2017 Salt Lake Screaming Eagles season
| 2017 Salt Lake Screaming Eagles season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach |
William McCarthy (2 games) Matthew Sauk |
| Owner | Project FANchise |
| Home field | Maverik Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 5-11 |
| Conference place | 5th |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
The 2017 Salt Lake Screaming Eagles season was the team's first season as a professional indoor football franchise; they are an expansion team of the Indoor Football League. The Screaming Eagles were one of ten teams that competed in the IFL for the 2017 season, the Screaming Eagles are members of the Intense Conference. The Screaming Eagles played their home games at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah.
Season events
The team was announced in April 2016 by a group called Project FANchise with the intent on creating an entirely fan operated indoor football team.[1] The project announced that fans would vote on every aspect of the team including the name of the team, signing players, and calling plays. On June 6, the name of the team was announced as the Screaming Eagles after the 101st Airborne Division.[2] The name was picked over the more controversial choices of "Teamy McTeamface," "Sandtroopers,"[3] and "Stormin' Mormons."[4] William McCarthy was voted in as the first head coach in franchise history.
The team lost their opening game before going on to win first game the next week by defeating the Colorado Crush 42–41 on February 26. On March 1, the team then fired head coach William McCarthy due to philosophical differences after only two games.[5] Director of operations Ray Austin was named the interim head coach for the bye week.[6] On March 6, the Screaming Eagles announced former Utah State Aggies quarterback Matthew Sauk as the new head coach without a fan vote.
Staff
| 2017 Salt Lake Screaming Eagles staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front Office
|
Head Coach
Offensive Coaches
Defensive Coaches
| |||||
Schedule
Key: Win Tie Loss Bye
Regular season
All start times are local time
| Week | Day | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Location | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||||||
| 1 | Thursday | February 16 | 7:00pm | Nebraska Danger | L 47–78[7] | 0-1 | Maverik Center | 8,191 |
| 2 | Sunday | February 26 | 3:00pm | at Colorado Crush | W 42–41 (OT) | 1-1 | Budweiser Events Center | |
| 3 | BYE | |||||||
| 4 | Monday | March 13 | 7:00pm | Spokane Empire | L 35-41[8] | 1-2 | Maverik Center | 4,196 |
| 5 | BYE | |||||||
| 6 | Friday | March 24 | 7:00pm | at Spokane Empire | L 36–53[9] | 1–3 | Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena | |
| 7 | Friday | March 31 | 7:00pm | Colorado Crush | L 49–52[10] | 1–4 | Maverik Center | 4,121 |
| 8 | Saturday | April 8 | 7:05pm | at Wichita Falls Nighthawks | L 33–39 | 1–5 | Kay Yeager Coliseum | |
| 9 | Friday | April 14 | 7:00pm | Arizona Rattlers | L 60–73 | 1–6 | Maverik Center | 3,785 |
| 10 | Saturday | April 22 | 7:05pm | at Nebraska Danger | L 30–49 | 1–7 | Eihusen Arena | |
| 11 | Sunday | April 30 | 3:00pm | at Spokane Empire | L 29–31 | 1–8 | Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena | |
| 12 | Sunday | May 7 | 4:30pm | at Colorado Crush | W 64–41 | 2–8 | Budweiser Events Center | |
| 13 | Friday | May 12 | 7:00pm | Colorado Crush | W 38–37 | 3–8 | Maverik Center | 4,855 |
| 14 | Saturday | May 20 | 7:00pm | at Arizona Rattlers | L 33–63 | 3–9 | Talking Stick Resort Arena | |
| 15 | Monday | May 29 | 7:00pm | Cedar Rapids Titans | W 64–27 | 4–9 | Maverik Center | 2,981 |
| 16 | Friday | June 2 | 7:00pm | Iowa Barnstormers | L 36–58 | 4–10 | Maverik Center | 3,873 |
| 17 | Saturday | June 10 | 7:05pm | at Green Bay Blizzard | L 34–37 | 4–11 | Resch Center | 4,657 |
| 18 | Friday | June 16 | 7:00pm | Spokane Empire | W 45–42 | 5–11 | Maverik Center | 4,581 |
Standings
| 2017 Intense Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | CON | GB | STK | |
| y - Arizona Rattlers | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 782 | 610 | 8–1 | — | W8 |
| x - Nebraska Danger | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 717 | 660 | 5–2 | 3.0 | W1 |
| Spokane Empire | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 654 | 677 | 7–5 | 4.0 | L3 |
| Salt Lake Screaming Eagles | 5 | 11 | 0 | .313 | 675 | 762 | 4–8 | 7.0 | W1 |
| Colorado Crush | 3 | 13 | 0 | .188 | 629 | 821 | 2–10 | 8.0 | L4 |
Roster
| 2017 Salt Lake Screaming Eagles roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
|
Reserve lists
Rookies in italics | |||
References
- ↑ "Project FANchise Launches First-Ever Fan-Run Pro Sports Team". OurSports Central. April 21, 2016.
- ↑ "Fans Have Spoken: Team Name is "Screaming Eagles"". OurSports Central". June 7, 2016.
- ↑ "Teamy McTeamfaces losing ground in naming contest for Utah's Indoor Football team". KSTU. June 1, 2016.
- ↑ "Stormin' Mormons and Teamy McTeamFace lead fan vote to name Utah pro football franchise". Salt Lake Tribune. May 24, 2016.
- ↑ "Screaming Eagles Make Coaching Change". IFL. March 1, 2017.
- ↑ "Two Games In, Salt Lake Screaming Eagles Are Looking For A New Head Coach". KTVX. March 1, 2017.
- ↑ Brennan Smith (February 17, 2017). "Arena football: Salt Lake Screaming Eagles drop opener to Nebraska Danger 78-47 (with video)". www.sltrib.com. The Salt Lake Tribune. Retrieved February 17, 2017.
- ↑ "Empire ground Screaming Eagles in IFL action". www.spokesman.com. The Spokesman-Review. March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
- ↑ "Spokane Empire thwarts Salt Lake – and its play-calling fans". www.spokesman.com. The Spokesman-Review. March 24, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
- ↑ "Screaming Eagles lose to Crush on last-second field goal". www.si.com. Time Inc. April 1, 2017. Retrieved April 3, 2017.