The La Crosse Spartans were a professional indoor football team based in La Crosse, Wisconsin. They were a member of the Great Lakes Division, of the United Conference of the Indoor Football League (IFL). They played their home games at the La Crosse Center in La Crosse, Wisconsin.

The team was founded in 2009, and was originally coached by former NFL player Gilbert Brown. They were also coached by his brother Kyle Moore-Brown.

History On August 6, 2009, Chris Kokalis announced his intentions to start an IFL team in La Crosse for the 2010 season. Former NFL player Gilbert Brown was announced as the head coach. On August 27, the Spartans were conditionally approved as members of the IFL. Such condition is that the Spartans negotiate a successful arena lease. On September 30, the Spartans got the formal go-ahead to play at the center. The Spartans were the third indoor football team to call the La Crosse Center home, following the La Crosse River Rats and the La Crosse Night Train.

2010 season The inaugural season for the La Crosse Spartans was a difficult one. The schedule had the Spartans start the season with 3 tough road games against some of the best teams in the IFL. They lost at both Wichita and Sioux Falls, who eventually played against each other for the United Conference finals. Just before halftime of the very first game the Spartans would lose their starting Quarterback to a knee injury, beginning a season where they would go through multiple Quarterbacks and Kickers, trying to find the right fit for the team. They finished the first half of the season 0-7. The Spartans earned their first victory against the Chicago Slaughter on April 30 in La Crosse. Their first road victory against at Chicago on June 12 . They finished the season 3-11.

2011 season

The second season of the La Crosse Spartans began February 19, 2011, in the IFL’s showcase game, the Kickoff Classic. La Crosse played seven regular season games at home over the course of February through early June. Indoor football veteran Jose Jefferson joined the Spartans for the 2011 season as their Offensive Coordinator.

After four games of the 2011 season it was announced that head coach Gilbert Brown would be taking a leave of absence from the team for personal reasons, and that his brother Kyle Moore-Brown would be switching from assistant coach to head coach of the Spartans.

On April 30, 2011 the Spartans became one of the few teams in indoor football history to post a shutout, beating the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks 51-0.

On August 30, 2011, GM and co-owner Chris Kokalis announced the formation of the Cedar Rapids Titans, including former Spartans members Xzavie Jackson, Travis Miller and Mike Polaski. The Titans were listed as members of the Great Lakes division, along with the Green Bay Blizzard, Bloomington Extreme and Chicago Slaughter. The Spartans were not listed in this division. Kokalis said the Spartans franchise will "cease to exist", but also said that the team was up for sale.

Season-by-season results League championsConference championsDivision championsWild card berthLeague leader

SeasonTeam League Conference Division Regular season Postseason resultsFinishWinsLossesTies 2010 2010 IFL United Central North 4th 3 11 0 2011 2011 IFL United Great Lakes 4th 5 9 0Totals8200All-time regular season record (2010–2011)00-All-time postseason record (2010–2011)8200All-time regular season and postseason record (2010–2011)

Attendance statistics Season-by-season average attendance Year Average attendance 2010 2574 2011 2280

Vs opponent OpponentOVERALLHOMEAWAYPLYFFAlaska Wild(1-0)(0-0)(1-0)(0-0)Bloomington Extreme(0-5)(0-3)(0-2)(0-0)Chicago Slaughter(2-2)(1-1)(1-1)(0-0)Fairbanks Grizzlies(0-1)(0-0)(0-1)(0-0)Green Bay Blizzard(0-4)(0-2)(0-2)(0-0)Kent Predators(1-0)(1-0)(0-0)(0-0)Lehigh Valley Steelhawks(2-0)(2-0)(0-0)(0-0)Nebraska Danger(1-0)(1-0)(0-0)(0-0)Omaha Beef(0-2)(0-1)(0-1)(0-0)Richmond Revolution(1-1)(0-0)(1-1)(0-0)Sioux City Bandits(0-1)(0-1)(0-0)(0-0)Sioux Falls Storm(0-2)(0-0)(0-2)(0-0)West Michigan ThunderHawks(0-1)(0-1)(0-0)(0-0)Wichita Wild(0-1)(0-0)(0-1)(0-0)

Notable players See :Category:La Crosse Spartans players

Year-by-year leaders Passing (Yards/Touchdowns/Completions) YearPlayerAttCompPctYdsTDIntQB RTGGP2010Buddy Rivera1528556%8566863.472011Buddy Rivera1809653%978221281.013

Rushing (Yards/Attempts) YearPlayerAttYdsAvgLngTDGP2010Mark Bonds923373.7311282011LaRon Council1776403.6341314

Rushing (Touchdowns) YearPlayerAttYdsAvgLngTDGP2010Buddy Rivera842863.4261372011LaRon Council1776403.6341314

Receiving (Yards/Touchdowns) YearPlayerRecYdsAvgLngTDGP2010Antonio Overstreet2943715.1446122011Christopher Headd3336010.940713

Receiving (Receptions) YearPlayerRecYdsAvgLngTDGP2010Aaron Straiten362386.640172011Christopher Headd3336010.940713

All Purpose (Yards) YearPlayerYdsTDGP2010Antonio Overstreet10079122011LaRon Council10671814

All Purpose (Touchdowns) YearPlayerYdsTDGP2010Buddy Rivera2861372011LaRon Council10671814

Returns (Yards/Returns) YearPlayerRetYdsAvgLngTDGP2010Antonio Overstreet3049716.6501122011Kevis Buckley3758815.948114

Returns (Touchdowns) YearPlayerRetYdsAvgLngTDGP2010Antonio Overstreet3049716.6501122011*Kevis Buckley3758815.9481142011*LaRon Council1320715.956114

Kicking (FG Percent) (minimum 10 attempts) YearPlayerFGMFGAFG%LngGP2010Jared Keating31030%4442011Rubio Radamez31127%473

Kicking (EP Percent) (minimum 10 attempts) YearPlayerEPMEPAEP%GP2010Jared Keating111385%42011Mike Polaski324965%12

Tackles YearPlayerTacSoloAstGP2010Walner Belleus694623132011Joe Bevis74363812

Sacks YearPlayerSacGP2010Xzavie Jackson5.5132011Xzavie Jackson12.514

Interceptions YearPlayerIntTDGP2010Darnell Terrell70122011Jamil Abdullah9012

Awards and honors 2011 First Team All-IFL Defense (DL) - Xzavie Jackson Week 4 Defensive Player of the Week - Xzavie Jackson Week 10 Defensive Player of the Week - La Crosse Spartans Defense 2010 IFL Community Relations Award - La Crosse Spartans First Team All-IFL Defense (DB) - Darnell Terrell Week 9 Offensive Player of the Week - Mark Bonds Week 16 Defensive Player of the Week - Darnell Terrell

See also La Crosse River Rats La Crosse Night Train

References

External links Official website