Fort Wayne Fusion

Last updated
Fort Wayne Fusion
Established 2006
Folded 2007
Played in Allen County War Memorial Coliseum
in Fort Wayne, Indiana
FortWayneFusionaf2logo.JPG
League/conference affiliations
af2 (2007)
  • American Conference (2007)
    • Midwest Division (2007)
Current uniform
Team colorsBurnt orange, regal purple, pearl white
   
Personnel
Owner(s) af2
General managerMike McCaffrey
Head coach Eddie Brown
Team history
  • Fort Wayne Fusion (2007)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Home arena(s)

The Fort Wayne Fusion was a 2007 af2 (Arena Football League's minor league) expansion team in the Midwest Division of the American Conference. They played their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which was the former home of the defunct National Indoor Football League/United Indoor Football franchise, the Fort Wayne Freedom.

Contents

After only one year of existence, the Fusion folded and a new version of the Fort Wayne Freedom was formed for the Continental Indoor Football League.

History

The franchise was announced in November, 2006 as an expansion team of the af2. Jeremy Golden was announced as the team's owner and general manager, and secured a lease with Allen County War Memorial Coliseum for home games. [1] The team also announced that Arena Football League legend, Eddie Brown, would be the team first head coach. [1] In January, the team named Mike McCaffrey as the team's General Manager to handle day-to-day operations for the Fusion. [2] In February, the team announced the team colors would be Burnt Orange, Regal Purple and Pearl White. [3] With the team struggling to find a quarterback through their exhibition games, the Fusion traded for Cody Hodges of the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz. [4] The Fusion played their first game in the af2 on March 31, 2007 against the Green Bay Blizzard, who were the then-defending American Conference champions. [5] In July, 2007, the news surfaced that Owner Jeremy Golden had been removed as the owner of the Fusion by af2 Commissioner, Jerry Kurz. [6] The Fusion finished the season 5-11, [7] but with the loss of Golden during the season, the Fusion playing again in 2008 was very remote. [8] In October, the city learned that Kurz had determined that the Fusion would not return in 2008. [9]

2007 Schedule

The Fort Wayne Fusion's schedule for the 2007 season is as follows: (Home Games in bold)

DateOpponentTime (Eastern)LocationResultRecord
Saturday, March 31, 2007vs. Green Bay Blizzard 7:00 PM Allen County War Memorial Coliseum W (36-28)1-0
Saturday, April 7, 2007@ Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings 8:00 PM CenturyTel Center L (52-67)1-1
Sunday, April 15, 2007vs. Spokane Shock 4:00 PM Allen County War Memorial Coliseum W (63-56)2-1
Saturday, April 21, 2007@ Manchester Wolves 7:05 PM Verizon Wireless Arena L (41-54)2-2
Saturday, April 28, 2007vs. Albany Conquest 7:00 PM Allen County War Memorial Coliseum L (21-35)2-3
Saturday, May 5, 2007@ Cincinnati Jungle Kats 7:30 PM U.S. Bank Arena L (32-35)2-4
Friday, May 11, 2007vs. Louisville Fire 7:30 PM Allen County War Memorial Coliseum L (42-48)2-5
Saturday, May 19, 2007BYE WEEK
Saturday, May 26, 2007vs. Tennessee Valley Vipers 7:00 PM Allen County War Memorial Coliseum W (56-33)3-5
Saturday, June 2, 2007@ Albany Conquest 4:00 PM Times Union Center L (33-77)3-6
Friday, June 8, 2007vs. Quad City Steamwheelers 7:30 PM Allen County War Memorial Coliseum L (47-64)3-7
Saturday, June 16, 2007@ Louisville Fire 7:00 PM Freedom Hall W (52-34)4-7
Friday, June 22, 2007@ Green Bay Blizzard 8:30 PM Resch Center L (28-54)4-8
Saturday, June 30, 2007vs. Cincinnati Jungle Kats 7:00 PM Allen County War Memorial Coliseum W (47-25)5-8
Saturday, July 7, 2007vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers 7:00 PM Allen County War Memorial Coliseum L (47-48)5-9
Saturday, July 14, 2007@ Tennessee Valley Vipers 8:30 PM Von Braun Center L (48-61)5-10
Saturday, July 21, 2007BYE WEEK
Thursday, July 26, 2007@ Quad City Steamwheelers 8:30 PM iWireless Center L (55-56)5-11

Season-by-season

Season records
SeasonWLTFinishPlayoff results
200751104th AC Midwest--

Final roster

Fort Wayne Fusion roster
Quarterbacks
  • 15Blayne Baggett
  • 12Joe Micco

Fullbacks

FB/LB
  • 30Joe Johnsonbaugh
FB/LB

Wide receivers

  •  8Jonathan Graham
  • 25 Cesare Manning
  • 17Mario Pratcher
Offensive linemen
  • 65Lenard Black
  • 99 A. J. Lindsay
  • 72Stephenol Santos
  • 97 Lou Vega

Defensive linemen

  • 95Ernest Bentz
  • 91 Darian Tate
  • 33Ken West
Linebackers
  • 30Joe Johnsonbaugh

Defensive backs

  • 14Arthur Berlanga
  •  2Derek Brown
  •  1Derrick Simmons
  •  3Nate Williams

Special teams

  •  6Kyle HooperK
Injured reserve
  • 14Barry DrakefordDB Injury icon 2.svg (IR)
  •  3 R. J. Harvey KR Injury icon 2.svg (IR)
  • 93Patrick P'au Injury icon 2.svg (IR)
  • 21Jamal RufuDB Injury icon 2.svg (IR)
  •  1Tyrone WalkerWR Injury icon 2.svg (IR)
  •  4Terell White Injury icon 2.svg (IR)
  • 89Rodney WormleyDL Injury icon 2.svg (IR)

rookies in italics
Roster updated July 15, 2007
21 Active, 8 Inactive

Coaches of note

Head coaches

Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2007 af2 season.

NameTermRegular SeasonPlayoffsAwards
WLTWin%WL
Eddie Brown 2007 5110.31300

Coaching staff

Fort Wayne Fusion staff
Front office
  • General manager – Mike McCaffrey
  • Asst. General Manager – Elvis Ahlborn
  • Team services – Greg Moyer
  • Radio play-by-play – Dean Jackson [10]

Head coach

Offensive coaches

  • Offensive Coordinator –
 

Defensive coaches

  • Defensive coordinator – Tony Henderson

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">AF2</span> Former Arena Football Leagues developmental league

The AF2 was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup championship in August. The AF2 continued to operate while the AFL suspended operations for its 2009 season. The league was effectively disbanded in September 2009 when no team committed to playing in 2010, but several of the stronger franchises transferred into the reconstituted AFL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green Bay Blizzard</span> American indoor football team

The Green Bay Blizzard is a professional indoor football team based in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, founded in 2003. The Blizzard began play in the Indoor Football League in 2010, after having played the previous seven seasons in af2, the now-defunct minor league of the Arena Football League. They play their home games at the Resch Center. The team's logo represents Bruiser, the team mascot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Antonio Talons</span> Arena football team

The San Antonio Talons were a professional arena football team based in San Antonio, Texas. They played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Their home arena was the Alamodome, following their relocation to San Antonio for the 2012 season.

The Lincoln Capitols were a professional indoor football team that played their home games at Pershing Auditorium in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. They originally planned on becoming the Nebraska Knockout, but the name was scrapped. From 1999 to 2000, they were the Lincoln Lightning of the original Indoor Football League before the IFL was bought out. The Lightning then played in the Arena Football's farm league during the 2001 season, before leaving the league and joining the National Indoor Football League as the Capitols.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Wayne Freedom</span>

The Fort Wayne Freedom was a professional indoor football team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Indoor Football</span> Professional indoor football league

American Indoor Football (AIF) is a professional indoor football league, one of the several regional professional indoor football leagues in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spokane Shock</span> Arena football team

The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won division titles in all four seasons and ArenaCups in 2006 and 2009 before they joined the Arena Football League (AFL) in its 2010 relaunch. The team advanced to the playoffs three times after joining the AFL, winning ArenaBowl XXIII in their first season, making them the only arena football franchise to win both the ArenaCup and the ArenaBowl.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Continental Indoor Football League</span> US indoor football league

The Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) was an indoor football league based along the Midwestern United States region that played nine seasons from 2006 to 2014. It began play in April 2006 as the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIFL). It was formed by Jeff Spitaleri, his brother Eric, and a third member, Cory Trapp, all from the Canton, Ohio, area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rock River Raptors</span> American indoor football team

The Rock River Raptors were a professional indoor football team based in Rockford, Illinois. The team was most recently a member of the Continental Indoor Football League. The franchise was established in 2000 as the Tennessee Valley Vipers, a charter member of af2. The franchise was based at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2005, the franchise moved to United Indoor Football as the Tennessee Valley Raptors, to accommodate the Vipers' af2 return to Huntsville, as which point the team owner Art Clarkson announced that the franchise would relocate to Rockford. Coincidentally, Rockford was the site of the first-ever Arena Football game in 1986. The Owner of the Raptors was Art Clarkson. The Raptors played their home games at Rockford MetroCentre in Rockford, Illinois.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marion Mayhem</span>

The Marion Mayhem were a professional indoor football team based in Marion, Ohio. The team was a charter member of the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIFL), later renamed the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL), joining in 2006 as an expansion team. The Mayhem were the first professional indoor football team to be based in Marion, but were the second pro football team to be based in the area since the NFL's Oorang Indians. The team folded during the 2010 season due to financial problems. The Owners of the Mayhem were Michael Burtch and Stanley Jackson. They played their home games at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Marion, Ohio.

The Jacksonville Tomcats were an arena football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They were an inaugural franchise in af2, the developmental league of the Arena Football League (AFL), and played for three seasons, from 2000 to 2002. They played their home games at Jacksonville Coliseum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peoria Pirates</span> Arena football team

The Peoria Pirates were a professional arena football team that last played in AF2, the minor league to the Arena Football League (AFL). They played their home games at Carver Arena, part of the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois, and were coached by Mike Hohensee and Bruce Cowdrey. The Pirates originally began play as a charter member of the original Indoor Football League in 1999.

The 2006 Great Lakes Indoor Football League season was the first season of the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIFL).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wheeling Wildcats</span>

The Wheeling Wildcats were a professional indoor football team located in Wheeling, West Virginia. The team began play in the Continental Indoor Football League during the 2009 season as an expansion team. The Wildcats were the second indoor football team to be based in Wheeling. The team filled the void left by the demise of the Ohio Valley Greyhounds, who played their final down of football in 2007. The owner of the Wildcats was Dave Bender. The Wildcats played their home games at WesBanco Arena in Wheeling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austin Turfcats</span> Professional indoor football team

The Austin Turfcats were a professional indoor football team based in Austin, Texas. The Turfcats were a member of the Indoor Football League (IFL) during the 2010 season, after being a charter member of the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) during their inaugural 2009 season. The Turfcats played their home games at Luedecke Arena at the Travis County Exposition Center. This was Austin's fourth attempt at an indoor football team; the prior three were the Indoor Professional Football League's Texas Terminators (1999), the National Indoor Football League's Austin Knights/Rockers (2002–2003), and the Arena Football League Austin Wranglers (2004–2008).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everett Raptors</span> Professional indoor football team based in Everett, Washington

The Everett Raptors were a professional indoor football team based in Everett, Washington. The Raptors were member of the Intense Conference of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They played their home games at the Comcast Arena at Everett in Everett.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Wayne FireHawks</span>

The Fort Wayne FireHawks were a professional indoor football team based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. The team joined the Continental Indoor Football League as an expansion team during the 2010 season. The FireHawks were the fourth attempt at indoor football in Fort Wayne after the original Fort Wayne Freedom, Fort Wayne Fusion, and the second Fort Wayne Freedom. The Owner of the FireHawks was Championship Sports Enterprises LLC. The FireHawks played their home games at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum.

The 2010 Fort Wayne Firehawks season was the first season for the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) franchise. In November 2009, the FireHawks were announced as the successor team to the Fort Wayne Freedom. Owners J. Michael Loomis and John Christner purchased the assets left from the Freedom franchise, who had played the two seasons before the FireHawks were announced. Christner's first action as General Manager was naming former Freedom head coach Willie Davis as the team's first head coach. On December 9, 2009, it was confirmed that Loomis and Christner would take over the entities that used to run the Freedom. Before the season started, the team announced they had signed Katie Hnida as the team's placekicker. Hnida is best known for becoming the first woman to score a point in an NCAA football game and speaking out during the recruiting scandal at her first school, the University of Colorado.

Jamara Riashonn Bell is an American former Arena football & indoor football defensive lineman. He played college football at Clinch Valley College.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bluegrass Warhorses</span>

The Bluegrass Warhorses were a professional indoor American football team based in Lexington, Kentucky. The team joined the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) in 2014 as an expansion team. The Warhorses were the second indoor football team based in Lexington. The owner of the Warhorses is JaQuar Sanders. The Warhorses played their home games at the Alltech Arena inside of Kentucky Horse Park but were forced to cancel their last four home games "due to unpaid arena rent and other bills".

References

  1. 1 2 "Fusion select Select-A-Seat Night". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. December 10, 2006. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Fort Wayne Fusion name McCaffrey GM". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. January 11, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Fort Wayne Fusion unveil new logos". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. February 20, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Fusion Trades for QB". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. March 26, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  5. ↑ "The Fusion Gets It Done!!". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. March 31, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  6. ↑ Stacy Clardie (July 18, 2007). "af2 cuts tie with Fusion lead owner". www.journalgazette.net. Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  7. ↑ Stay Clardie (July 27, 2007). "Fusion loss caps wild year". www.journalgazette.net. Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  8. ↑ Stacy Clardie (August 24, 2007). "City arena football future is still clouded in mystery". www.journalgazette.net. Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  9. ↑ Stacy Clardie (October 5, 2007). "Death knell for Fort Wayne Fusion?". www.journalgazette.net. Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Fusion partners with Summit City Radio Group". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. February 21, 2007. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
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.