Related Research Articles
The Georgia Force was the name of three separate versions of Arena Football League (AFL) teams based in the Atlanta Metropolitan Area of Georgia, United States.
The Nashville Kats is the name of three separate franchises in the Arena Football League all located in Nashville, Tennessee. The original incarnation of the Kats launched in 1997 and were the first tenant of Bridgestone Arena. The Kats were first coached by Eddie Khayat, who won AFL Coach of the Year honors in 1997. After two seasons, Khayat was succeeded by Pat Sperduto, who coached the team to back-to-back appearances in ArenaBowl XIV and ArenaBowl XV. Despite on-field success, unfavorable lease conditions led to the sale of the team and relocation to Atlanta in December 2001, then becoming the original Georgia Force. The second incarnation of the Kats joined the league as an expansion team in 2005, again coached by Sperduto and again playing at Bridgestone Arena. This second incarnation played three seasons before folding in 2007. The third incarnation of the team, coached by Dean Cokinos, began play in 2024 at Nashville Municipal Auditorium. In 2025, they will become inaugural members of the newly-formed Arena Football One.
The ArenaBowl is the championship game of the Arena Football League. Originally hosted at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena based on home attendance during the inaugural 1987 season, save four years (2005–2008) the game was hosted by the team with the higher seed based on regular season performance. In 2005–2006 the league staged the game in Las Vegas, and in 2007–2008 New Orleans hosted the event. For the series final two games, regular season home attendance between the competing teams determined which would host.
The Gas South Arena is an indoor arena in Duluth, Georgia. It is located approximately 22 miles (35 km) northeast of Atlanta. The arena is one of the many venues within the "Gas South District", which also includes a convention center with an events hall and a performing arts center.
The Alabama Vipers were a professional arena football team, that played in the Arena Football League. For most of their history, the Vipers played as the Tennessee Valley Vipers in the now-defunct af2, the minor league for the original Arena Football League, where they won ArenaCup IX in 2008. They played their home games at the Von Braun Center. They were coached by Dean Cokinos.
Andy Kelly is a former American football quarterback in the Arena Football League (AFL). He played in the AFL for fifteen seasons for a total of eight different teams. He also played for two seasons for the Rhein Fire of the former World League of American Football (WLAF). He played college football at the University of Tennessee from 1988 to 1991.
Willis Thurman Marshall III is a former arena football wide receiver / defensive back. He played college football at Youngstown State.
Darnell Kennedy is a former arena / indoor football quarterback. Kennedy played for the Georgia Force of the Arena Football League (AFL). He is also a former Canadian Football League (CFL) quarterback; he was a backup quarterback for the Toronto Argonauts, the Calgary Stampeders, and the Ottawa Renegades.
The 2005 Arena Football League season was the 19th season of the Arena Football League. The league champions were the Colorado Crush, who defeated the Georgia Force in ArenaBowl XIX. The AFL changed its playoff format to allow the top four teams per conference to make the playoffs. Previously, the top eight teams in the league make the playoffs, regardless of their conference. Also, there was no inter-conference play in the playoffs until the Arena Bowl starting in 2005. The division champions also received an automatic playoff berth. This was probably brought on by the fact that the year before the Eastern Division champion New York Dragons missed the playoffs.
The 2002 Arena Football League season was the 16th season of the Arena Football League. It was succeeded by 2003. The league champions were the San Jose SaberCats, who defeated the Arizona Rattlers in ArenaBowl XVI. In the process the SaberCats came closer to a perfect season than any other team in the history of the league, winning sixteen of seventeen games.
Donnie Davis is the former starting quarterback for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in 1993 and 1995. He later played in the Arena Football League (AFL) for the Arizona Rattlers, Milwaukee Mustangs, and Georgia Force.
Jamin Elliott is an American former professional football wide receiver. He was selected by the Chicago Bears in the sixth round in 2002 NFL draft. He played college football at Delaware. With the New England Patriots, he won Super Bowl XXXVIII over the Carolina Panthers.
Sports in Georgia include professional teams, Olympic Games contenders and medalists, collegiate teams in major and small-school conferences and associations, and active amateur teams and individual sports.
James Kubiak is a former professional football player and coach. He is currently the director of the WNY Quarterback Academy, and he was most recently the head football coach at Hilbert College for their first season in 2022. Kubiak was the director of football operations and offensive coordinator for the Georgia Force of the Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football at Navy.
Ronald Allen Carpenter Jr. is a former professional American football player who played defensive back for five seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals, Minnesota Vikings. New York Jets, and St. Louis Rams. He played college football at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, where he was a three-time first-team All-Mid-American Conference player and served as captain his senior season. He was voted to the Miami University All-Millennium team by The Cincinnati Enquirer in 2000. He was also inducted into the Miami University Athletic Hall of Fame on October 14, 2016. Carpenter was also an All-World League player for the Amsterdam Admirals and spent seasons with the New York CityHawks of the Arena Football League (AFL), the Los Angeles Xtreme of the XFL, and the Nashville Kats, Georgia Force, and Detroit Fury of the AFL. He owns a Super Bowl ring from the 1999 Rams and an XFL Championship ring from the 2001 Xtreme. Following his professional career, Carpenter took up coaching and scouting, having scouted for Pro Football Scouts Inc., the Tennessee Titans as a scouting intern, and coached for Princeton High School in Ohio, the Georgia Force, Central State University, Indiana University, Miami University and the University of Central Arkansas.
The 2011 Arena Football League season was the 24th season in the history of the league. The regular season began on March 11, 2011 and ended on July 23, 2011. The Jacksonville Sharks, in their second year of existence, defeated the Arizona Rattlers 73–70 in ArenaBowl XXIV on August 12, 2011 to conclude the playoffs.
Willis Marcus Keyes is a former American football offensive lineman who played eight seasons in the Arena Football League (AFL) with the Florida Bobcats, Carolina Cobras and Georgia Force. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the seventh round of the 1996 NFL draft. He played college football at the University of North Alabama and attendede Taylorsville High School in Taylorsville, Mississippi.
Jeff Littlejohn is former American football defensive lineman who played in the Arena Football League (AFL) for the San Jose SaberCats, Jacksonville Sharks and Georgia Force.
Tracy J. Belton is a former American football defensive back. He played college football at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and attended Largo High School in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. He has also been a member of the Arkansas Twisters, Green Bay Blizzard, Milwaukee Iron, Georgia Force, Jacksonville Sharks, Orlando Predators, New Orleans VooDoo and the Philadelphia Soul.
