Port Huron Patriots
| Port Huron Patriots | |
|---|---|
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| Founded | 2011 |
| Current season | 2012 |
| League | Continental Indoor Football League |
| Team history | Port Huron Patriots (2012-future) |
| Arena | McMorran Arena |
| Based in | Port Huron, Michigan |
| Team colors | Red, White, Navy Blue |
| Owner(s) | Jude Carter Lonnie Nichols Lance Nichols David Nichols Larry Page Matt Wuchte Nick Kennedy-Saura |
| Head coach | Demar Cranford |
| General Manager | Jude Carter |
| Championships | 0 |
| Broadcasters | Donald Mathews Ray Clark |
| Local media | Michigan Region Sports Network |
| Website | porthuronpatriots.com |
The Port Huron Patriots are a professional Indoor Football team based in Port Huron, Michigan. The team is a member of the Continental Indoor Football League.[1] The Patriots joined the CIFL in 2012 as an expansion team. The Patriots are the third indoor football team to be based in Port Huron, the first being CIFL charter members and inaugural champions the Port Huron Pirates (2006–2007), and the other being the CIFL based Port Huron Predators. The Owners of the Patriots are Jude Carter, Lonnie Nichols, Lance Nichols, David Nichols, Larry Page, Matt Wuchte and Nick Kennedy-Saura. The Patriots will play their home games at the McMorran Arena.
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[edit] Franchise history
[edit] Play begins: 2012
After the disappointing end to the Port Huron Predators season in 2011, Dave and Cyndi Kinsman wanted to bring back a team to Port Huron in 2012 and the future. Kinsman stated, "We are aware of the history of teams in this city and the bottom line is that you have to win on and off the field to make this succeed. Other teams could win on the field, but couldn't win off the field meaning they didn't have the front office and leadership it takes to succeed. We are confident in the direction this franchise will head and we are thrilled to be in Port Huron." The team also announced that they would be playing at McMorran Arena during Kinsman's press conference. In early September 2011, the Patriots signed former Predators head coach John Forti, as well as re-signed local players who had played for the Predators.[2] On December 24, 2011 the team announced its training camp roster.[3]
On February 11, 2012, the team played its first preseason game. They defeated the outdoor semi-professional Southern Michigan Timberwolves 35-21. This first unofficial win came in the wake of the tragic loss of Offensive Lineman Ken Hamilton, who was killed in a shooting outside of a Detroit nightclub. Teammate Antonio Martin was also injured in the shooting.[4][5] On March 10, 2012, the Patriots earned their first victory in franchise history with a 52-49 victory over the Chicago Vipers.
On March 29, 2012 Kinsman fired Head Coach John Forti, and the rest of his staff. Kinsman cited Forti's decision to hire his friends as assistant coaches and not make the best choices for the team as their reason for Forti's termination.[6]
Kinsman went on to lead the Patriots to a 3-4 record, making them 4-6 overall, clinching the 4th seed in the CIFL playoffs, but despite this factor, the league decided to shorten the playoffs. This left the Patriots and the Evansville Rage both out of the playoffs.[7]
[edit] 2013
The Patriots will return to the CIFL in 2013. On February 21, just two games into the season, the Kinsman's sold the team, as David was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan.[8] The team was sold locally to Jude Carter, Lonnie Nichols, Lance Nichols, David Nichols, Larry Page, Matt Wuchte and Nick Kennedy-Saura, with Carter also serving as the team's general manager.[8] The also announced that the team's new head coach would be Demar Cranford.[8]
[edit] Logos and uniforms
The team announced that its logo would be a bald eagle's head with a flag in the background, and the colors would be red, white and blue, during a September 24, 2011 press conference at the McMorran Arena in Port Huron, Michigan.[9][10]
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Port Huron Patriots Uniform
[edit] Current roster
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Port Huron Patriots roster
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Quarterbacks
Running Backs
Wide Receivers
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Offensive Linemen
Defensive Linemen
Linebackers |
Defensive Backs
Kickers |
Injured Reserve
Exempt List
Practice Squad
Rookies in italics |
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[edit] Coaches of notes
[edit] Head Coaches
Note: Statistics are correct through the end of Week 2 of the 2013 CIFL season.
| Name | Term | Regular Season | Playoffs | Awards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | Win% | W | L | |||
| John Forti | 2012 | 1 | 2 | 0 | .333 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dave Kinsman | 2012-2013 | 4 | 5 | 0 | .444 | 0 | 0 | |
| Demar Cranford | 2013-present | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | |
[edit] Coaching staff
| Port Huron Patriots staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front Office
Head Coach
Offensive Coaches
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Defensive Coaches
Special Teams Coaches
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[edit] Statistics and records
[edit] Season-by-season results
Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play.
| League Champions | Conference Champions | Division Champions | Wild Card Berth | League Leader |
| Season | Team | League | Conference | Division | Regular season | Postseason Results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | Ties | ||||||||
| 2012 | 2012 | CIFL | 4th | 4 | 6 | 0 | |||||
| 2013* | 2013 | CIFL | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||||||
| Totals | 5 | 8 | 0 | All-time regular season record (2012) | |||||||
| 0 | 0 | - | All-time postseason record (2012) | ||||||||
| 5 | 8 | 0 | All-time regular season and postseason record (2012) | ||||||||
* Season currently in progress
[edit] References
- ^ "Ask the GM volume 2". Retrieved 2011-10-17.
- ^ James Kelley (September 30, 2011). "Indoor football coming back to Port Huron". The Voice. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
- ^ Joseph Hayes (December 24, 2011). "Football: Port Huron Patriots declare their roster, initial schedule". The Times Herald. Retrieved January 23, 2012.
- ^ Joseph Hayes (February 12, 2012). "Patriots win inaugural game against Timberwolves, 35-21". Times Herald. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
- ^ Joseph Hayes (February 13, 2012). "Football:Death stings Port Huron Patriots". The Time Herald. Retrieved February 14, 2012.
- ^ Joseph Hayes (March 30, 2012). "Football: Port Huron Patriots make big change". The Times Herald. Retrieved April 2, 2012.
- ^ Kyle Austin (May 11, 2012). "CIFL shortens playoff format, puts Saginaw Sting in league title game". www.mlive.com. M Live. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
- ^ a b c Joseph Hayes (February 22, 2013). "Dave Kinsman sell Port Huron Patriots locally". The Time Herald. Retrieved February 22, 2013.
- ^ Hayes, Joseph (September 25, 2011). "Football: Port Huron Patriots introduce themselves to the community". thetimesherald.com. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
- ^ Kelley, James (October 2, 2011). "Indoor football coming back to Port Huron". voicenews.com. Retrieved 2011-10-17.
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