Author: batonrougetigers

Metro League Matchup

Metro League Matchup

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March 25, 2017 marked the official start of the 2017 season with the Tigers’ first Metro League games. The teams were divided and sported the Tigers’ current and classic look.

The New Jerseys were made up of Matt Smith, Garrett Reason, Ryan Baldassaro, Josh Cartmill, Neil Stebbing, Rob Montanaro, and Lane Moran.

The Old Jerseys were made up of Stuart Johnson, Michael Cussen, Brooks Guay, Shivaraj Kandhasamy, Ryan Moran, and Tim Lala, with Adam Mullavaey, Cole Hilgenkamp, and Matthew Heintze alternating between playing and umpiring.

Although dark skies and thunder threatened the game, eventually the skies parted (for a time) and it went forward in true footy weather with the ground completely saturated. The game was eventually called early in the 4th quarter as small hail came in to accompany the waters that flooded several streets for a time, but the scores through then are as follows:

1st Quarter
“Old”: 1 Goal, 0 behinds “New”: 3 goals, 3 behinds

2nd Quarter
“Old”: 3 goals, 1 behind “New”: 4 goals, 4 behinds

3rd Quarter
“Old”: 6 goals, 5 behinds “New”: 4 goals ,6 behinds

4th Quarter
“Old”: 7 goals, 5 behinds “New”: 5 goals, 6 behinds

We wish to extend our thanks to all who came out in support of the event, and those who followed us at the Family Day Event after. And a special thanks also to Steve Guillory for his support and coming out to photograph the event (The full photo album can be seen online at https://marksteveguillory.smugmug.com/Footy/FOOTY-BRT-Metro-League-032517-Gold-v-Navy/ and all pictures are available for purchase), and Tin Roof Brewing Company to their hospitality for hosting the after party event on their patio.

After such a great weekend, the Tigers will look for a similar (but hopefully drier) result this Wednesday, April 5th at 6:00 p.m. at Westdale Middle School for their second Metro League match of the season. As always, friends, family, and anyone interested are always welcome to spectate or participate.

Spring Metro League Begins!

Spring Metro League Begins!

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Saturday marks the beginning of our 2017 Metro League season, and the first live game action this year in which the Tigers can test the skills they’ve been building on since January.

The game kicks off at 10:00 at Highland Road Park and will feature the Gold and Navy squads going head-to-head. Family and friends are  always encouraged to attend and support their Tigers and anyone with an interest in the game is invited.

Following the siren, the players will be holding a Family Day event at Tin Roof Brewing Company at 2:30 p.m. From 2:00 – 6:00, Tin Roof will be celebrating the Rusted Rye IPA release with live music and a chicken wing cook-off and have graciously invited us to be a party to the festivities.

Anyone and everyone is invited to come on out and support the Baton Rouge Tigers as we get ready to kick off the 2017 Season!

2017 Season Kick-Off

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At the conclusion of the season, the Tigers held their annual AGM meeting at the always-hospitable Tin Roof Brewing Company to discuss election of officers, proposals for new merchandise, sponsorship, recruitment, and team dues for the 2017 season. Your newly elected 2017 officers are:

President:                    Josh Cartmill

Vice President:            Cole Hilgenkamp

Treasurer:                    John Zimmerman

This group is committed to representing a Tiger squad that has never looked stronger following an impressive showing at Nationals. Led by coach Matt Heintze, the 2017 Tigers look to build on the success of the back end of last season and take their winning ways at home on the road this year!

Although official training sessions and Metro League games have yet to begin, you’ll find the Tigers shedding the offseason rust Saturday mornings at 10:00 at Westdale Middle School. For official updates on the Baton Rouge Tigers training schedule, visit the Baton Rouge Tigers Australian Football Club on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/13181053834/.

As always, for any questions or to join the Baton Rouge Tigers for the 2017 season, please send an email to batonrougetigers@gmail.com

2017 Match Schedule

2017 Match Schedule

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The Tigers’ 2017 Home and Away Schedule is one of the most impressive in recent memory, featuring clashes in four different cities and no less than six clubs testing their mettle. The Spring begins with an opening trip to Houston for the annual Ruggles Cup match and finishes in Little Rock with the Central Regional Tournament. The full schedule is as follows:

April 22 – Houston Lonestars, Tulsa Buffaloes (Houston, TX)

May 6 – St. Petersburg Swans (Baton Rouge, LA)

May 20 – Atlanta Kookaburras (Atlanta, GA)

June 10 – Central Regional Tournament (Little Rock, AR)

After taking a pause for the inevitable summer scorchers, the Tigers resume play in the fall by traveling to Tulsa to face the Buffaloes and concludes with the National Tournament in sunny San Diego.

August 26 – Tulsa Buffaloes, Denver Bulldogs (Tulsa, OK)

September 9 – Houston Lonestars, Nashville Kangaroos (Baton Rouge, LA)

September 23 – Atlanta Kookaburras (Baton Rouge, LA)

October 21-22 – USAFL National Tournament (San Diego, CA)

With so much time before the season begins, these dates are still subject to change, so keep an eye out for updates. As always, for any questions or to join the Baton Rouge Tigers for the 2017 season, please send an email to batonrougetigers@gmail.com

2016 Season Summary

2016 Season Summary

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It’s been quite some time since our last update, due in no small part to the massive flooding from August that affected and continues to affect the entire Baton Rouge area. Many Tigers were displaced from their homes, and everyone on the team was impacted in some form or fashion. However, this heavy burden was lightened due to the boundless generosity and support of the entire USAFL community, who donated over $3,000.00 so that those most affected could continue playing the game we all love.

The second half of the season started on a sour note, as the Atlanta Kookaburras lit up the scoreboards against a skeleton squad of Tigers to the tune of 19.24.138 to 5.8.38. Not to be perturbed, the Tigers used that loss as motivation and re-doubled their efforts leading up to their September 17th Tailgate game, when they hosted the Kooks and neighboring Houston Lonestars.

In an inspiring performance, the Tigers swept the weekend and finished their home and away schedule with a 3-3 record. In the first match of the day, they stunned the same Atlanta team that had dominated them only a month earlier by the score of 8.11.59 to 2.0.12. But perhaps the biggest surprise of the weekend was holding the always-impressive Lonestars to only two behinds in a 6.9.45 – 0.2.2 victory. For the complete game footage of this weekend’s action, click on the links below:
https://youtu.be/45WRoy1bEXc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQxNrlnoqU0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0r0r94vNfv0&feature=youtu.be
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnU94JVb5dg

October 15th marked the first day of Nationals in Sarasota, Florida. In their first match against the Des Moines Roosters, the Tigers had a difficult time adjusting to playing with the Atlanta Kookaburras and found themselves down 3.6.24 to 0.3.3 at halftime. After gaining some familiarity with their new teammates, the “Kookatigers” outscored Des Moines 1.1.7 to 3.0.18 in the second half, falling just short as Des Moines secured a 4.7.31 to 3.3.21 victory. Bouncing back with a 5.4.34 to 3.5.23 win over the Denver Bulldogs later in the day, the Tigers ended the day in hot contention for the Division IV semifinal.

After some heartbreaking calculations, the Kookatigers just missed the semifinal and instead found themselves paired against the Tulsa Buffaloes in what would be their last game of the season. Determined to stake a claim for next year’s Nationals seeding, they blew past the Buffaloes with a final score of 11.4.70 to 1.0.6, finishing with a 2-1 record in the division.

After an inspiring 5-4 season, which included an undefeated home record, and having finished out the season with the 2016 Grand Final Party, our 2016 Annual Meeting, and having piled on the pounds during the holiday season, the Tigers will be returning to action in the coming weeks. Check back for updates on the 2017 training schedule or check out the Baton Rouge Tigers Australian Football Club on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/groups/13181053834/. For any questions or to join the Baton Rouge Tigers for the 2017 season, please send an email to batonrougetigers@gmail.com

 

Tampa Bay Match Summary

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After an hour delay to the start of the match, the Tigers came out firing in the first quarter. However, even while dominating both possession and time in the forward 50, they failed to do damage on the scoreboard. Tampa Bay showed little effects from their long road trip and kept it close, only trailing by one point at quarter-time. Both sides showed an equal willingness to hit every contest hard and this set the tone for the entire match.

The second quarter was another back and forth affair. Tampa Bay was winning slightly more clearances out of center than the Tigers but failed to impact the scoreboard in a major way as the Tiger defense proved capable of creating turnovers and rebounding up the sideline. The Tigers went into halftime with a 7 point lead.

As the third-quarter began so did the monsoon. Both sides struggled to maintain possession in the new and difficult wet conditions. However, the relief from the heat was welcome and evident in the players ability to maintain a frantic back and forth pace as goals were hard to come by as the rain continued to fall. The Tigers were able to maintain their lead but the contest was still close with less than two goals separating the two sides.

Early in the fourth-quarter the rain ceased and the Tigers began raining goals. Tampa Bay put up a strong resistance midway through the quarter and began to steal the momentum with a few back to back goals. In the end, the Tigers maintained their run the longest and finished out the match with their own set of back to back goals to come away with a 23 point victory. A great example of a team win! Well done Tigers!

Final Score: Baton Rouge 12.9.81 – Tampa Bay 9.4.58

Tigers Best on Ground for the day: Josh Cartmill, Austin LeBouef, Ryan Baldassaro, Ryan Moran, and first gamer Nathan Martinez.

Thanks to all the supporters that braved both the heat and monsoon to watch our first home match of the season! Also, a huge thanks to those that helped umpire and set-up the after party. Neither the match nor the celebrations would have been possible without you. Finally, we would like to thank Tin Roof Brewery for allowing us to celebrate at their Tap Room. Here’s to many more!

-Josh

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Up next: Tampa

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Join us this weekend, June 4th @ 3 pm, at Clark Park as our pride of Baton Rouge take on the St. Petersburg Swans. Come out and support your home team on the field in your finest navy and gold and join us for the after party at Tin Roof Brewing Company from 6-10 pm. Tin Roof beer @ Happy Hour prices and of course food! $20 for all you can handle jambalaya, salad and sodas.

See you on the footy field this weekend! 🏉

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Ruggles Cup

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It was a great game today in honor of our not forgotten teammate, opponent, and good friend Craig Ruggles.

The football today was played in really awesome spirits. Just tough hard football and no spite. Great stuff guys. We fought to the end and we really worked hard. Each and every tiger needs to feel they played well because we did. It’s time to break the shackles and play Aussie Rules. We can play hard without killing our teammates. Sure head clashing and accidents happen. Time to get down to business at practice and match practice.

Out of the 3 teams we had no one left on the bench. Really awesome game. Really good spectacle for our sport for US footy. Loved watching the game and it’s a joy to talk tactics with each every one of you. I’m ready for a beer now.

-Coach Stebbing (The Legend)

I think we all got some valuable experience playing against two very good clubs in Houston and Austin. Now it’s time to get back to work and build on what we’ve started. Training this week will be Tuesday and Thursday at 6pm at Westdale Middle School. Then on Saturday we will continue our Spring Metro with Week 6 at 1pm on the LSU Parade Grounds. Come out and get involved!

-Josh

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It’s 2016 and we’re back in action

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Great contest on our first metro league game of the year! Pretty much back and forth with moments of good ball movement from both teams. Gold pulled out the victory in the end 14.12.96 to Navy 13.11.89. Best on Ground for Gold goes to Austin LeBouef and for Navy, it was Ryan Baldassaro.

Gold Team: Austin LeBouef, Robert Montanaro, Ryan Moran, James Morris, Dwayne Smith, Kyler Johnson, Brady Moran, Cole Hilgenkamp

Navy Team: Ryan Baldassaro, Joshua Cartmill, Kyle Jackson, James Cavalero III, Lane Moran, Sean Quinlan, Allen M Outcast

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Photo taken during our pick up game with New Orleans Rugby Club.