Battle Creek Crunch

The Battle Creek Crunch were a professional indoor football team based in Battle Creek, Michigan. The team was a charter member of the Great Lakes Indoor Football League joining the league in 2006 as an expansion team. The Crunch were the first professional indoor football team to be based in Battle Creek. The Crunch were owned by Mike Powell. They played their home games at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Michigan.

Battle Creek Crunch
Established 2005 Folded 2006 Played in Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Michigan
Battle Creek Crunch logo
League/conference affiliations
Great Lakes Indoor Football League (2006)
Team colors	Black, Orange, White
Cheerleaders	Illegal Motion
Personnel
Owner(s)	Mike Powell
General manager	Mike Powell
Head coach	Bob Kubiak
Team history
Battle Creek Crunch (2006)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Playoff appearances (1)
2006
Home arena(s)
Kellogg Arena (2006)

Franchise history

The Crunch were announced to the City of Battle Creek in September 2005 that they would begin play in 2006 as an expansion team in the newly formed Great Lakes Indoor Football League by owner and general manager, Mike Powell. On September 27, 2005 the team named Bob Kubiak as their head coach.[1] The Battle Creek Crunch office is officially open to the public on January 16.[2] In their first ever game, the Port Huron Pirates defeated the Crunch by the score of 62-22.[3] The team was also featured on ESPN.com, as writer Ted Kluck tried out for the team. He participated in the first game as a long snapper for two extra point attempts.[4] Kluck wrote a book called, Paper Tiger which captured the entire 2006 season from a player's prospective.[5] Despite the team's lackluster 4-6 record, the team qualified for the playoffs as the league's 4th and final seed. The team was eliminated from the playoffs by the Port Huron Pirates by a score of 74-3. Despite the team's struggles on and off the field, Eric Gardner was named the inaugural GLIFL Defensive Back of the Year.

2006 GLIFL standings

2006 Great Lakes Indoor Football League
Team	W	L	T	PCT
Port Huron Pirates-y	10	0	0	1.000
Rochester Raiders-x	7	3	0	.700
Lehigh Valley Outlawz-x	5	5	0	.500
Battle Creek Crunch-x	4	6	0	.400
Marion Mayhem	4	6	0	.400
New York/New Jersey Revolution	0	10	0	.000

Even though they hoped to play in 2007, financial troubles and the forming of the Kalamazoo Xplosion marked the end of the Crunch's only year of existence.[6][7]

Logos

The team name refers to Battle Creek's position as the corporate headquarters of the Kellogg's cereal company. The tiger in the logo is derivative of Tony the Tiger.

Players of note

Roster

Battle Creek Crunch roster
Quarterbacks 14 Ken Kubiak  7 Tim Kubiak Running backs  2 Chesaurae Rhodes Wide receivers  4 Richard Gills 15 Brian Wright		Offensive linemen 61 Kyle Lacksheide -- Chris Gillette Defensive linemen 37 Anthony Allsbury 87 Chris Montgomery 92 Harry Petaway Linebackers 25 Ted Kluck		Defensive Backs  1 Shawn Blackmon 10 Eric Gardner 27 Herb Haygood  5 L. J. Parker  6 Chris Roberson Kickers 18 Brent Selent		Injured reserve Currently vacant Exempt list Currently vacant Practice squad Currently vacant Rookies in italics updated June 24, 2006 18 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 PS

[8]

Awards and honors

The following is a list of all Battle Creek Crunch players who won GLIFL awards.

Season	Award	Player	Position
2006	Defensive Back of the Year	Eric Gardner	WR/DB

Coaches of note

Name	Term	Regular season				Playoffs		Awards
		W	L	T	Win%	W	L
Bob Kubiak	2006	4	6	0	.400	0	1

Season-by-season results

League Champions

Conference Champions

Division Champions

Wild Card Berth

League Leader

Season	Team	League	Conference	Division	Regular season				Postseason results
					Finish	Wins	Losses	Ties
2006	2006	GLIFL				4	6	0	Lost GLIFL semifinals (Pirates) 3–74
Totals						4	6	0	All-time regular season record (2006)
						0	1	-	All-time postseason record (2006)
						4	7	0	All-time regular season and postseason record (2006)

References

1. "Battle Creek Crunch announce first Head Coach". September 28, 2005. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
2. "Crunch News and Notes - January". January 16, 2006. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
3. Randy Snow (April 8, 2006). "Crunch Lose Opener to Pirate". Retrieved March 26, 2012.
4. Ted Kluck. "A day in mini-camp". Retrieved March 26, 2012.
5. Paper Tiger:One Athlete's Journey to the Underbelly of Pro Football. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
6. "None". Archived from the original on 2012-04-15.
7. "None".
8. "Quest for Great Lakes Bowl I - Battle Creek Crunch Season Preview". March 28, 2006. Retrieved March 26, 2012.