- Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz
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Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz 
Founded 2004 League af2 (2004–2009)
AFL (2010)Team history Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz (2004–2010) Arena Ford Center
2004–2008
Cox Convention Center
2009–2010Based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Team colors Black, Brick, Silver, White
President Phil Miller Head coach Sparky McEwen Championships 0 Division titles 0 Dancers Yard Dawgz Dance Team Mascot Deizel Dawg Website http://www.okcyarddawgz.com/ The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz was a member of the new Arena Football League. The team began play as a 2004 expansion team of the original Arena Football League's now-defunct minor league af2. Formerly a tenant of the Ford Center from 2004 until 2008, the Yard Dawgz were forced out when the National Basketball Association's Oklahoma City Thunder moved into town; starting in 2009, the Yard Dawgz played across the street at the Cox Convention Center. On October 25, 2010 Yard Dawgz owner Phil Miller announced that he decided not to play in the Arena Football League for the 2011 season.[1]
Contents
Team history
Three straight winning seasons
The Yard Dawgz had a successful first year on and off the field by leading the league in attendance and finishing the regular season with 10-6 record to finish second in the Southwest Division of the National Conference.
In 2005, The Yard Dawgz had another successful year, despite changing divisions, by coming in third in attendance and finishing the regular season with 10-6 record to finish second in the Midwest Division of the National Conference. The Dawgz lost in the first round to the Amarillo Dusters.
The Yard Dawgz had their best showing in 2006 with a record of 11-5 and their third playoff appearance. Kicker A.J. Haglund won the af2 Kicker of the Year award and Quarterback Craig Strickland became the only player in af2 history to reach 20,000 career passing yards.
First losing season
In 2007, under head coach John Fitzgerald, the Yard Dawgz had the second leading offense in the league - averaging 310.9 yd/game. Despite finishing 7-9, the team made its fourth consecutive playoff appearance. Three members of the 2007 Yard Dawgz earned All-af2 First Team honors - WR/DB Al Hunt, Center Gene Frederic, and OL/DL Barry Giles.
Historical News from 2008
On June 28, 2008 against the Lubbock Renegades, Wide Receiver Al Hunt became only the third player in af2 history to record 1,000 points.
2009 season
After starting out the season with a promising team record 4-0 record, the Yard Dawgz dropped five straight games in a row, the longest in team history, to drop to 4-5. Since then, the Dawgz have won 3 straight to push their record to 7-5 with an eye still on the playoffs.
On June 20, the Yard Dawgz faced off against the Corpus Christi Sharks. The Yard Dawgz beat the Sharks 93-41 and set an af2 record for points scored in the first half (59) and beat the franchise record of points scored in a game that was originally set against the Tulsa Talons.
Despite a loss to the Spokane Shock on June 26, the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz clinched a playoff berth after a loss by Central Valley to Boise the next night. The playoff appearance will mark the 5th time in 6 years the Dawgz will be in post-season play.
The Yard Dawgz season ended on August 1 at the hands of the Tulsa Talons in the first round of ArenaCup playoffs. With the loss, the Dawgz has dropped five straight post season games and is winless in the team's history in the playoffs. The Dawgz franchise is selling season tickets for the 2010 season.
2011 season
On October 25, 2010 Yard Dawgz owner Phil Miller announced that he decided not to play in the Arena Football League for the 2011 season.[1] However the Indoor Football League announced the sameday that a new team would play in Oklahoma City in 2011.[1]
2010 Results
Week Date Opponent Home/Away Result Attendance 1 April 3 Jacksonville Sharks Home L 38-54 5,542 2 April 10 BYE 3 April 17 Cleveland Gladiators Home W 63-50 5,422 4 April 24 Iowa Barnstormers Away L 60-68 8,312 5 April 30 Dallas Vigilantes Away L 34-55 7,051 6 May 8 Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings Home W 88-79 4,775 7 May 16 Spokane Shock Home L 63-68 4,415 8 May 22 Tulsa Talons Away L 41-67 7,235 9 May 28 Alabama Vipers Home W 65-39 5,139 10 June 5 Tampa Bay Storm Away L 48-50 16,200 11 June 11 Arizona Rattlers Away L 55-56 11,922 12 June 20 BYE 13 June 26 Dallas Vigilantes Home W 35-31 5,114 14 July 3 Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings Away W 70-44 3,382 15 July 10 Iowa Barnstormers Home W 52-42 5,415 16 July 17 Cleveland Gladiators Away L 39-44 7,682 17 July 24 Orlando Predators Away L 21-49 12,343 18 July 30 Tulsa Talons Home L 61-74 7,702 Season-By-Season
ArenaBowl Champions ArenaBowl Appearance Division Champions Playoff Berth Season League Conference Division Regular season Postseason results Finish Wins Losses Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz 2004 af2 National Southwest 2nd 10 6 Lost Week 1 Peoria 45-36 2005 af2 National Midwest 2nd 10 6 Lost Week 1 Amarillo 59-56 2006 af2 National Midwest 2nd 11 5 Lost Week 1 Arkansas 47-43 2007 af2 National Central 3rd 7 9 Lost Week 1 Tulsa 62-27 2008 af2 National Central 3rd 6 10 NO PLAYOFFS 2009 af2 National Central 2nd 7 9 Lost Week 1 Tulsa 90-75 2010 AFL American Southwest 2nd 6 10 NO PLAYOFFS Total 57 55 (includes only regular season) 0 5 (includes only the postseason) 57 60 (includes both regular season and postseason) - 2004 Gary Reasons
- 2005–2006 Jeff Jarnigan
- 2007 John Fitzgerald
- 2008 Gary Reasons and Sparky McEwen
- 2009–2010 Sparky McEwen
Roster
Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz rosterQuarterbacks - 15 Tommy Grady
Fullbacks
- 37 Chad Cook
Wide Receivers
- 7 Craig Fulton, Jr.
- 3 Anthony Hines KR
- 12 Al Hunt
- 2 Xavier Lee QB
- 5 Timon Marshall KR
- 9 Alvance Robinson
Offensive Linemen - 69 Jeremy Ashcraft
- 75 Howard Duncan G/TE
- 58 Markus Ferguson C
Defensive Linemen
- 18 Dustin Barno DE
- 93 Mkristo Bruce
- 99 Mondre Dickerson DT/OL
- 91 Quartez Vickerson
Linebackers - 13 Aaron Chavers DE
- 1 Kevin McCullough LS
- 6 Brandon Perkins
Defensive Backs
- 11 Mike Brown
- 17 Sergio Gilliam LB
- 25 David Hyland
- 8 Fred Shaw
Kickers
- 10 A.J. Haglund
Injured Reserve - -- CJ McLain FB
Exempt List
- -- Kelly Butler OL CFL
Suspended List
- 90 Mike Berry DL
- -- Larry Dibbles DL
- 88 Dan Loney C/LS
- 78 Kevin Myers OL/DT
- 55 Erik Robertson OL
- 23 Freddie Rollins FB
- 6 Antwone Savage WR
Rookies in italics
[1] updated June 10, 2010
23 Active, 9 Inactive→ More rosters
Notable players
- Timon Marshall
- A. J. Haglund
- Al Hunt
- Fred Shaw
- Kelly Butler
- Mike Brown
- Danny Howard
- Freddie Rollins
- Aaron Chavers
- Anthony Hines
- Big Steven Coleman
- Tonga Tea
- Mike Hunt
- Fabio Castelli
Notable former players
- Craig Strickland
- Pete Martinez
- B.J. Barre
- Evan Gray
- Ben Scott
- Jarrail Jackson
- Barry Giles
References
- ^ a b c Aber, Ryan. "Yard Dawgz won't play in OKC this year, but IFL will". The Oklahoman. http://newsok.com/yard-dawgz-wont-play-in-okc-this-year-but-ifl-will/article/3507974?custom_click=lead_story_title. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
External links
Categories:- Arena Football League teams
- Sports in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- American football teams in Oklahoma
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