The 2011 Canton Cougars season was the 1st and only season for the Ultimate Indoor Football League (UIFL) franchise. The Cougars were formed by the head of the Ultimate Indoor Football League, Andrew Haines.[1] Haines made the hire of Rashan Hall to become the Cougars first ever head coach.[2] The Cougars played their first ever game on February 20, 2011 against the Huntington Hammer, a game in which the Cougars lost 41-26.[3] With the team getting off to a rough 0-3 start, Haines issued a guarantee to the people of Canton, saying that the revamped Cougars roster would defeat the Saginaw Sting during their week 4 meeting.[4] The Cougars didn't make their owner a liar, defeating the Sting 53-52.[5] Their victory over the Sting proved to be the lone bright spot for the Cougars, who would lose 9 straight before firing Hall, and replacing him with Paul Farrah.[6] Farrah would lose the game, with less than a week to prepare. The Cougars finished with a 1-13 record, and finished last in the UIFL.
| 2011 Canton Cougars season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Michael Taylor Andrew Haines |
| Head coach | Rashan Hall (fired on May 23, 2011: 1-12 record) Paul Farrah (interim) |
| Home field | Canton Memorial Civic Center 1101 Market Avenue North Canton, OH 44702 |
| Results | |
| Record | 1-13 |
| League place | 6th |
| Playoff finish | did not qualify |
On June 16, 2011, it was announced that Michael Taylor and Andrew Hines had sold their controlling state in the Cougars to Tim Clark.[7] Clark was the former owner of the Johnstown Generals, but the commute was becoming a hassle. Once he gained ownership, he made several personnel changes including, naming Paul Farrah as its new head coach. Farrah was recently hired as the director of football operations. He also hired Canton South High School head coach Mo Daniska as the new defensive coordinator, while Louisville High School defensive coordinator Troy Davis will serve as the director of community relations, focusing on developing youth football camps and clinics. Former Head Coach Rashaun Hall has been retained as an assistant coach and will also serve as director of player personnel.[8] The new group made plenty of signings for the 2012 season, and lasted until January when the franchise suspended operations.[9]
Schedule
editKey: Win Tie Loss Bye
Regular season
editAll start times are local to home team
Standings
edit| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Northern Kentucky River Monsters[ref 2] | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 569 | 417 | L1 | ||||
| x-Saginaw Sting | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 473 | 415 | L2 | ||||
| x-Eastern Kentucky Drillers | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 390 | 373 | W1 | ||||
| x-Huntington Hammer | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 377 | 328 | W2 | ||||
| Johnstown Generals | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 292 | 416 | W2 | ||||
| Canton Cougars | 1 | 13 | 0 | .071 | 370 | 522 | L10 | ||||
- ^ http://www.theuifl.com/01/UIFLStats/confsked.htm
- ^ Although Northern Kentucky were awarded the season title, they entered the postseason as the 4 seed due to salary cap violations.
Final roster
edit| Canton Cougars roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Kickers
|
Injured reserve
Exempt list
rookies in italics | |||
References
edit- ^ Ed Balint (January 18, 2011). "Baseball league has big plans for Munson stadium". www.cantonrep.com. GateHouse Media, Inc. Archived from the original on January 29, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
- ^ Jim Thomas (July 14, 2010). "Rashan Hall to coach Canton Cougars indoor football team". www.cantonrep.com. GateHouse Media, Inc. Archived from the original on July 29, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
- ^ David Walsh (February 20, 2013). "Hammer wins opener, 41-26". www.herald-dispatch.com. HD Media Company, LLC. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
- ^ "Canton Owner Issues Guarantee". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. March 14, 2011. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
- ^ Jim Thomas (March 22, 2011). "Cougars rally, take thriller for first win of season". www.cantonrep.com. GateHouse Media, Inc. Archived from the original on July 29, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
- ^ "Canton Cougars hire ex-Louisville coach Paul Farrah". www.cantonrep.com. GateHouse Media, Inc. May 23, 2011. Archived from the original on July 29, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
- ^ Mike Popovich (June 14, 2011). "Tim Clark takes control of Canton Cougars". www.cantonrep.com. GateHouse Media, Inc. Archived from the original on July 29, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2013.
- ^ "Clark takes over Canton, makes changes". www.theuifl.com. UIFL. Archived from the original on 2011-12-10. Retrieved 2013-07-29.
- ^ Michael Stainbrook (January 30, 2012). "Football: Former Ohio QB switches teams before UIFL season". www.thepost.ohiou.edu. The Post. Archived from the original on 2013-07-29. Retrieved July 29, 2013.