The Texas Copperheads were a professional
arena football
Indoor American football, or arena football, is a variation of gridiron football played at ice hockey-sized indoor arenas. While varying in details from league to league, the rules of indoor football are designed to allow for play in a smaller ...
that played in
AF2
The AF2 (often styled as af2, and short for arenafootball2) was the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like its parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football ru ...
, the
minor league for the
Arena Football League
The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...
. The team was founded in 2006 as member of the
National Indoor Football League
The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) was a professional indoor football league in the United States. For their first six years, the league had teams in markets not covered by either the Arena Football League or its developmental league, ...
(NIFL). They played their home games at the
Richard E. Berry Educational Support Center in
Cypress, Texas
Cypress is an unincorporated community in Harris County, Texas, United States, located completely inside the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Houston. The Cypress area is located along U.S. Highway 290 (Northwest Freeway) is twenty-f ...
. They were coached by Ollie Guidry.
Team history
The team started as the Katy Copperheads of the
National Indoor Football League
The National Indoor Football League (NIFL) was a professional indoor football league in the United States. For their first six years, the league had teams in markets not covered by either the Arena Football League or its developmental league, ...
in 2005. They moved to the
Leonard E. Merrell Center
The Leonard E. Merrell Center (commonly known as the Merrell Center) is a 7,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Katy, Texas. It was built in 2005 and was the former home of the Katy Copperheads (National Indoor Football League) and the Katy Ruff Rider ...
in 2006.
In 2006, they gained national attention on ''
Cold Pizza
''Cold Pizza'' is an American television sports morning talk show that aired weekdays on ESPN2 from 2003 to 2007. The show's style was more akin to ''Good Morning America'' than ''SportsCenter''s straight news and highlights format. It included d ...
'', a show on
ESPN2
ESPN2 is an American multinational pay television network owned by ESPN Inc., a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company (which owns a controlling 80% stake) and Hearst Communications (which owns the remaining 20%).
ESPN2 was initially fo ...
, in a segment called "A Day In A Life Of An NIFL Team". The same year, they got into the NIFL playoffs but were eliminated by the
Rapid City Flying Aces
The Rapid City Flying Aces were a professional indoor American football team in Rapid City, South Dakota. Like their predecessors, the Black Hills Red Dogs, they played their home games at the Don Barnett Arena in Rapid City. As of April 2007, t ...
, 60-38.
After the 2006 season, the team announced they were changing their name to the Texas Copperheads, moving to the AF2, and moving to the
Richard E. Berry Educational Support Center in
Cypress, Texas
Cypress is an unincorporated community in Harris County, Texas, United States, located completely inside the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Houston. The Cypress area is located along U.S. Highway 290 (Northwest Freeway) is twenty-f ...
.
Records
On June 25, 2006, the Copperheads scored 132 points in a game against the West Palm Beach Phantoms – final score 132-3. This record stands as the highest point total for an indoor football game at any level.
The team also has the dubious distinction of being only the second AF2 team (after the
Peoria Pirates
The Peoria Pirates were a professional arena football team that last played in AF2, the minor league to the Arena Football League (AFL). They played their home games at Carver Arena, part of the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois, and were coached ...
' opening-day loss to the
Quad City Steamwheelers
The Quad City Steamwheelers were a professional arena football team. They were a charter member of the AF2 and played their home games at iWireless Center in Moline, Illinois.
The team was founded on September 1, 1999 when the Quad Cities was ...
in 2001) ever to suffer a shutout loss (a 52-0 road defeat to the
Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings on April 14, 2007).
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In March 2006, the Copperheads became the first indoor football team to produce a podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
. In 2006 and 2007 the show was hosted by Chris Doelle.
Former NFL RB Bam Morris
Byron "Bam" Morris (born January 13, 1972) is a former American football running back who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Chicago Bears, Baltimore Ravens, and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Early life
Morris attended Texas Tech University where he ...
played for the Copperheads in 2006.
Legal trouble
The Copperheads were accused by Katy Independent School District
The Katy Independent School District (KISD) is a public school district based in Katy, Texas, United States with an enrollment of over 85,700 students. As of August 2009, the district was rated as "Recognized" by the Texas Education Agency.
...
of not paying their rent for the season when they were at the Merrell Center
The Leonard E. Merrell Center (commonly known as the Merrell Center) is a 7,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Katy, Texas. It was built in 2005 and was the former home of the Katy Copperheads (National Indoor Football League) and the Katy Ruff Rider ...
playing as the Katy Copperheads (Katy I.S.D. owns the Merrell Center). At the end of the season, they owed Katy I.S.D. US$38,892.43. The owner, Bryan Blake would later pay the money in February 2007. In order to do this, he had to sell some of the Texas Copperheads ownership, to the owner of the Austin Wranglers
The Austin Wranglers were an arena football team based in Austin, Texas. They played four seasons in the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2007 and spent one season in af2, the AFL's developmental league, in 2008. They made playoff appearances i ...
, Doug McGregor. Afterwards, Katy I.S.D gave Blake back $38,000 worth of supplies. The Copperheads moved out of Katy to Cypress to play in the Berry Center as a result. The former head coach is now coaching with the Austin Turfcats of the newly formed Southern Indoor Football League.
Season-by-season
, -
, colspan="6" align="center" , Katy Copperheads (NIFL)
, -
, 2006 , , 11 , , 3 , , 0 , , 1st Pacific South , , Won PC Quarterfinals (Beaumont
Beaumont may refer to:
Places Canada
* Beaumont, Alberta
* Beaumont, Quebec
England
* Beaumont, Cumbria
* Beaumont, Essex
** Beaumont Cut, a canal closed in the 1930s
* Beaumont Street, Oxford
France (communes)
* Beaumont, Ardèche
* ...
)
Lost PC Semifinals (Rapid City
Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...
)
, -
, colspan="6" align="center" , Texas Copperheads (af2)
, -
, 2007 , , 2 , , 14 , , 0 , , 4th NC Southwest , , --
, -
, 2008 , , 2 , , 14 , , 0 , , 5th NC Southwest , , --
, -
!Totals , , 16 , , 31 , , 0
, colspan="2", (including playoffs)
Coaching staff
* Ollie Guidry – Head Coach
* Ed Jenkins – Defensive Coordinator
* Richard Kitterman – Offensive line
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...
/ Special teams
In American football, the specific role that a player takes on the field is referred to as their "position". Under the modern rules of American football, both teams are allowed 11 players on the field at one time and have "unlimited free substitu ...
Coach
* Jerry Hornsby – Defensive line
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numb ...
/ Linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...
s
* Chris Scarborough – Wide receivers
Notes
External links
Official Site
{{Af2 Defunct
Defunct af2 teams
Harris County, Texas
Sports in Houston
American football teams established in 2005
American football teams disestablished in 2008
American football teams in Texas
Defunct American football teams in Texas
Arena Football League in Texas
2005 establishments in Texas
2008 disestablishments in Texas