florence Civic Center. They managed to finish 3-6 in their shortened season.

The following year, the team was purchased again and moved to Fayetteville to replace af2's Cape Fear Wildcats, who had moved to Albany, Georgia and are currently playing as the South Georgia Wildcats. The new team had originally been called the Fayetteville Heat, but later on changed their name to the Fayetteville Guard. The team started their season 0-5, but went 7-2 in their final nine regular season games, thus earning them a 7-7 record and a playoff berth. The team defeated the Dayton Warbirds in the first round, but lost to the Cincinnati Marshals in the divisional round.

The Guard did even better in 2006, posting a 13-1 record in the regular season, then defeating the Lakeland Thunderbolts and River City Rage en route to Indoor Bowl VI, where they would lose to the Billings Outlaws. The best player ever for the Fayetteville Guard was former Hawaii QB-K Shawn-Ke'ali'i Withy-Allen, 6'5", 234 lbs.

In August 2006, it was reported that the Guard were moving to the World Indoor Football League.[4] However, the Guard denied these rumors by announcing that they were staying in the NIFL in a press conference two months later.

With to the merger of the AIFA and SIFL, a new Fayetteville based sports marketing group claimed the right to field a SIFL team from the Fayetteville market. The Guard did not return for the 2011 season, but a new team not affiliated with the Guard or its owners, called the Fayetteville Force, now represents the Cape Fear area. After a 3-0 start, the team collapsed and was sold to the remains of the AIFA, who put together a new team from scratch under the "Fayetteville Force" name. The "new" Fayetteville Force has yet to win a game and has the dubious distinction of having the most points scored on them in indoor football history and the worst margin of defeat for a professional football team in over 100 years, losing 138-0 to the Erie Explosion.[1]

For the 2012 season, the assets of the Force were rebranded as the Cape Fear Heroes.

Fayetteville Guard
Founded 2003
League

AIFA (2008–2010)

NIFL/Independent (2003–2007)
Team history

Fayetteville Guard (2005–2010)

Myrtle Beach/Carolina Stingrays (2003–2004)
Based in Fayetteville, North Carolina
Arena Cumberland County Crown Coliseum
Colors Black, green, brown, white
                   
Championships 0
Division titles 2

Defunct franchise season-by-season

Summary

Season W L T Finish Playoff results
Myrtle Beach Stingrays (NIFL)
2003 6 8 0 3rd Atlantic Southern --
Carolina Stingrays (NIFL)
2004 3 6 0 3rd Atlantic Southern --
Fayetteville Guard (NIFL)
2005 7 7 0 3rd Atlantic Central Won AC Quarterfinal (Dayton)
Lost AC Divisional (Cincinnati)
2006 13 1 0 1st Atlantic Central Won AC Semifinal (Lakeland)
Won AC Championship (River City)
Lost Indoor Bowl VI (Billings)
Fayetteville Guard (NIFL/Independent)
2007 12 0 0 1st Atlantic Won Budweiser Indoor Football Championship Bowl (Wyoming)
Fayetteville Guard (AIFA)
2008 5 9 0 4th EC Eastern --
2009 8 6 0 2nd Southern Lost Divisional (Columbus)
2010 2 12 0 6th Eastern --
Totals 59 52 0 (including playoffs)

Schedule and results 2005–2010

2005
Date Opponent Result Att. Record
Regular season
March 26 at River City L, 46-43 3,892 0-1
April 2 Odessa L, 52-46 2,991 0-2
April 9 at Cincinnati L, 57-54 4,208 0-3
April 16 Rome L, 60-57 2,828 0-4
April 23 at Montgomery L, 35-20 3,965 0-5
April 30 Montgomery W, 64-21 N/A 1-5
May 8 at Rome L, 48-45 (OT) 1,250 1-6
May 13 at Kissimmee W, 47-34 1,102 2-6
May 21 River City W, 60-51 N/A 3-6
May 28 Cincinnati W, 48-34 1,634 4-6
June 4 Kissimmee W, 55-14 2,600 5-6
June 11 Daytona Beach W, 41-37 4,012 6-6
June 18 at SW Louisiana L, 53-38 4,012 6-7
June 25 Miami W, 62-2 3,012 7-7
First Round
July 9 Dayton W, 78-63 2,180 8-7
Divisional Round
July 16 Cincinnati L, 70-69 3,443 8-8
2006
Date Opponent Result Att. Record
Regular season
March 25 at Montgomery W, 44-7 2,144 1-0
April 1 at Osceola W, 58-55 1,897 2-0
April 9 at Florida W, 44-41 N/A 3-0
April 14 at Greensboro W, 45-26 3,218 4-0
April 22 Osceola W, 54-51 3,200 5-0
April 29 at Lakeland L, 60-41 2,697 5-1
May 4 at Charleston W, 62-44 1,800 6-1
May 13 Cincinnati W, 70-26 2,097 7-1
May 20 Palm Beach W, 59-20 2,000 8-1
May 27 Palm Beach W, 70-0 4,185 9-1
June 3 Tennessee W, 78-14 2,645 10-1
June 10 Greensboro W, 58-40 1,563 11-1
June 17 Charleston W, 74-14 1,241 12-1
June 24 Montgomery W, 68-14 2,385 13-1
Divisional Round
July 16 Lakeland W, 44-18 3,129 14-1
Conference Championship
July 22 at RiverCity W, 72-70 (OT) 3,223 15-1
Indoor Bowl VI
July 28 at Billings L, 59-44 7,934 15-2
2007
Date Opponent Result Record
Regular season
March 31 Columbia W, 69-18 1-0
April 14 The Marshals W, 77-14 2-0
April 20 at Greensboro W, 60-28 3-0
April 28 at The Marshals W, 59-28 4-0
May 5 Atlanta W, 64-22 5-0
May 26 at Columbia W, 34-24 6-0
June 2 Greensboro W, 68-28 7-0
June 9 The Marshals W, 91-6 8-0
June 23 Columbia W, 108-0 9-0
June 30 at Greensboro W, 63-24 10-0
July 7 Greensboro W, 47-0 11-0
July 14 Wyoming W, 48-34 12-0
Divisional Round
2008
Date Opponent Result Record
Regular season
March 22 at Mississippi L, 34 – 82 0-1
March 30 Augusta L, 14 – 47 0-2
April 13 Florence L, 38 – 39 0-3
April 19 at Columbus L, 16 – 75 0-4
April 26 at Carolina W, 19 – 18 1-4
May 3 at Huntington W, 34 – 26 2-4
May 10 Augusta W, 56 – 43 3-4
May 17 at Reading L, 24 – 51 3-5
May 23 at Canton L, 22 – 34 3-6
May 30 at Florence L, 6 – 50 3-7
June 7 Huntington W, 51 – 21 4-7
June 14 Florida W, 48 – 34 5-7
June 21 Columbus L, 58 – 59 5-8
June 28 Florida L, 41 – 43 5-9
2009
Date Opponent Result Record
Regular season
March 21 at South Carolina W, 39 – 18 1-0
March 28 Carolina W, 58 – 32 2-0
April 4 at Florence L, 49 – 50 2-1
April 11 at D.C. W, 56 – 18 3-1
April 18 South Carolina L, 48 – 53 3-2
April 25 Columbus W, 41 – 37 4-2
May 2 Erie W, 58 – 28 5-2
May 9 at Reading L, 50 – 63 5-3
May 23 at South Carolina W, 46 – 34 6-3
May 30 Reading W, 57 – 53 7-3
June 6 Florence W, 59 – 27 8-3
June 13 at Columbus L, 43 – 61 8-4
June 20 at Carolina L, 40 – 45 8-5
June 20 Columbus L, 25 – 44 8-6
2010
Date Opponent Result Record
Regular season
March 21 at Baltimore L, 0 – 59 0-1
March 27 New Jersey W, 75 – 15 1-1
April 3 at Richmond L, 39 – 55 1-2
April 10 at Harrisburg L, 21 – 49 1-3
April 17 at New Jersey W, 37 – 19 2-3
April 24 Baltimore L, 19 – 91 2-4
May 1 Reading L, 33 – 62 2-5
May 8 at Richmond L, 28 – 55 2-6
May 13 Baltimore L, 34 – 63 2-7
May 22 at Erie L, 52 – 55 2-8
May 29 Harrisburg L, 28 – 64 2-9
June 12 at Reading L, 48 – 49 2-10
June 19 Erie L, 58 – 65 2-11
June 26 Richmond L, 33 – 56 2-12

Force season-by-season

Summary

Season W L T Finish Playoff results
Fayetteville Force (SIFL)
2011 3 9 0 3rd EC Mid-Atlantic --
Totals (including playoffs)

2011

Date Opponent Result Record
Regular season
March 18 Carolina W, 44 – 39 1-0
March 27 Harrisburg W, 75 – 66 2-0
April 3 at Trenton W, 56 – 53 3-0
April 9 Columbus L, 29 – 28 3-1
April 16 at Richmond L 43 – 61 3-2
April 23 Albany L 40 – 43 3-3
April 29 Trenton L 41 – 69 3-4
May 7 at Columbus L 32 – 81 3-5
May 21 at Erie L 0 – 138 3-6
May 29 at Carolina L 22 – 84 3-7
June 4 at Alabama L 12 – 92 3-8
June 11 Richmond L 66 – 88 3-9

2011 opening roster

Due to contractual issues that arose between the previous owner and his players and coaches at the time the AIFA was unable to take over those contracts, so on a two-day notice before the Erie away game the AIFA had to assemble a team of available players. These players were selected from a group of former indoor players and rookies who were available at the time. The AIFA selected as Head Coach Matt Steeple, a veteran indoor coach from a rival league (IFL) for the balance of the 2011 season. The roster listed below is how it appeared at the start of the season.

Player Position Height Weight College Pro Experience Player Position Height Weight College Pro Experience
Lamar Little QB 5' 11 200 lbs. Virginia Union 1 Jon (Jay) Autry QB 6' 0 240 lbs. Fayetteville State R
Dante Williams QB 6' 210 lbs. Samford 1 Chris Johnson RB 5' 9 215 lbs. 1
Jay Jackson WR 5' 8 160 lbs. Fayetteville State 5 Chris Schubert WR 5' 9 190 lbs. 1
Prentice Quince WR 5' 10 160 lbs. Tallahassee CC 3 Corey McDowell WR 6' 1 187 lbs. 5
Walter Ford WR/R 5' 9 200 lbs. Virginia Tech 7 Tymere Zimmerman WR/QB 6' 4 225 lbs. Newberry College 4
Armar Waton DB 5' 11 190 lbs. Duquesne 5 Deleon Raynor DB 5' 10 190 lbs. NC Central 6
Jerome Mann DB 6' 190 lbs. Saint Paul's College 1 JR Hair DB 6' 1 190 lbs. Greensboro College 3
Roger Williams DB 5'11 195 lbs. Bowling Green 3 Marquiz Ruffin DB/Jack 6' 1 205 lbs. NC A&T R
Marcus Hicks Jack 6' 230 lbs. Catawba College 4 Quinton Smith Jack 6' 210 lbs. Samford R
Preston Hines LB 6' 4 260 lbs. Norfolk State 1 Dontre Brown DL 6' 1 280 lbs. East Carolina 6
Ken Brown DL/OL 6' 3 270 lbs. 5 Quincy Malloy DL 5' 11 270 lbs. Methodist University 7
Antonio Dingle DL 6' 4 290 lbs. Virginia 10 Jamaal Williams OL 6' 2 325 lbs. Benedict College 1
Theodric Watson OL 6' 5 300 lbs. South Florida Brandon Newton OL 6' 2 315 lbs. Hofstra
Troy Benett OL 6' 4 355 lbs. Southeastern Derek Scott K 5' 6 200 lbs. Tennessee Tech

References

  1. 1 2 Go Erie article
  2. ↑ Letter to the Fans Archived July 23, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
  3. ↑ Cape Fear Heroes website
  4. ↑
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