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Next Up: St. Petersburg Swans/Tampa Bay ARFC

Next Up: St. Petersburg Swans/Tampa Bay ARFC

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The Tigers enter this weekend’s contest brimming with confidence, having notched a neutral/road victory in Houston two weeks ago; a feat they failed to accomplish in 2016. They hope to build on that success against the visiting Swans and protect their home turf, where they were undefeated last year.

The St. Petersburg/Tampa Bay will be looking to go home from Baton Rouge with a better outcome than last year, where Baton Rouge defeated then 12.9.81 to 9.4.58. The Swans, who are consistently a good traveling club, will bring a strong and determined side with something to prove, having made the Division IV Finals at the 2016 Nationals, whereas the Tigers finished 5th.

Both sides are poised to make a lot of noise in 2017 and this match is setting itself up to be a great contest. So, if you like tough, hard-nosed football then you need to be at Clark Park on Saturday, May 6th at 2:00 p.m.!

Following the match, we are “happy” to welcome anyone and everyone to join us for the afterparty starting at 5:00 p.m. at Happy’s Downtown in downtown Baton Rouge. A special thanks to them for agreeing to hosting the event.

2017 Ruggles Cup Summary

2017 Ruggles Cup Summary

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After three months of hard training, the Tigers left Baton Rouge Friday night in search of their first live action of the USAFL season. After taking in the sights and sounds of beautiful Houston, Texas, they made their way to Cullen Park for their annual showdown with the Lonestars.

The Tigers’ first match of the day for the Ruggles Cup was against a Houston squad that just defeated Tulsa/OKC by a comfortable margin. It was easy to see that the Lonestars continued to fire on all cylinders early in the first half as the Tigers struggled for answers to slow down the Houston midfielders and keep the ball out of our defensive 50. After several halftime adjustments, and with some encouragement from Coach Heintze, the second half saw a group of Tigers playing with an increased confidence and intensity around the ball that helped them to win a few more contests and eventually kick 2.2.14 for the match. However, it was not enough to stop the Lonestars from kicking 12.7.79 and retaining the Ruggles Cup for 2017. Tigers Best: Ryan Baldasarro

The Tigers took a few breaths and regrouped to face off against Tulsa/OKC in their second game. We expected a tough, well coached club to make the trip down from Tulsa and they did not disappoint. However, the adjustments made in the second half of the first match were carried over into this contest, and there was no lack of intensity to be found from the Tigers in this one. As a result, the Tigers had more success moving the ball forward to impact the scoreboard than the Buffaloes. In the end, we pulled out our first victory of the season with a final of 7.7.49 to 3.5.23. Tigers Best: Austin LeBouef

All three clubs and supporters gathered at The Pheonix on Westheimer to celebrate the day. Meat pies were devoured, ice cold beers were drank, and rookies did their shots! A wonderful way to end a fantastic day of footy!

 

Next up: St. Pete/Tampa Bay on May 6th at 2pm at Clark Park in Baker, LA.

2017 Ruggles Cup Preview

2017 Ruggles Cup Preview

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In memory of our late, great, teammate, opponent, and friend Craig Ruggles, the Annual Ruggles Cup between the Houston Lonestars & Baton Rouge Tigers will take pace on April 22nd. This day also commemorates ANZAC Day, where the AFL in Australia remembers the Australian & New Zealand soldiers lost at Gallipoli in WWI.

This year, the Tulsa Buffalos will also be joining for a 3-way tournament.

When the Baton Rouge Tigers faced off against Houston and Tulsa in 2016, the contests were notable for lopsided contests. In the 2016 Ruggles Cup, Houston kept the Tigers on their heels and off the scoreboard, coming away with a commanding 4.7.31 to 0.0.0 victory. However, when the teams faced each other again in Baton Rouge in September, Baton Rouge held serve, running away with a 6.9.45 to 0.2.2 home victory.

In 2016, the Tigers would not meet the Buffaloes until Day 2 of Nationals. In what was effectively the season finale for both squads, the Tigers ran away with it to the tune of 11.4.70 to 1.0.6.

With plenty of offseason acquisitions and departures for all three teams, everyone is eager to test their progress in their first USAFL games this season.

The action commences at 11:00 when Houston takes on Tulsa. The full game schedule is:
11.00am – Houston vs Tulsa
12.00pm – Houston vs Baton Rouge
1.00pm – Baton Rouge vs Tulsa
2.00pm – All-Comers Game

Stay tuned for updates.

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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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.

2015 Annual Meeting

2015 Annual Meeting

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With the season wrapped up, and the holidays on the way, it is time for the End-Of-Year club meeting. On Friday, November 13, at 7:00 pm the Tigers will be gathering at Zimmerman’s house. The main topics for the meeting include electing club officers and discussing plans for next season. Everyone planning on participating next season should attend this meeting. Past members are also encouraged to come partake in the beginning of a great 2016. Also, feel free to invite anyone interested in becoming a Tiger. The meeting will have grilled burgers and sausages, and a few beverages on ice. Everyone is free to bring their own beverage of choice.

For directions and address details email batonrougetigers@gmail.com, or contact the leadership group.

2015 Nationals Report

2015 Nationals Report

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From Oct. 17 -18, the Tigers wrapped up their 2015 season with a trip to Austin, TX for this year’s edition of the USAFL National Tournament. The Tigers competed in Division IV combined with Houston Lonestar’s B-Side. The boys drew fourth seed in a tough group with Denver-B, Seattle-B/Portland and Golden Gate-B.

The first match on Saturday against Denver was hard-fought on a field dampened with the cold, morning dew. A slow first half offensively for the Tigers had the defense blasted early on. However, the defense did an excellent job turning goals to behinds and keeping it close. The second half odds improved with passes finally connecting, as the Tigers caught up. Sadly, the Tigers ran just short on the scoreboard finishing with a painful 21-20 loss.

Following a short three hour break, it was time for the Tigers to take on Seattle/Portland. Despite warmer afternoon temperatures, the Tigers started slow once again, giving up a plethora of behinds (and the occasional goal), with the defense doing all it could to stop the onslaught of Seattle/Portland. Tightening up the midfield in the second half gave a little momentum to the Tigers but it was too little too late and the Tigers fell to Seattle/Portland: 47-28.

The final match began on Sunday with the boys playing against Golden Gate. Sore and battling injuries from Saturday, the Tigers took the field one last time and fought hard against a more skillful side in Golden Gate. Following what seemed to be the trend of the tournament, the first half started off rough only to be followed with impressive work displayed during the second half. Improved accuracy and strong defensive work slowed Golden Gate’s attack in the second half. However, it was again not enough and the Tigers fell 49-16.

Despite leaving the 2015 USAFL National Tournament without a victory, the boys put in some hard-work, playing till the end of each match. There were certainly areas for improvement, but also many moments of greatness. The Tigers hope to start next season stronger, with a tested core group of players, and compete to win a trophy in 2016.

Our Tigers in the 2015 USAFL Tournament:
Ryan Baldassaro
Joshua Cartmill
Stephen Doerfler
Matthew Heintze
Daniel Hill
Austin LeBouef
Ryan Moran
Joseph Roy
Dwayne Smith
*With the famous Neil Stebbing, who provided coaching support and represented the Tigers in the Masters/Legends match.

Home and Away season ends

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12010731_10104973330552735_7504782730566211503_oThe Home and Away Season has come to an end for the Tigers with more than its fair share of heart break. Four tough losses may not have been how we envisioned our season to end but we can take away that the Tigers are almost there with three hard fought matches against even competition in Nashville, Ohio Valley, and Atlanta, and a more productive than usual attack against a seemingly always stacked Houston side.

Results from second half of the season:

8/8/15: Nashville Tournament: Nashville vs Baton Rouge 9.3.57 7.5.47

8/8/15: Nashville Tournament: Baton Rouge vs Ohio Valley 4.4.28 4.5.29

9/5/15: Baton Rouge vs Houston 7.8.50 15.15.105

9/19/15: Baton Rouge vs Atlanta 11.6.72 12.8.80

Also, we would not be able to host the matches that we do or travel down the road without the
support of volunteers that do everything from umpire and keep score to run water and cook jambalaya!
We cannot thank you all enough! If you are interested in supporting the Tigers in the future email us at
batonrougetigers@gmail.com.

We would also like to give a HUGE thank you to Benjamin Record of Record Dental in Central for his fabulous sponsorship of our new uniforms. We hope you can appreciate how big this was for our club.

All season long it seemed a different group of individual Tigers would step up each game and show the leadership and skills that the club needs as a group in order to succeed. The second half of the season saw Club Best on Ground points go to the following players: Mitch Gray- 5 pts; Rob Montanaro-4 pts; Josh Cartmill, Matt Heintze, Kyle Jackson and Ryan Moran- 3 pts each; Dwayne Smith- 2 pts; John Zimmerman- 1 pt; and Coaches Awards going to Ryan Baldasarro, Josh Cartmill, and Austin LeBouef.

Season Standings for Club Best on Ground:

Josh Cartmill- 8 pts
Mitch Gray- 7 pts
Rob Montanaro- 5 pts
Deeboe France- 3 pts
Stephen Gauthe- 3 pts
Matt Heintze- 3 pts
Kyle Jackson- 3 pts
Ryan Moran- 3 pts
Ryan Baldasarro- 2 pts
Dwayne Smith- 2 pts
Mitchell Pedler- 1 pt
John Zimmerman- 1 pt

Next up for the Tigers is the USAFL National Tournament on October 17th and 18th in Austin, TX. We will join forces with our friends in Houston to play in Division 4. Make plans to attend, come support the Tigers/Lonestars, and enjoy a weekend of quality footy in a great town! In the meantime, we will continue open training sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays at 6pm at Westdale Middle School.