2016 Georgia Firebirds season

Last updated

2016 Georgia Firebirds season
OwnerGridiron Central Group
General managerTerence Fowler
Head coachDavid Daniels (fired on March 21, 0-1 record)
Antwone Savage (interim)
Home field Albany Civic Center
100 West Oglethorpe Boulevard
Albany, GA 31701
Results
Record3–5
Division place5th
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 2016 Georgia Firebirds season was the first season for the American indoor football franchise, and their first in American Indoor Football.

Contents

On November 18, 2015, the Firebirds finalized the contract with the city of Albany, Georgia, and the Albany Civic Center, to play indoor football for the 2016 season. [1] Prior to becoming an indoor team, the organization had played in various semi-pro outdoor leagues.

On March 20, 2016, the Firebirds lost their first ever game in franchise history. The following day, Daniels was fired as the Firebirds head coach, replaced by Antwone Savage. [2]

On May 14, 2016, the Firebirds were forced to forfeit their final game at the Savannah Steam due to transportation issues. [3]

Schedule

Key:   Win  Tie  Loss   Bye

Exhibition

All start times are local to home team

WeekDayDateKickoffOpponentResultsLocation
ScoreRecord
1WednesdayMarch 97:00pmCapital City CobrasW 42–22 [4] 1–0 Albany Civic Center
2SaturdayMay 77:00pmSouth Carolina RavensW 73–24 [5] 2–0 Albany Civic Center

Regular season

All start times are local to home team

WeekDayDateKickoffOpponentResultsLocation
ScoreRecord
1 BYE
2 BYE
3 BYE
4SundayMarch 204:00pmat Columbus Lions L 0–86 [6] 0–1 Columbus Civic Center
5SaturdayMarch 267:00pm Atlanta Vultures L 38–40 [7] 0–2 Albany Civic Center
6SaturdayApril 27:00pm Savannah Steam W 43–34 [8] 1–2 Albany Civic Center
7MondayApril 117:05pmat Myrtle Beach Freedom W 49–20 [9] 2–2 Myrtle Beach Convention Center
8SundayApril 177:05pmat Florida Tarpons L 31–52 [10] 2–3 Germain Arena
9SaturdayApril 237:00pm Myrtle Beach Freedom W 56–43 [11] 3–3 Albany Civic Center
10SaturdayApril 307:00pm Columbus Lions L 19–73 [12] 3–4 Albany Civic Center
11 BYE
12SaturdayMay 147:00pmat Savannah Steam L 0–2 (forfeit) [13] 3–5 Savannah Civic Center
13 BYE
14 BYE

Standings

2016 AIF Southern standings
TeamWLPCT
y – Columbus Lions 801.000
x – Florida Tarpons 71.875
x – Myrtle Beach Freedom 44.500
x – Savannah Steam 35.375
Georgia Firebirds 35.375
Central Florida Jaguars 26.250
Atlanta Vultures 17.125

Related Research Articles

MVP Arena Indoor arena in Albany, New York, U.S.

MVP Arena is an indoor arena located in Albany, New York. It is configurable and can accommodate from 6,000 to 17,500 people, with a maximum seating capacity of 15,500 for sporting events.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WALB</span> TV station in Albany, Georgia

WALB is a television station in Albany, Georgia, United States, serving Southwestern Georgia as an affiliate of NBC and ABC. It is owned by Gray Media alongside low-power CW+ affiliate WGCW-LD. Both stations share studios on Stuart Avenue in Albany, while WALB's transmitter is located east of Doerun, along the Colquitt–Worth county line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albany Civic Center</span> Indoor arena in Albany, GA

The Albany James H. Gray Sr. Civic Center is a multi-purpose arena located in downtown Albany, Georgia on the west bank of the Flint River. Opened in 1983, the arena is the only one of its kind in Southwest Georgia. Its maximum seating capacity of 10,711 is the largest of any indoor arena in the state of Georgia outside of metropolitan Atlanta and third-largest in the state behind State Farm Arena in downtown Atlanta and Gas South Arena in Gwinnett County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">WFXL</span> TV station in Albany, Georgia

WFXL is a television station in Albany, Georgia, United States, serving as the Fox affiliate for Southwest Georgia. Owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, the station maintains studios on Stuart Avenue in Albany, and its transmitter is located east of Doerun along the Colquitt–Worth county line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albany Panthers</span>

The Albany Panthers were an indoor football team based in Albany, Georgia. The team joined the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) during their inaugural season in 2010. When the SIFL folded, the team joined the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) in 2012. The Panthers' home games were played at the Albany Civic Center until 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia Firebirds</span>

The Georgia Firebirds were a professional indoor football team based in Albany, Georgia, and played their home games at the Albany Civic Center. Previously, the Firebirds played as an outdoor football team in various semi-pro leagues before going indoor. The Firebirds joined American Indoor Football (AIF) for the 2016 season but the league folded after one season. The Firebirds then joined the new National Arena League (NAL) for the 2017 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professional Indoor Football League</span>

The Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) was a professional indoor football league that played four seasons from 2012 to 2015. Like the Lone Star Football League, the PIFL was mainly composed of teams formerly part of Southern Indoor Football League. Despite the name, this PIFL had no connections to the original Professional Indoor Football League.

The Georgia Fire were a professional indoor football team based in Rome, Georgia. They were members of the American Conference in the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) during the 2014 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern Steam</span> Indoor American football team

The Southern Steam are a professional indoor football team and currently a member of Elite Indoor Football (EIF) since 2017.

Phillip Barnett is an American football wide receiver for the Albany Firebirds of the Arena Football League (AFL). He previously played for the Washington Valor of the Arena Football League (AFL) and played college football at the University of Toledo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlanta Vultures</span>

The Atlanta Vultures were a professional indoor football team and a member of American Indoor Football (AIF) that played part of the 2016 season. Based in Atlanta, Georgia, the Vultures were to play their home games at the Georgia International Convention Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myrtle Beach Freedom</span>

The Myrtle Beach Freedom were a professional indoor football team based in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and played their home games at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center. They were a member of American Indoor Football for one season until the league ceased operations in the summer of 2016.

The 2016 American Indoor Football season was the eleventh and final season of American Indoor Football (AIF). The regular season began February 27, 2016, and ended on May 23, 2016. Each team played a game schedule of varying lengths.

The 2016 Columbus Lions season was the tenth season for the indoor football franchise, and their first in American Indoor Football.

The 2016 Florida Tarpons season was the fifth season for the American indoor football franchise, and their first in American Indoor Football.

The 2016 Savannah Steam season was the third season for the indoor football franchise, and their second in American Indoor Football (AIF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Arena League</span> American indoor football league

The National Arena League (NAL) is a professional indoor football league that began play in 2017. As of the end of the 2024 season, the league consisted of five teams.

The 2017 National Arena League season was the inaugural season of the National Arena League (NAL). Playing with eight teams spread across the eastern and southern United States, the league's regular season kicked off on March 17, 2017, when the Columbus Lions hosted the Jacksonville Sharks and lost 41–56. The regular season ended 14 weeks later on June 17, 2017, with the Sharks hosting the Monterrey Steel and the Lions visiting the Georgia Firebirds. The playoffs were held in two rounds, with the top seed hosting the fourth seed and the second seed hosting the third seed, with the winners of these games facing in the 2017 NAL Championship hosted by the highest remaining seed.

The 2017 Georgia Firebirds season was the second season for the professional indoor football franchise and first in the National Arena League (NAL). The Firebirds were one of eight teams that competed in the NAL for its inaugural 2017 season

Richard B. Buffington is an American former football player and coach. After briefly playing college football at BYU, he played for 17–19 different minor league teams in several leagues. He became a coach afterwards, beginning in 1968 with Bristol Community College. Buffington was a scout and assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL) in the late 1970s, and was an administrator and coach in the United States Football League (USFL) from 1982 to 1984. From 1988 to 2000, Buffington was a coach for several teams in the Arena Football League (AFL), including serving as head coach for the Albany Firebirds (1990–1993), Connecticut Coyotes (1995), Charlotte Rage (1996), and Florida Bobcats. He also coached the New Haven Ninjas (2002) and Albany Conquest (2004) in af2, the New England Surge (2007) in the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL), and the Boston Blaze (2017) in the Can-Am Indoor Football League.

References

  1. ↑ Carlton Fletcher (November 18, 2015). "Georgia Firebirds, city of Albany finalize arena football pact". www.albanyherald.com. Albany Herald. Archived from the original on November 26, 2015. Retrieved November 25, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Firebirds Announce New Coach". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. March 21, 2016. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Wheels derail the Firebirds game vs Savannah". WTOL 11. May 14, 2016. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved May 15, 2016.
  4. ↑ Jake Wallace (March 9, 2016). "Firebirds introduce themselves with exhibition win". www.walb.com. Frankly Media and WALB. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  5. ↑ Timothy Threadcraft (May 7, 2016). "Georgia Firebirds romp past South Carolina". www.albanyhearald.com. Albany Herald. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  6. ↑ Dana Barker (March 20, 2016). "Lions trounce Firebirds". www.mcall.com. Ledger-Enquirer. Retrieved March 21, 2016.
  7. ↑ Time Morse (March 26, 2016). "Georgia Firebirds show improvement but fall 40-38". www.albanyhearald.com. Albany Herald. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  8. ↑ Nolan Imsande (April 3, 2016). "Georgia Firebirds earn first victory". www.albanyhearald.com. Albany Herald. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  9. ↑ "Georgia Firebirds win again". www.albanyhearald.com. Albany Herald. April 11, 2016. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Georgia Firebirds fall to Florida". www.albanyhearald.com. Albany Herald. April 17, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  11. ↑ Nolan Imsande (April 23, 2016). "Change at QB leads Georgia Firebirds to victory". www.albanyhearald.com. Albany Herald. Retrieved April 27, 2016.
  12. ↑ Timothy Threadcraft (April 30, 2016). "Columbus Lions rout Georgia Firebirds again". www.albanyhearald.com. Albany Herald. Retrieved May 4, 2016.
  13. ↑ Theo Dorsey (May 14, 2016). "Wheels derail the Firebirds game vs Savannah". www.kmov.com. Frankly Media and KMOV. Retrieved May 16, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.