2015 Amarillo Venom season

2015 Amarillo Venom season
OwnerStephanie Tucker
General managerStephanie Tucker
Head coachJulian Reese
Home fieldAmarillo Civic Center
Results
Record7-5
League place4th
Playoff finishLost semi-finals (SC Bandits) 52-83

The 2015 Amarillo Venom season was the team's twelfth season as a professional indoor football franchise, sixth as the "Amarillo Venom", and first as a member of Champions Indoor Football (CIF). The Venom were led by head coach Julian Reese. The defensive coordinator was Daniel Snyder, receivers coach was John King, assistant coach was Barrett Allen, wide receivers coach was Craig Fulton, special teams coach was Donna Welch, and the trainer was Nathan Johnson.

The Venom were the 2013 champions of the Lone Star Football League, just one season before it merged with the Champions Professional Indoor Football League and several other teams to form Champions Indoor Football.[1] The Venom were one of nine teams in the CIF for the 2015 season. The Venom played their home games at the Amarillo Civic Center in Amarillo, Texas.[2]

Season summary

The Venom's announced schedule for the 2015 season was disrupted when the New Mexico Stars abruptly postponed their entry into the league on February 21, just one week before the season began.[3][4] On March 3, the Albuquerque-based Duke City Gladiators were announced as a late entry into the league, partially replacing the Stars in the CIF schedule with a plan to play 11 games in 2015.[5] The Gladiators' schedule has them visiting the Venom once in April and hosting the Venom once in May, just as the Stars were supposed to, but replaces the originally scheduled March 14 road game against New Mexico with a home game against the Dodge City Law.[6][7]

The Venom hosted a number of themed nights and special events at and before home games during the season.[8] Education Night on April 25 offered family packs of 4 tickets for $20 plus a free youth-sized replica Venom jersey for the first 500 children.[8] [9] On May 2, the tea, held both a "Head to Toe Expo" offering makeup and fashion tips and a "Mother/Daughter Football Clinic" where coaches answered questions, offered insights, and had participants run plays on the field to better understand the game.[10]

Awards and honors

Each week of the regular season, the CIF names league-wide Players of the Week in offensive, defensive, and special teams categories. For Week 2, the CIF named quarterback Nate Davis as the Offensive Player of the Week.[11] For Week 7, the CIF named defensive linesman Silvio Diaz as the Defensive Player of the Week and kicker Jacob Felton as the Special Teams Player of the Week.[12][13] For Week 10, the CIF named linebacker Blake Adams as the Defensive Player of the Week and kicker Jacob Felton as the Special Teams Player of the Week.[14]

Schedule

Key:   Win   Tie   Loss   Bye

Regular season

Week Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location[6]
Score Record
1 Saturday March 7 7:05pm at Dodge City Law W 68–63[15][16] 1–0 United Wireless Arena[17][18]
2 BYE
3 Saturday March 21 7:05pm Wichita Force L 30–43[19] 1–1 Amarillo Civic Center[20]
4 Saturday March 28 7:05pm at San Angelo Bandits W 50–32[21][22] 2–1 Foster Communications Coliseum[23][24]
5 Saturday April 4 7:05pm at Texas Revolution L 27–51[25][26][27] 2–2 Allen Event Center[28][29]
6 Saturday April 11 7:05pm San Angelo Bandits W 62–40[30] 3–2 Amarillo Civic Center[31][32]
7 Saturday April 18 6:05pm at Duke City Gladiators1 L 38–45[33][34] 3–3 Tingley Coliseum[35][36]
8 Saturday April 25 7:05pm Dodge City Law1 W 44–43[37][38] 4–3 Amarillo Civic Center[8]
9 Saturday May 2 7:00pm Texas Revolution W 55–45[39][40][41] 5–3 Amarillo Civic Center[42][43][44]
10 BYE
11 Saturday May 16 7:05pm Duke City Gladiators1 W 89–86 (4OT)[45] 6–3 Amarillo Civic Center[46][47]
12 Saturday May 23 7:05pm Texas Revolution L 61–64[48] 6–4 Amarillo Civic Center[49][50]
13 Saturday May 30 7:05pm at Sioux City Bandits L 58–79[51][52][53] 6–5 Tyson Events Center[54][55]
14 Saturday June 6 7:05pm San Angelo Bandits W 65–7[56][57] 7–5 Amarillo Civic Center[58][59]

1 Rescheduled after the New Mexico Stars withdrew from the league on February 22, 2015.[3][4][5]

Post-season

Round Day Date Kickoff Opponent Results Location
Score Record
Semi-final Saturday June 13 7:05pm at Sioux City Bandits L 52–83 0–1 Tyson Events Center[57][60][61]

Roster

2015 Amarillo Venom roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Kickers

Injured Reserve
  • currently vacant

Exempt List

  • currently vacant

rookies in italics
Roster updated March 31, 2015
25 Active, 0 Inactive

Standings

2015 Champions Indoor Football
W L PCT PF PA
z-Sioux City Bandits 9 3 .750 697 536
y-Texas Revolution 8 4 .667 638 475
x-Wichita Force 8 4 .667 553 536
x-Amarillo Venom 7 5 .583 647 598
Dodge City Law 7 5 .583 635 578
Salina Bombers 6 5 .545 538 483
Duke City Gladiators 4 4 .500 403 389
San Angelo Bandits 1 10 .091 388 627
Omaha Beef 1 11 .083 395 672

x = clinched playoffs, y = clinched home playoffs, z = clinched top seed

Playoffs

Semifinals Champions Bowl I
      
3 Wichita 27
2 Texas 39
2 Texas 61
1 Sioux City 76
4 Amarillo 52
1 Sioux City 83

References

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  2. ^ Krieger, Dan (September 22, 2014). "Weekly Sports League and Franchise Report". Our Sports Central. Retrieved October 1, 2014.
  3. ^ a b Christ, Bob (February 22, 2015). "NM Stars owners pull plug on season". Albuquerque Journal. Albuquerque, NM. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  4. ^ a b Jones, Darlene (February 22, 2015). "New Mexico Stars will not play the CIF 2015 season". Champions Indoor Football. Retrieved February 26, 2015.
  5. ^ a b "CIF Enjoys Relief and Balance with Replacement Team in New Mexico". Champions Indoor Football. March 4, 2015. Retrieved March 7, 2015 – via Our Sports Central.
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