| Fayetteville Force | |
 | |
| Founded | 2010 |
|---|---|
| League | SIFL (2011-present) |
| Team history | Fayetteville Force (2011-present) |
| Arena | Cumberland County Crown Coliseum |
| Based in | Fayetteville, North Carolina |
| Team colors | Black, Green, Brown, White |
| Owner | AIFA |
| Championships | 0 |
| Division titles | 0 |
| Website | www.FayettevilleForce.net |
The Fayetteville Force is a professional indoor football team in the Southern Indoor Football League. The Force plays its home games at the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum. The team began play in 2003 as the Myrtle Beach Stingrays' of the National Indoor Football League in the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, compiling a 6-8 record in their inaugural season.
History[]
At the beginning of the 2004 season, the NIFL pulled the team out of Myrtle Beach, and the team almost folded. However, some local investors saved the team, playing as the Carolina Stingrays in the Florence Civic Center. They managed to finish 3-6 in their shortened season.
Original Fayetteville Guard logo
The following year, the team was purchased again and moved to Fayetteville to replace af2's Cape Fear Wildcats, who had moved to Albany, Georgia and are currently playing as the South Georgia Wildcats. The new team had originally been called the Fayetteville Heat, but later on changed their name to the Fayetteville Guard. The team started their season 0-5, but went 7-2 in their final nine regular season games, thus earning them a 7-7 record and a playoff berth. The team defeated the Dayton Warbirds in the first round, but lost to the Cincinnati Marshals in the divisional round.
The Guard did even better in 2006, posting a 13-1 record in the regular season, then defeating the Lakeland Thunderbolts and River City Rage en route to Indoor Bowl VI, where they would lose to the Billings Outlaws. The best player ever for the Fayetteville Guard was former Hawaii QB-K Shawn-Ke'ali'i Withy-Allen, 6'5", 234 lbs.
In August 2006, it was reported that the Guard were moving to the World Indoor Football League [1]. However, the Guard denied these rumors by announcing that they were staying in the NIFL in a press conference two months later.
With to the merger of the AIFA and SIFL, a new Fayetteville based sports marketing group claimed the right to field a SIFL team from the Fayetteville market. The Guard will not be back this season, but a new team not affiliated with the Guard or its owners, called the Fayetteville Force, will be the new representation for the Cape Fear area.
Season-by-Season[]
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
| Season | W | L | T | Finish | Playoff results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Myrtle Beach Stingrays (NIFL) | |||||
| 2003 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 3rd Atlantic Southern | -- |
| Carolina Stingrays (NIFL) | |||||
| 2004 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3rd Atlantic Southern | -- |
| Fayetteville Guard (NIFL) | |||||
| 2005 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3rd Atlantic Central | Won AC Quarterfinal (Dayton) Lost AC Divisional (Cincinnati) |
| 2006 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1st Atlantic Central | Won AC Semifinal (Lakeland) Won AC Championship (River City) Lost Indoor Bowl VI (Billings) |
| Fayetteville Guard (NIFL/Independent) | |||||
| 2007 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 1st Atlantic | |
| Fayetteville Guard (AIFA) | |||||
| 2008 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 4th EC Eastern | -- |
| 2009 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 2nd Southern | Lost Divisional (Columbus) |
| 2010 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 6th Eastern | -- |
| Fayetteville Force (SIFL) | |||||
| 2011 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Totals | 59 | 52 | 0 | (including playoffs) | |
2005[]
| Date | Opponent | Result | Att. | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season | |||||
| March 26 | at River City | L, 46-43 | 3,892 | 0-1 | |
| April 2 | Odessa | L, 52-46 | 2,991 | 0-2 | |
| April 9 | at Cincinnati | L, 57-54 | 4,208 | 0-3 | |
| April 16 | Rome | L, 60-57 | 2,828 | 0-4 | |
| April 23 | at Montgomery | L, 35-20 | 3,965 | 0-5 | |
| April 30 | Montgomery | W, 64-21 | N/A | 1-5 | |
| May 8 | at Rome | L, 48-45 (OT) | 1,250 | 1-6 | |
| May 13 | at Kissimmee | W, 47-34 | 1,102 | 2-6 | |
| May 21 | River City | W, 60-51 | N/A | 3-6 | |
| May 28 | Cincinnati | W, 48-34 | 1,634 | 4-6 | |
| June 4 | Kissimmee | W, 55-14 | 2,600 | 5-6 | |
| June 11 | Daytona Beach | W, 41-37 | 4,012 | 6-6 | |
| June 18 | at SW Louisiana | L, 53-38 | 4,012 | 6-7 | |
| June 25 | Miami | W, 62-2 | 3,012 | 7-7 | |
| First Round | |||||
| July 9 | Dayton | W, 78-63 | 2,180 | 8-7 | |
| Divisional Round | |||||
| July 16 | Cincinnati | L, 70-69 | 3,443 | 8-8 | |
2006[]
| Date | Opponent | Result | Att. | Record | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season | |||||
| March 25 | at Montgomery | W, 44-7 | 2,144 | 1-0 | |
| April 1 | at Osceola | W, 58-55 | 1,897 | 2-0 | |
| April 9 | at Florida | W, 44-41 | N/A | 3-0 | |
| April 14 | at Greensboro | W, 45-26 | 3,218 | 4-0 | |
| April 22 | Osceola | W, 54-51 | 3,200 | 5-0 | |
| April 29 | at Lakeland | L, 60-41 | 2,697 | 5-1 | |
| May 4 | at Charleston | W, 62-44 | 1,800 | 6-1 | |
| May 13 | Cincinnati | W, 70-26 | 2,097 | 7-1 | |
| May 20 | Palm Beach | W, 59-20 | 2,000 | 8-1 | |
| May 27 | Palm Beach | W, 70-0 | 4,185 | 9-1 | |
| June 3 | Tennessee | W, 78-14 | 2,645 | 10-1 | |
| June 10 | Greensboro | W, 58-40 | 1,563 | 11-1 | |
| June 17 | Charleston | W, 74-14 | 1,241 | 12-1 | |
| June 24 | Montgomery | W, 68-14 | 2,385 | 13-1 | |
| Divisional Round | |||||
| July 16 | Lakeland | W, 44-18 | 3,129 | 14-1 | |
| Conference Championship | |||||
| July 22 | at RiverCity | W, 72-70 (OT) | 3,223 | 15-1 | |
| Indoor Bowl VI | |||||
| July 28 | at Billings | L, 59-44 | 7,934 | 16-1 | |
2007[]
| Date | Opponent | Result | Record | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season | |||||
| March 31 | Columbia | W, 69-18 | 1-0 | ||
| April 14 | The Marshals | W, 77-14 | 2-0 | ||
| April 20 | at Greensboro | W, 60-28 | 3-0 | ||
| April 28 | at The Marshals | W, 59-28 | 4-0 | ||
| May 5 | Atlanta | W, 64-22 | 5-0 | ||
| May 26 | at Columbia | W, 34-24 | 6-0 | ||
| June 2 | Greensboro | W, 68-28 | 7-0 | ||
| June 9 | The Marshals | W, 91-6 | 8-0 | ||
| June 23 | Columbia | W, 108-0 | 9-0 | ||
| June 30 | at Greensboro | W, 63-24 | 10-0 | ||
| July 7 | Greensboro | W, 47-0 | 11-0 | ||
| July 14 | Wyoming | W, 48-34 | 12-0 | ||
External links[]
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