Essex Spartans
| Sport(s): | America Football |
| Telephone: | 01268 559352 |
| Email: | tony.palmer28@googlemail.com |
| Website: | http://www.essexspartans.co.uk/index.html |
| Activities: | America Football |
| Comments: | The Essex Spartans are an American Football team based in Billericay, Essex, England. First formed in 1998 following a merger between two local teams, they currently play in the British American Football League (BAFL), Division 2 South East. The Essex Spartans were formed during the close of the 1998 season when two local rival teams, the Essex Chiefs and the Redbridge Fire, decided to merge. After initial training sessions, the team's numbers were boosted by the demise of the Cambridge Cats (who have since been reformed). As both the former teams had been competing at the same level in the British Senior League, the newly formed Spartans were granted a spot in the National Division (which was then the second of the league's three tiers). After winning six of their games (including shutouts against the Canada Life Cardinals and the London Mets, the Spartans finished second in their conference and so qualified for the playoffs. They defeated the Southern Sundevils in the quarter-final, but were finally beaten 19–33 away to the Gateshead Senators. The 2000 season started badly with two consecutive defeats to the London Blitz, followed by a heavy defeat away to the London Olympians two matchdays later. In a season which saw the team lose 13 players through injury, the Spartans finished third from bottom of their group with a 2-6 record. However, some consolation was found in some individual player performances, with Steve Berlingo ending the season as the league's leader in interceptions, and Shulba Hunt finishing as the sixth highest rusher in the league. The Spartans continued to struggle the following season. After five straight defeats (including a forfeited match) coupled with a number of injuries, a few players transferring to other teams and some US armed forces players from a nearby base unable to play, they were forced to withdraw halfway through the season and were realigned into Division Two for the next season. 2002 was a transitional year for the Spartans. The team moved back to the Chiefs' old home ground in Basildon, but their long-time star offensive player Shulba Hunt was forced to retire through injury. They finished eighth out of nine teams with a 3-6 record. In the 2003 preseason, the then Head Coach Dean Gibson and his new Offensive Coordinator Dave Thomas developed a new new offensive playbook featuring an emphasis on short passing. This seemed to suit the squad and results improved, but fell short of expectations as the Spartans finished 5-4-1 and just missed out on the playoffs. 2004 saw the squad depleted by a number of retirements, and the Spartan's young players could only manage a 3-6-1 finish to the season. However, 2005 saw the club's best season since they first entered the league. The coaching staff put an emphasis on developing the young squad into one full of multi-skilled positional players, and the team was bolstered by the arrival of a number of players from the recently-folded Southend Sabres. After a winning regular season which included two comfortable wins over league newcomers Maidstone Pumas, they finished second in their group with a 5-2-1 record, enough to qualify for the playoffs. They were drawn away to the Oxford Saints, where they beaten 0–20. 2006 saw the Spartans reach the playoffs once again after finishing second with a 5-4-1 regular season record. They were originally drawn to face the South Wales Warriors in a wild-card playoff, and turned up at the Warriors' home field to play the match. However, they complained to BAFL (British American Football League) that the Warriors' pitch at Bedwas RFC was too short, and therefore did not comply with competition rules. After consultations between the two teams, the game was played as normal but BAFL decided afterwards that the Warriors would forfeit the game, and therefore the game was awarded to the Spartans as a 1–0 victory. In the quarter-finals, they were once again drawn away to the Oxford Saints and were again defeated by the eventual divisional champions. They unable to repeat their playoff run in 2007, finishing fourth out of six teams with a 3-7 regular season record. |
