Peach State Cats

Last updated
Peach State Cats
Established 2017
Play in Suwanee, Georgia
PeachStateCats.com
Peach State Cats Logo.png
League/conference affiliations
  • American Arena League (2018–2019, 2024-present)
    • Southern Division (2019)
  • United Arena League (2020–2021)
  • Elite Indoor Football (2022–2023)
Current uniform
Team colorsRed, white
  
Personnel
Owner(s)Tim Freeman
Head coachJames Moreland
Team history
  • Peach State Cats (2018–present)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Home arena(s)
  • Classic Center (2019)
  • Cumming Fairgrounds Arena (2020–2021)
  • Atlanta Silverbacks Suwanee Indoor (2022–)

The Peach State Cats are a professional indoor football team based in Suwanee, Georgia. They originally announced to play home games at Dalton Convention Center in Dalton, Georgia, for the 2018 season but were eventually made a travel-only team. They moved to Classic Center in Athens, Georgia, the following season.

Contents

History

The Cats were founded in 2017 by owner Tim Freeman, originally announced as members of the regional semi-professional Elite Indoor Football and coached by Mareno Philyaw. [1] However, after the American Arena League (AAL) lost the Vermont Bucks, the league added the Cats to fill in for the lost away games. They were scheduled to play at least two home games at Dalton Convention Center in Dalton, Georgia, but were forced to be a road team due to constant schedule changes causing the team to be unable to secure the arena. [2] [3] Their first game was at the Georgia Doom on March 30, 2018. They finished the season with a 0–6 record. [4]

For the 2019 season, owner Tim Freeman announced it had hired former Atlanta Havoc head coach Boo Mitchell as the new general manager and that the team had secured a new home arena at the Classic Center in Athens, Georgia, for the 2019 season. [5] They finished second in their division to the Carolina Energy, ahead of the Carolina Cowboyz and the folded Georgia Doom, but the Energy elected to use its division champion clause to have a bye week instead of hosting a playoff game due to scheduling issues with their arena. This led to the Cats being to only division runner-up to not make the playoffs in the 2019 season.

Following the season, the Cats hired Tony Pierce as the head coach for the 2020 season. They then announced they had formed a new league, called the United Arena League (UAL), for the 2020 season along with former EIF team the Georgia-Lina Lions and a new travel-team called the Atlanta Pirates. The Pirates were replaced by another former EIF team, the Atlanta Furious, [6] and the Cats scheduled their home games at Cumming Fairgrounds Arena, [7] a covered outdoor arena in Cumming, Georgia. [8] The 2020 UAL season was ultimately cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [9]

The Cats won their first game in the UAL, and their first game at the Cumming Fairgrounds, 42–26 against the Georgia-lina Lions on May 8, 2021. The team went 4–1 for the 2021 season and lost to the Lions 41–53 in the UAL championship on July 17. [10]

On December 21, 2021, the Peach State Cats were announced as joining the semiprofessional Elite Indoor Football for the 2022 season. [11]

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References

  1. ↑ PEACH STATE CATS JOIN THE EIF, Bobby Dammarell, EIF official website, November 2, 2017
  2. ↑ Tony Maluso (November 1, 2017). "The Peach State Cats announce move to Dalton". Daily Citizen News.
  3. ↑ Ron Bush (November 2, 2017). "Indoor football returning to Dalton Convention Center in March". Times Free Press.
  4. ↑ "2018 American Arena League Final Regular Season Standings and Playoff Pairings". AAL. June 12, 2018. Archived from the original on June 13, 2018.
  5. ↑ Blake Aued (August 21, 2018). "Arena Football Team Will Move to Athens Next Year". Flagpole.com.
  6. ↑ "Peach State Cats January 28, 2020 Facebook post". Facebook. January 28, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Peach State Cats January 27, 2020 Facebook post". Facebook. January 27, 2020.
  8. ↑ "Facility Rental". Cumming Fair. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Peach State Cats May 15, 2020 Facebook post". Facebook. May 15, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Congratulations to the Georgia-lina Lions the 2021 United Arena League Champions! The Lions defeated the Peach State cats 53 - 41". United Arena League Facebook. July 17, 2021.
  11. ↑ """ANNOUNCEMENT"" December 21st, 2021". Elite Indoor Football Facebook. December 24, 2021. Elite Indoor Football(EIF) would like to welcome the Peach State Cats to our league for the 2022 season! The Cats will be part of the Southern Division of the EIF. "I chose the EIF for the Peach State Cats 2022 and future seasons because of how established the league has become. I've dealt with first year leagues in the past that didn't return for a second season and start up leagues that didn't make it through the entire season due to unprofessionalism, I want to be a part of a league that's going to be here for the long run! EIF Commissioner Bobby Dammarell has done a great job making sure the EIF is seen as a professional league and has a platform that strive to get players seen by next level arena football teams. I've seen leagues lose focus on the teams involved in their leagues and again, that's not the case in the EIF! I've seen Bobby Dammarell excited to crown EIF Champions even when it wasn't his personal team. He is a man granting young men the opportunity to play and coach the game we all love on a platform that will further their professional careers, as this game has given myself the opportunity to further my coaching and playing career. I'm excited about what's to come in the EIF and I would love to be a part of it!", stated James Moreland, Owner and Coach of the Peach State Cats
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