Huntsville Tigers

{{Short description|Women's American football team}}

{{Multiple issues|

{{update|date=October 2023}}

{{more citations needed|date=January 2020}}

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{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}

The Huntsville Tigers is a women's American football team located in Huntsville, Alabama. The Tigers played their first season of full-contact football in the spring of 2012. This was the Tigers' first season as a new team. The team consists of former Alabama Renegades and Tennessee Valley Tigers players as well as a number of new players.

History

=Alabama Renegades=

Women's football has existed in the Huntsville area since the fall of 2000 when the Alabama Renegades first came into existence. The Renegades were one of the founding teams of the National Women's Football Association (NWFA). In the fall 2000, the Alabama Renegades and the Nashville Dream played a six-game exhibition season to determine the viability of a women's full-contact football league. The exhibition games were a huge success and the National Women's Football Association (NWFA) expanded to 12 teams in its first full season of play in the spring of 2001. Ray Quinn was the man who first brought full-contact football to Huntsville and he owned the team for two years.{{cite news | first=Mike |last=Goodson |work=Gadsden Times |title=Women's football alive in Alabama |page=B3 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Z7QvAAAAIBAJ&pg=1155,2335270&dq=birmingham-americans&hl=en |date=July 23, 2004 |accessdate=April 12, 2010}}

Nancy Byrd, a Renegades player, took over the team from Quinn in 2003. Byrd continued to play for the Renegades while owning the team. At the end of the 2008 season Byrd retired from playing and put the team up for sale. Byrd later stated: "I decided to retire from playing and no one was willing to take on the responsibility of running this team. I appreciate the opportunity Ray and Catherine Masters (NWFA founder) gave me to play football", stated Byrd.{{citation needed|date=March 2019}} The NWFA league ceased operations that same year.{{cite book | last1=Rozendaal| first1=Neal| title=The Women's Football Encyclopedia| date=20 January 2016| isbn=978-0-9970637-0-7| page=120| publisher=Rozehawk| url=http://nealrozendaal.com/books/the-womens-football-encyclopedia/}}

=Tennessee Valley Tigers=

{{USFootball team | logo = TVTigers Logo.png | pixels = 150px | colors = Black, Silver, Purple | owner = Carlos Mathews}}

Carlos Mathews, the former offensive coordinator for the Renegades, realized the potential for women's football in the Huntsville area and decided to explore ways to bring the game back for a 2009 season. Mathews researched several leagues but only found one with the stability needed to support women's football in the Huntsville Area. The Tigers officially joined the Independent Women's Football League (IWFL) on August 12, 2008, as a Tier II team. On October 24, 2011, after learning that Carlos Matthews wasn't bringing the team back, former player Carmelesia Sullivan looked into forming a team.{{Cite web |url=http://wsflfootball.net/ |title=Official website of the WSFL |access-date=2019-03-21 |archive-date=2012-04-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424095959/http://www.wsflfootball.net/ |url-status=dead }}[http://prettytough.com/tennessee-valley-tigers-no-stranger-to-football/ Pretty Tough.com][http://sites.google.com/site/booinla/ Boo's Unofficial Guide to Women's Tackle Football]

=Huntsville Tigers=

Sullivan formed the Huntsville Tigers from former Tennessee Valley Tigers players. In the first season of play, the Tigers finished with a 5–3 record, losing twice to the Chattanooga Locomotion - another Tier II team - and once to the Atlanta Xplosion - a Tier I team in 2009. The Tigers also defeated then ranked number seven Clarksville Fox who in the 2008 season had competed for the Independent Women's Football League Tier II championship. The Tigers played their home games at Milton Frank Stadium in Huntsville, Alabama. Because of the devastating effects of the 2011 Super Outbreak, the Tigers had to forfeit their final two regular-season games. On August 30, the Tigers announced they had left the IWFL to join the WSFL.

Season-By-Season

{{update section|date=July 2019}}

{{Start NFL SBS}}

|-

|2000 || 3 || 3 || 0 || Exhibition Season || --

|-

|2001 || 5 || 3 || 0 || 2nd Southern || --

|-

|2002 || 7 || 2 || 0 || 1st Central || Lost Southern Conference Semifinal (Pensacola)

|-

|2003 || 7 || 4 || 0 || 2nd Southern Central || Won Southern Conference Quarterfinal (Asheville)
Lost Southern Conference Semifinal (Pensacola)

|-

|2004 || 6 || 3 || 0 || 2nd Southern Gulf Coast || --

|-

|2005 || 5 || 3 || 0 || 7th Southern || --

|-

|2006 || 4 || 4 || 0 || 3rd Southern Southeast || --

|-

|2007 || 3 || 5 || 0 || 3rd Southern Central || --

|-

|2008 || 2 || 6 || 0 || 4th Southern East || --

|-

!Totals || 42 || 33 || 0 || ||

|-

|colspan="2"|

{{s-end}}

{{Start NFL SBS}}

|-

| colspan="6" align="center" | Tennessee Valley Tigers (IWFL)

|-

|2009 || 5 || 3 || 0 || 10th Tier II || --

|-

|2010 || 4 || 4 || 0 || 3rd Tier II East Southeast || --

|-

|2011 || 1 || 7 || 0 || 5th East Mid-South || --

|-

| colspan="6" align="center" | Tennessee Valley Tigers (WSFL)

|-

|2012* || -- || -- || -- || -- || --

|-

!Totals || 10 || 14 || 0

|colspan="2"|

{{s-end}}

* = Current Standing

2011 schedule

class="wikitable"
Date

!Opponent

!Home/Away

!Time

!Event Title

!Result

April 9

|Memphis Belles

|Away

|7pm

|N/A

|L, 12-16

April 16

|Clarksville Fox

|Away

|7pm

|N/A

|L, 6-32

April 23

|Georgia Peachez

|Home

|7pm

|TBA

|W, 2-0**

April 30

|Bye

|

|

|

|

May 7

|Memphis Belles

|Home

|4pm

|TBA

|L, 6-32

May 14

|Clarksville Fox

|Home

|7pm

|N/A

|L, 6-12

May 21

|Clarksville Fox

|Home

|7pm

|TBA

|L, 6-22

May 28

|Chattanooga Locomotion

|Away

|7pm

|Battle for the Border Rivalry Game

|L, 0-2***

June 4

|Bye

|

|

|

|

June 11

|Atlanta Xplosion

|Home

|7pm

|TBA

|L, 0-2

** = Won by forfeit

*** = Forfeited

Single season records

class="wikitable"
Date

!Name

!Record

!Result

2009

|Alber, Marty

|Season Passing Leader

|917 yards

2009

|Alber, Marty

|Season Passing TD Leader

|15

2009

|Bady, Starry

|Season Receiving TD Leader

|4

2009

|Harvey, Stephanie

|Season Receiving Leader

|210 yards

2009

|Suttles, Marsheka

|Season Rushing TD Leader

|6

2009

|White, Katie

|Field Goal Leader

|2

2009

|White, Katie

|Extra Point Completed

|16

2009

|Bady, Starry

|Interception Yards

|55 yards

2009

|Hendrix, Danielle

|Leading Tackler

|41

2009

|Team Offense

|Most Points in a Single Game

|68

2009

|Team Defense

|Most shutouts in a season

|4

2010

|White, Katie

|Longest Kickoff Return for TD

|70 yards

2010

|Eatman, Dionne

|Season Rushing Yards Leader

|496 yards

2010

|Eatman, Dionne

|Single Game Rushing Yards

|174 yards

2011 roster

class="wikitable" border="1"
Player

! Position

! Number

Carmela Sullivan

| DB

| 22

Carmelesia Sullivan

| DB

| 23

Carson Wakefield

| OL

| 84

Cheronda "Rock" Phillips

| RB

| 50

Christina Whitney

| DB/K

| 51

Lauren "LC" Coleman

| DB

| 9

Sharessa "TJ" Allen

| DB

| 82

Sonia Leggs

| RB/WR

| 34

Franchesca Atkins

| QB/WR/CB

|

Nina Cook

| RB/WR

| TBA

Shelley Drake

| DE

| TBA

Chasity Herron

| WR/LB

| TBA

Becky Hensel

| QB/WR

| TBA

Hayley Howard

| LB

| 55

Monique Jefferson

| OL/DT

| TBA

Shana Levett

| CB

| TBA

Heidi McQuire

| DL/OL/FB

| TBA

Mosheda Pettus

| TE/DE

| TBA

Yvette Price

| TBA

| TBA

Aisha Robinson

| C/OL

| TBA

Jayme Truitt

| WR/CB

| TBA

Liz Wilson

| QB/WR/CB

| TBA

=2012 season=

class="wikitable"
Reg ScheduleHomeAway || Score
4/28Huntsville TigersMemphis Dynasty16-6 L
5/28Huntsville TigersArkansas Rampage32-0 W
5/12Carolina QueensHuntsville Tigers22-19 L
6/2Arkansas RampageHuntsville Tigers41-0 W
6/9Cape Fear ThunderHuntsville Tigers40-0 W
6/23Huntsville TigersCape Fear Thunder50-0 W
6/30Tri-State BruisersHuntsville Tigers2-0 W
7/7Huntsville TigersTri-State Bruisers2-0 W
Playoffs
7/21Game won due to forfeit of other team2-0 W
7/28New Jersey TitansHuntsville Tigers26-6 L

Staff

  • Owner/Offensive Coordinator - Carlos Mathews
  • Offensive Line Coach - Ella Banghart
  • Assistant Defensive Coach - JJ Johnson
  • Delegate - Brady Wakefield
  • Marketing/Sales - Jamie Flynt
  • Acting General Manager - Carson Wakefield

Notes

{{Reflist|}}