2019 LFL US season
The 2019 LFL US season is the tenth and final season of the Legends Football League (LFL) in the United States. It began April 5 and concluded on August 10.[1] This season marks the league's tenth anniversary season.
| 2019 LFL United States | |
|---|---|
| Regular season | |
| Duration | April 5, 2019 – August 10, 2019 |
| Playoffs | |
| Start date | August 24, 2019 |
| Legends Cup | |
| Date | September 7, 2019 |
| Site | Accesso ShoWare Center, Kent, Washington |
| Champions | Seattle Mist |
Developments
Shortly after the 2018 season ended, the LFL originally elected to hold the 2019 Legends Cup in South Africa's capital city of Johannesburg at Ellis Park Arena.[2] However, this never took place.
In November 2018, defending champion Chicago Bliss head coach Keith Hac and his entire coaching staff resigned in protest of league policies and decisions. Three weeks later the league hired Danville coach JaDae Maguire as a replacement. Maguire did not mesh well with the Bliss and his tenure was short before a new coach, Sidney Lewis, was brought in. In addition to retirements at the end of the previous season, Chicago saw an exodus of many remaining players leaving them with only four returning starters. Chicago would finish the season 0–4, their worst record ever and only their second losing record, and failed to make the playoffs for only the second time ever.
On December 21, 2018, Chris Michaelson, who previously served as the head coach of the Seattle Mist, returned to that franchise as head coach once again. He spent the 2018 season serving as offensive coordinator of the upstart Nashville Knights. For the purpose of rebuilding the Mist franchise to its previous form, Michaelson replaced interim coach Eric Bellamy, who had been named the Mist's interim coach for 2018 after Michelson's supposed retirement in the off-season following a Legends Cup-winning season in 2017. Michaelson previously served as the Mist head coach from 2009 to 2017, leading that franchise to two Legends Cup championship titles.[3][4]
In early 2019, the LFL announced a new broadcast partner in Honduran television network TDTV.[5]
On June 19, 2019, the league announced a change in the playoff format. Instead of the two best teams from each conference playing for their respective conference titles, the league would abandon the conference titles and pit the top four teams with the best records in an elimination tournament. The team with the best record would play the team with the fourth best record while the teams with the second and third best records would play one another. The immediate effect of this change mid-season was to scramble the playoff standings; Chicago was immediately statistically eliminated, Omaha, which had needed only a victory over winless Denver, suddenly needed to also defeat Atlanta, and Los Angeles could still make the playoffs if Austin beat Nashville in the regular season finale.
Teams
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
LFL Pro Bowl Eastern Western
Schedule
Regular season
| Date[6] | Visitor | Home | Venue | Score | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday, April 5, 2019 | Seattle Mist | Los Angeles Temptation | Citizens Business Bank Arena | Seattle 34 Los Angeles 19 |
[7] |
| Saturday, April 20 | Atlanta Steam | Chicago Bliss | Sears Centre Arena | Atlanta 30 Chicago 8 |
[8] |
| Friday, April 26 | Los Angeles Temptation | Denver Dream | Budweiser Event Center | Los Angeles 47 Denver 18 |
[9] |
| Saturday, May 4 | Chicago Bliss | Austin Acoustic | H-E-B Center | Austin 38 Chicago 8 |
[10][11] |
| Saturday, May 11 | Omaha Heart | Seattle Mist | Accesso ShoWare Center | Omaha 6 Seattle 70 |
[12] |
| Friday, May 17 | Atlanta Steam | Los Angeles Temptation | Citizens Business Bank Arena | Atlanta 33 L.A. 34 | |
| Saturday, June 1 | Nashville Knights | Omaha Heart | Ralston Arena | Nashville 25 Omaha 49 | |
| Saturday, June 8 | Seattle Mist | Denver Dream | Budweiser Event Center | Seattle 62 Denver 22 | |
| Saturday, June 15 | Chicago Bliss | Atlanta Steam | Infinite Energy Arena | Chicago 25 Atlanta 30 | |
| Saturday, June 22 | Denver Dream | Nashville Knights | Nashville Municipal Auditorium | Denver 12 Nashville 14 |
[13] |
| Saturday, June 29 | Austin Acoustic | Seattle Mist | Accesso ShoWare Center | Austin 36 Seattle 34 | |
| Saturday, July 13 | Denver Dream | Omaha Heart | Ralston Arena | Denver 13 Omaha 32 | |
| Saturday, July 20 | Nashville Knights | Chicago Bliss | Sears Centre Arena | Nashville 8 Chicago 6 | |
| Saturday, July 27 | Los Angeles Temptation | Austin Acoustic | H-E-B Center | Los Angeles 26 Austin 33 | |
| Saturday, August 3 | Omaha Heart | Atlanta Steam | Infinite Energy Arena | Omaha 14 Atlanta 50 | |
| Saturday, August 10 | Austin Acoustic | Nashville Knights | Nashville Municipal Auditorium | Austin 20 Nashville 18 |
Postseason
| Date | Visitor | Home | Venue | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff Semi-Finals | ||||
| Saturday, August 24 | Los Angeles Temptation | Austin Acoustic | Toyota Arena, Ontario, California | Los Angeles 39
Austin 29 |
| Atlanta Steam | Seattle Mist | Seattle 38
Atlanta 14 | ||
| Legends Cup 2019 | ||||
| Saturday, September 7 | Los Angeles Temptation | Seattle Mist | Accesso ShoWare Center, Kent, Washington | Seattle 56
Los Angeles 20 |
Showcase Game
| Date | Visitor | Home | Venue | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, November 16 | Los Angeles Temptation | Austin Acoustic | Mexico City Arena, Azcapotzalco, Mexico City, Mexico | Cancelled |
Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct | PF | PA | Net Pts | TD's | Home Record | Home Pct | Road Record | Road Pct | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x-Austin Acoustic | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | 127 | 86 | 41 | 19 | 2–0 | 1.000 | 2–0 | 1.000 | – |
| x-Seattle Mist | 3 | 1 | .750 | 200 | 83 | 117 | 32 | 1–1 | .500 | 2–0 | 1.000 | 1 |
| x-Atlanta Steam | 3 | 1 | .750 | 143 | 81 | 62 | 20 | 2–0 | 1.000 | 1–1 | .500 | |
| x-Los Angeles Temptation | 2 | 2 | .500 | 126 | 119 | 7 | 19 | 1–1 | .500 | 1–1 | .500 | 2 |
| Omaha Heart | 2 | 2 | .500 | 101 | 158 | -57 a | 14 | 2–0 | 1.000 | 0–2 | .000 | |
| Nashville Knights | 2 | 2 | .500 | 65 | 87 | -22 a | 10 | 1–1 | .500 | 1–1 | .500 | |
| Chicago Bliss | 0 | 4 | .000 | 47 | 106 | -59 | 7 | 0–2 | .000 | 0–2 | .000 | 4 |
| Denver Dream | 0 | 4 | .000 | 65 | 154 | -89 | 10 | 0–2 | .000 | 0–2 | .000 |
x - clinched playoff berth
Playoffs
Semifinals were played on August 24, 2019, at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California. Legends Cup 2019 will be played on September 7, 2019 at the Accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, WA instead of South Africa as originally planned. In the 2018 State of the League address delivered by Commissioner Mitchell Mortaza, the 2020 Legends Cup was expected to be the first of upcoming Legends Cups to be played abroad in international destinations; however, that was scrapped when the league decided not to hold next season.[2][14] The schedule on LFLUS.com was updated on June 19, 2019 to show the Legends Cup had been moved to Accesso ShoWare Center in Kent, WA. On the same day, the league announced the playoff format would change, with the conference championship title removed. Instead, the top teams from both conference would be ranked 1-4, with 1st facing 4th and 2nd facing 3rd.
| Semifinals | Legends Cup | ||||||||
| Seed 1 | Austin | 29 | |||||||
| Seed 4 | Los Angeles | 39 | |||||||
| Los Angeles | 20 | ||||||||
| Seattle | 56 | ||||||||
| Seed 2 | Seattle | 38 | |||||||
| Seed 3 | Atlanta | 14 | |||||||
Awards
League MVP
- Amber Clark - Atlanta Steam
- Miriah Lopez - Los Angeles Temptation
- Jade Randle - Seattle Mist
- Stevi Schnoor - Seattle Mist
Offensive Player of the Year
- Kassandra Bills - Austin Acoustic
- ChrisDell Harris - Austin Acoustic
- Miriah Lopez - Los Angeles Temptation
- Stevi Schnoor - Seattle Mist
Team of the Year
- Austin Acoustic
- Omaha Heart
- Nashville Knights
- Seattle Mist
Defensive Player of the Year
- Alli Alberts - Seattle Mist
- Amber Clark - Atlanta Steam
- Britney Dowdy - Austic Acoustic
- Jade Randle - Seattle Mist
Coach of the Year
- Dontae Allen / Cale Good - Omaha Heart
- Yuri Howard - Nashville Knights
- Chris Michaelson - Seattle Mist
- Mike Olvera - Austin Acoustic
Coaching Staff of the Year
- Atlanta Steam
- Austin Acoustic
- Nashville Knights
- Seattle Mist
In The Trenches (Line)
- Lindsey Burse - Omaha Heart
- Britney Dowdy - Austic Acoustic
- Lauren Jay - Omaha Heart
- Dina Wojowski - Atlanta Steam
Rookie of the Year
- Lauren Crouch - Omaha Heart
- Nicole Hulce - Atlanta Steam
- Bre Mosley - Nashville Knights
- Emma Vanderheyden - Chicago Bliss
Mortaza Award
- Jessica Bateman - Austin Acoustic
- Lindsi Cash - Los Angeles Temptation
- Nicole Curry - Denver Dream
- Austina Mellberg - Nashville Knights
True 8th Man Award
- Jessica Bateman - Austin Acoustic
- Mike McGhee - Seattle Mist
- Jessica Robinson - Atlanta Steam
2015 LFL Hall of Fame Induction - Danika Brace
Notes
- 1. ^ ^ Omaha finished ahead of Nashville in the standings as a result of their 49-25 head-to-head victory on June 1, 2019.
References
- "Legends Football League - Women of the Gridiron". Legends Football League. Archived from the original on 2016-08-01. Retrieved 2017-02-23.
- "Legends Cup 2019 to be Played in Johannesburg South Africa". LFL360.com. October 5, 2018. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- "HALL OF FAME COACH, CHRIS MICHAELSON, RETURNS TO THE SEATTLE MIST" (Press release). Legends Football League. December 21, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
- "LFL's HISTORIC OPENER TO FEATURE ICONIC MATCH-UP OF SEATTLE vs LOS ANGELES" (Press release). Legends Football League. April 2019. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
- “TDTV SCORED EXCLUSIVE LFL BROADCAST RIGHTS IN HONDURAS”. LFL360.com. Retrieved April 11, 2019.
- 2019-printable-schedule.pdf. LFLUS.com Retrieved 2018-12-17.
- "SEATTLE AVOIDS TEMPTATION, OPENS SEASON WITH A 34-19 ROAD WIN". LFL360.com. April 22, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- "THE TABLES HAVE TURNED IN CHICAGO-ATLANTA RIVALRY, STEAM HANDLE BLISS, 30-8". LFL360.com. April 28, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
- "IMPROVED DENVER DREAM STILL NO MATCH FOR LA’S SECOND HALF OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION, TEMPTATION WIN 47-18". LFL360.com. May 6, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- "THE HIGHLY-ANTICIPATED REBUILT OMAHA HEART, SET FOR BIG ROAD TEST IN SEATTLE". LFL360.com. May 9, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- "DESPITE UGLY PERFORMANCE BY AUSTIN QUARTERBACK MICHELLE ANGEL, ACOUSTIC HANDLE BLISS 38-8". LFL360.com. May 13, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- "LAUREN CROUCH IS WELCOMED TO THE LFL, AS MIST HAND HEART 70-6 BLOWOUT LOSS". LFL360.com. May 19, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
- "NASHVILLE SURVIVES AND KEEPS PLAYOFF HOPES ALIVE DEFEATING DENVER 14-12". LFL360.com. June 29, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
- Mortaza, Mitchell (September 24, 2018). "LFL, STATE OF THE LEAGUE 2018". LFL360.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.