Post by AZ Adrenaline Junkie on Jul 9, 2008 1:17:46 GMT -5
After strong opening year, Adrenaline look to 2009
Special to the Courier
Monday, July 07, 2008
PRESCOTT VALLEY - One year, 11 wins and plenty of dasher board collisions later, the Arizona Adrenaline have put a wrap on their inaugural season of indoor football in Prescott Valley.
And it's difficult to argue with the results.
Friday's 51-26 loss at arch-rival Wyoming in the first round of the AIFA playoffs isn't how head coach Andrew Moore and his team wanted to close the year. But the organization's evolution from curiosity-to-contender was a rapid one.
The Adrenaline finished the regular season with the same 11-3 mark as the well-established Wyoming Cavalry, earning them a share of the West Division title in the process. They split the four regular season games with Wyoming, including handing the Cavalry a rare loss in Casper.
The Adrenaline were third in the AIFA in scoring, won six of their seven home games and had several players among the league leaders in various statistical categories.
The receiving duo of Quincy Jackson and Maurice Bryant was by far the league's most potent, combining for a remarkable 200 receptions for 2,360 yards and 54 touchdowns. Most of those numbers came via quarterback Chad DeGrenier, the former Arizona Rattler backup who had 49 TD passes on the season and led the league in pass completion percentage at 62.1%.
The emergence of Chino Valley's Robert Jones at running back was also a major boost. Jones, who coaches football and track at Chino Valley High School, rushed for 11 touchdowns and 242 yards, despite not getting much playing time during the first half of the season.
Defensively, the ever-present Fernandez Shaw was clearly the West's top lineman, racking up 19 sacks and 49.5 tackles for a unit that improved immensely as the season progressed. Linebacker Chris Whitaker was among the league leaders in tackles, and defensive backs Sully Beard and Antar Brame were seventh in the league in interceptions with nine each.
"I really didn't know what to expect from the first year," co-owner and CEO Wade Cunningham said. "But to finish tied with Wyoming and to beat them twice ... I would have to say that was probably beyond my expectations. I also think we built a great fan base that will get bigger next year."
In seven home games, the Adrenaline eclipsed the 4,000 attendance figure twice and averaged near 3,000 despite being an unknown product, battling part of the season with the fiercely popular Arizona Sundogs' hockey team and dealing with an unstable economy.
So, with one season under their belt, where does the Adrenaline go from here?
There has been talk of the league expanding its West Division. Utah, the only West team that did not draw well, is in the process of moving from the Salt Lake City area to Provo. Western expansion could include Southern California, with the San Bernardino area, or even San Diego being a target. West Texas could also be ready to bring in a team, with El Paso and Amarillo reportedly among the candidates. Other possibilities could include Colorado, Boise, Idaho, Billings, Mont. and maybe even another Arizona franchise, with Tucson, Yuma and Bullhead City being mentioned as possible future sites.
Expansion in the West would create more scheduling flexibility after the Adrenaline played New Mexico six times, Wyoming four and Utah four this season.
"I think it definitely needs to happen," Cunningham said of the Westward expansion. "There has been talk of possibly a couple of AF2 teams joining the AIFA, and possibly even the West Division teams playing against the South Division. I think it would give the fans some variety and would help the league overall. But it's hard to say how soon it all will happen. Some places are looking at 2010 or 2011, and others next year. We'll have to see."
Another question is, how intact will this 11-4 Adrenaline team be next season? The team has 30 days to re-sign the players they want back next year.
Meanwhile, Moore has one year left on his contract, with a team option for the third. However, his deal does include a clause that would allow him to leave the Adrenaline should he receive an offer at a higher level.
As for the players, the team's three foremost offensive threats - DeGrenier, Bryant and Jackson - are 35, 34 and 31 respectively. Moreover, DeGrenier struggled at season's end, completing just 37 of 81 passes in the final two games and only 24 of 54 in Friday's playoff loss.
Bryant and Jackson have been noncommittal about returning. The 28-year-old Robert Jones seems likely to return at running back, but the team loses at least one-third of its outstanding offensive line with the retirement of guard Lucian Scott. The return of center Matt Mason, a Phoenix resident, would seem more likely than that of guard Dorsey Mitchell of Compton, Calif.
On the defensive side, the 26-year-old Shaw prefers the outdoor game, and Moore is actively trying to get him a Canadian Football League tryout. At 27, Whitaker is uncertain about his football future, saying "if some things change, I would be willing to return to the Adrenaline." Fellow linebacker Andre Bishop, 29, is interested in a return to Prescott Valley. After getting tryouts with both the Los Angeles Avengers and Colorado Crush, the 27-year-old Brame hopes to find himself in an Arena1 training camp in early 2009.
It does appear that a pair of promising 24-year-olds - nose tackle Sydney Hayes and defensive back Paitaka Miyahira - are leaning toward a return to the Adrenaline for more seasoning, while solid defensive end Josh Duran wants to play football another year, but might return to his California roots to do so.
"Scott (co-owner Scott Simmons), coach (Moore) and myself will take a long look at our corps of players and see who we want to re-sign," Cunningham said. "And we have to evaluate the areas that we need to improve in."
Special to the Courier
Monday, July 07, 2008
PRESCOTT VALLEY - One year, 11 wins and plenty of dasher board collisions later, the Arizona Adrenaline have put a wrap on their inaugural season of indoor football in Prescott Valley.
And it's difficult to argue with the results.
Friday's 51-26 loss at arch-rival Wyoming in the first round of the AIFA playoffs isn't how head coach Andrew Moore and his team wanted to close the year. But the organization's evolution from curiosity-to-contender was a rapid one.
The Adrenaline finished the regular season with the same 11-3 mark as the well-established Wyoming Cavalry, earning them a share of the West Division title in the process. They split the four regular season games with Wyoming, including handing the Cavalry a rare loss in Casper.
The Adrenaline were third in the AIFA in scoring, won six of their seven home games and had several players among the league leaders in various statistical categories.
The receiving duo of Quincy Jackson and Maurice Bryant was by far the league's most potent, combining for a remarkable 200 receptions for 2,360 yards and 54 touchdowns. Most of those numbers came via quarterback Chad DeGrenier, the former Arizona Rattler backup who had 49 TD passes on the season and led the league in pass completion percentage at 62.1%.
The emergence of Chino Valley's Robert Jones at running back was also a major boost. Jones, who coaches football and track at Chino Valley High School, rushed for 11 touchdowns and 242 yards, despite not getting much playing time during the first half of the season.
Defensively, the ever-present Fernandez Shaw was clearly the West's top lineman, racking up 19 sacks and 49.5 tackles for a unit that improved immensely as the season progressed. Linebacker Chris Whitaker was among the league leaders in tackles, and defensive backs Sully Beard and Antar Brame were seventh in the league in interceptions with nine each.
"I really didn't know what to expect from the first year," co-owner and CEO Wade Cunningham said. "But to finish tied with Wyoming and to beat them twice ... I would have to say that was probably beyond my expectations. I also think we built a great fan base that will get bigger next year."
In seven home games, the Adrenaline eclipsed the 4,000 attendance figure twice and averaged near 3,000 despite being an unknown product, battling part of the season with the fiercely popular Arizona Sundogs' hockey team and dealing with an unstable economy.
So, with one season under their belt, where does the Adrenaline go from here?
There has been talk of the league expanding its West Division. Utah, the only West team that did not draw well, is in the process of moving from the Salt Lake City area to Provo. Western expansion could include Southern California, with the San Bernardino area, or even San Diego being a target. West Texas could also be ready to bring in a team, with El Paso and Amarillo reportedly among the candidates. Other possibilities could include Colorado, Boise, Idaho, Billings, Mont. and maybe even another Arizona franchise, with Tucson, Yuma and Bullhead City being mentioned as possible future sites.
Expansion in the West would create more scheduling flexibility after the Adrenaline played New Mexico six times, Wyoming four and Utah four this season.
"I think it definitely needs to happen," Cunningham said of the Westward expansion. "There has been talk of possibly a couple of AF2 teams joining the AIFA, and possibly even the West Division teams playing against the South Division. I think it would give the fans some variety and would help the league overall. But it's hard to say how soon it all will happen. Some places are looking at 2010 or 2011, and others next year. We'll have to see."
Another question is, how intact will this 11-4 Adrenaline team be next season? The team has 30 days to re-sign the players they want back next year.
Meanwhile, Moore has one year left on his contract, with a team option for the third. However, his deal does include a clause that would allow him to leave the Adrenaline should he receive an offer at a higher level.
As for the players, the team's three foremost offensive threats - DeGrenier, Bryant and Jackson - are 35, 34 and 31 respectively. Moreover, DeGrenier struggled at season's end, completing just 37 of 81 passes in the final two games and only 24 of 54 in Friday's playoff loss.
Bryant and Jackson have been noncommittal about returning. The 28-year-old Robert Jones seems likely to return at running back, but the team loses at least one-third of its outstanding offensive line with the retirement of guard Lucian Scott. The return of center Matt Mason, a Phoenix resident, would seem more likely than that of guard Dorsey Mitchell of Compton, Calif.
On the defensive side, the 26-year-old Shaw prefers the outdoor game, and Moore is actively trying to get him a Canadian Football League tryout. At 27, Whitaker is uncertain about his football future, saying "if some things change, I would be willing to return to the Adrenaline." Fellow linebacker Andre Bishop, 29, is interested in a return to Prescott Valley. After getting tryouts with both the Los Angeles Avengers and Colorado Crush, the 27-year-old Brame hopes to find himself in an Arena1 training camp in early 2009.
It does appear that a pair of promising 24-year-olds - nose tackle Sydney Hayes and defensive back Paitaka Miyahira - are leaning toward a return to the Adrenaline for more seasoning, while solid defensive end Josh Duran wants to play football another year, but might return to his California roots to do so.
"Scott (co-owner Scott Simmons), coach (Moore) and myself will take a long look at our corps of players and see who we want to re-sign," Cunningham said. "And we have to evaluate the areas that we need to improve in."
Congrats on a successful inaugural season. Hope to see you again in 09! 
