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Scunthorpe Alphas

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Scunthorpe Alphas
Founded2018; 6 years ago (2018)
LeagueBAFA National Leagues
DivisionNFC 1 North
LocationScunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England
StadiumQuibell Park Stadium
ColoursWhite Helmets
Navy Blue and White Jerseys
Navy Blue pants
White socks
Head coachAlex Robson
General managerWarwick Grosvenor
Division titles2022, 2024
Playoff berths2022, 2023, 2024

The Scunthorpe Alphas are an American football club based in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England that competes in the BAFA National Leagues NFC 1 North, the second tier of British American football. The club play their home games at Quibell Park Stadium and were formed in late 2018 by a consortium of coaches and former players who had previously played together at other local sides. In formation the Alphas became the second American football team to represent Scunthorpe following the Steelers who folded in 1990.[1]

History

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Associate process

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The Alphas were formed in 2018 by a consortium of coaches and former players who had previous links to the Sheffield Giants, Lincolnshire Bombers and Doncaster Mustangs, namely founding members Warwick Grosvenor, Alex Robson, Nick Tomaszewski, Mikey Gray and Iain Heron Stamp.[2]

The club had become the first team to represent Scunthorpe since the 'Scunthorpe Steelers' who folded in 1990.[3] The Alphas added American quarterback Derek Yenerall, formerly of Premier League team Bristol Aztecs to their roster for their debut season and played their first game against Etone Jaguars (formerly Coventry Jets) on the 3 August 2019, losing 16–12 in Nuneaton.[4] The Alphas brought American Football back to Quibell Park Stadium for the first time in 19 years when they hosted the Northants Knights on 15 September 2019, in attendance was a crowd of over 400 people.[5]

In February 2020 in preparation for their second season, the Alphas appointed former NCAA LSU Tigers player William Walker Jnr as their new Offensive Line coach. Walker had played under Louis Oubre at McDonogh High School and alongside future NFL players Joe McKnight and Delvin Breaux.[6]

Division Two

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The Alphas were made full BAFA members in October 2020. BAFA representative Warren Smart commented "BAFA believes that General Manager (GM) Warwick Grosvenor, aided by Assistant GM Nick Tomaszewski and the Alphas management and coaching squad, has established a sustainable, dynamic and competitive club".[7]

The Alphas made their debut in part of the makeshift 2021 season, with BAFA announcing that the three-tier format would be suspended for one season and replaced by a localised division in order to minimize travel. Scunthorpe were placed in the BAFA Central East with the Nottingham Caesars, Lincolnshire Bombers, Northants Knights and South Lincs Lightning. The Alphas won their debut BAFANL game with a 10–3 victory over the Lincolnshire Bombers with Deivydas Merkelis scoring Scunthorpe's first ever League touchdown.[8]

In 2022 won they NFC 2 South with a 8–0 record before defeating Darlington Steam in the play-off quarter finals, which they won 23–6. The Alphas were eventually defeated in the semi-finals away at the Highland Stags in Invergordon losing 18–8, but were promoted to Division 1 for 2023 as the second placed team in the North.

Promotion to Division One

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In 2023 the Alphas started their regular season with a loss away at the Northumberland Vikings 24–13. The Alphas would go on to beat the Lancashire Wolverines, Darlington Steam and the Yorkshire Rams twice. The Alphas ultimately faltered at home to the Vikings 28–0. An 8–2 regular season in their first year in Division 1 would result in two consecutive playoff berths. The Alphas won their first Division 1 playoff game 23–13 away at the Glasgow Tigers on 20 August 2023 before being defeated by the Nottingham Caesars ending their Premier Division promotion bid.

In 2024 the club were re-aligned into the NFC 1 North with the Yorkshire Rams, Sheffield Giants, Chester Romans and the Humber Warhawks. Finishing with a 6-2 record they clinched the divisional title and secured a play-off game against Shropshire Revolution.

The Alphas have a regular season record of 16–2 over their first two official seasons in the league.

Youth team

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The Alphas introduced several levels of Youth team football in 2020 and in turn appointed former Great Britain Lions youth coach Richard Scott as their new U19 Head Coach. The Alphas will also run a U16 team with coaches Ryan McEntee and Patrick Galvin on board to work under coach Scott.[9]

In 2022, Scunthorpe Alphas saw the selection of 2 members of the Scunthorpe Alphas selected to represent the Great Britain U17s Team in LT Dominic Norbron and WR Jay Robinson.

Stadium

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Quibell Park Stadium

The Alphas play their home games at Quibell Park Stadium, the former home of the Steelers. Quibell Park is a purpose-built athletics and cycling velodrome stadium that has an American football field in the centre. The Alphas also use the adjacent field for practice making the Quibell Park complex their home for both training and match days.

Club Staff

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Role Name
Head Coach United Kingdom Alex Robson
Offensive Coordinator United Kingdom Nicholas Bagnall
Defensive Coordinator United Kingdom Alex Robson
Special Teams Coordinator United Kingdom Alex Robson
Offensive line coach United Kingdom Warwick Grosvenor
Defensive line coach United Kingdom Warwick Grosvenor
Assistant Offensive line coach United Kingdom Wayne Dempsey
Assistant Offensive line coach United Kingdom Lloyd Jones
Assistant Defensive line coach United Kingdom Joe Hickson
Running Backs Coach United Kingdom Owen Yarwood
Wide Receivers Coach United Kingdom Andy Bagnall
Linebackers Coach Poland Nick Tomaszewski
Performance Director United States Eric Biesel
U19 Head Coach United Kingdom Richard Scott
U16 Head Coach United Kingdom Warwick Grosvenor
U14/U11 Head Coach Antigua and Barbuda Cardin Smith
Team Physio United Kingdom Skye Sellars
Team Physio United Kingdom Chris Robinson
Medical Assistant United Kingdom Pauline Marsden
General Manager United Kingdom Warwick Grosvenor
Assistant General Manager Poland Nick Tomaszewski
Marketing Manager United Kingdom Dave Noble
Sponsorship Manager United Kingdom Dave Handley
Gameday Manager United Kingdom Hannah Goodley-Jones
Assistant Gameday Manager United Kingdom Justine Robson
Equipment Officer United Kingdom Dave Handley
Club Photographer United Kingdom Mike Dixon
Club Videographer United Kingdom Patrick Axe
Gameday Commentator United Kingdom Jay Robinson
Gameday Commentator United Kingdom Mikey Gray
Gameday Commentator United Kingdom Charlie Wilson

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Current Roster

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Scunthorpe Alphas training at night

Quarterbacks

  • 6: United Kingdom Lewis Colver
  • 7: United Kingdom Mike Sison
  • 13: United Kingdom Reece Page
  • 15: United Kingdom Will Swales

Running backs

  • 1: United Kingdom Jack Paddison
  • 14: United Kingdom Jamal Alvaranga
  • 21: United Kingdom Nathaniel Wyse
  • 30: United Kingdom Leyton Gower
  • 33: Poland Sacha Lukianczuk
  • 40: United Kingdom Amit Singh

Wide receivers

  • 8: United Kingdom Adam Woodall
  • 9: United Kingdom Lewis Truman
  • 17: United Kingdom Ryan Wakeling
  • 81: United Kingdom Matthew Hill
  • 88: United Kingdom TJ Bhunu

Tight ends

  • 10: United Kingdom Andy Bagnall
  • 84: United Kingdom Thomas Noon
  • 87: United Kingdom Daniel Walker
  • 89: United Kingdom Dan Coombe

Offensive line

  • 60: United Kingdom Dave Handley
  • 62: United Kingdom George Fear
  • 64: United Kingdom Joe Bradley
  • 65: United Kingdom Dave Noble
  • 70: United Kingdom Robert Beynon
  • 72: United Kingdom Martin Brearley
  • 73: United Kingdom Dominic Norbron
  • 74: United Kingdom Toby Wilcock
  • 75: United Kingdom Jacob Brown
  • 77: United Kingdom Thomas Brunt
  • 78: United Kingdom Sam Troth
  • 79: United Kingdom Cam Dwyer

Defensive line

  • 43: United Kingdom Sean Kirkwood
  • 45: United Kingdom Denzel Boye
  • 50: United Kingdom Laurence Lowish
  • 54: United Kingdom Ollie Dixon
  • 55: United Kingdom Steve Sowerby
  • 68: United Kingdom Lucy Clelland
  • 90: United Kingdom Joe Hickson
  • 91: United Kingdom Ezra Paxman
  • 92: United Kingdom Cameron Belk
  • 94: United Kingdom Daniel Ogungbangbe-Thomas
  • 95: United Kingdom Kallum Shaw
  • 96: United Kingdom Anthony Hamilton
  • 97: United Kingdom Alex Irving
  • 99: United Kingdom Jack Marshall

Linebackers

  • 3: Poland Nick Tomaszewski
  • 5: United Kingdom Nick Guerra
  • 11: Antigua and Barbuda Cardin Smith
  • 28: Mexico Joseph Canseco
  • 44: United Kingdom Charlie Wilson
  • 11: Poland Radek Zawisza
  • 57: United Kingdom Jordan Smith
  • 59: Netherlands Sam Hens

Defensive backs

  • 2: United Kingdom Callum Deans
  • 12: United Kingdom Michael Green
  • 20: United Kingdom Nathaniel Peck
  • 24: United Kingdom Gaz Hughes
  • 25: United Kingdom Ash Scott
  • 26: United Kingdom Eli Roberts
  • 27: United Kingdom Archie Bange
  • 31: United Kingdom Luke Truman
  • 34: United Kingdom Sean Bedford
  • 42: United Kingdom Alex Bruce
  • 49: United Kingdom Alex Gorringe

Season records

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Season League Level Regular Season Record Post Season Notes
Wins Losses Ties
2019 BAFANL Associate Process 4 0 5 0 All games Exhibitions to gain BAFANL entry
2020 BAFANL Associate Process 4 0 0 0 Season cancelled due to COVID-19 Pandemic
Achieved BAFANL status
2021 BAFANL Central East Division 3 5 0 Exhibition season due to COVID-19 Pandemic
2022 BAFANL NFC2 South (Division 2) 3 8 0 0 1–1 Divisional champions, Promoted to Division 1
2023 BAFANL NFC1 Central (Division 1) 2 8 2 0 1-1 Divisional runners-up, Beaten in Play-off semi-finals
2024 BAFANL NFC1 North (Division 1) 2 6 2 0 1-0 Divisional champions
Total 25 14 0 All-time regular season record

Honours

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References

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  1. ^ "Britball Remembered: The Scunthorpe Steelers". Ninety-Nine Yards: American Football. April 3, 2020.
  2. ^ "Scunthorpe's American Football team to play first game in nearly 30 years". Grimsbytelegraph.co.uk. August 2, 2019.
  3. ^ "After 20 years – American Football returns to Scunthorpe". Grimsbytelegraph.co.uk. December 16, 2018.
  4. ^ "Scunthorpe Alphas American Football". Facebook.com.
  5. ^ "Log into Facebook". Facebook.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  6. ^ "Former player from USA who played with NFL athletes joins Scunthorpe Alphas". Grimsbytelegraph.co.uk. February 14, 2020.
  7. ^ "Scunthorpe Alphas confirmed as full members of BAFA National Leagues | News | British American Football Association". Archived from the original on 2020-10-23. Retrieved 2020-10-20.
  8. ^ "Scunthorpe Alphas American Football : about 4 months ago". Facebook.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  9. ^ "Scunthorpe Alphas American Football - #Youth | The Scunthorpe Alphas are delighted to announce our new under 19's head coach, Richard Scott. Richard joins the Alphas with a wealth experience coaching at youth level, having coached some of the best players across the country when he coached Great Britain's under 19's. Richard also spent time coaching Farnham Knight's under 17 and 19', respectively. Having overseen a number of Alphas first team sessions, Richard has spoken of his excitement towards joining the Alphas and why he wanted to be a part of the setup. Richard said: "The Alphas are a great organisation. Even in my short time with the team I can see the potential. It's amazing to feel so welcome and I can't wait to get started with this project." Working alongside current Alphas coaches, Richard will oversee our youth team as we aim to develop high character and highly skilled Football players into the university and senior level, as well as building a pathway through the organisation. He added: "My personal goal is always about developing kids, not only into good football players but good people. Anyone with the right attitude and work ethic can get better as a football player. There is always a place on the team for anyone provided they respect the team and teammates." The Alphas will hold a taster day for prospective players in February 2021. We will provide all newcomers with equipment, along with our official kit to try on. The session will be an introduction to the sport, with coaches from different position groups for our prospective players to work with. If you, or anyone who you know, may be interested in joining the Alphas youth team, you can get in touch with us here. #BeAlpha #ScunthorpeAlphasYouth #AlphasFootball #IYBIWC #FastBoatFootball #WeReady #ExpectUs #Scunthorpe #NorthLincolnshire #AmericanFootball #Sport #PoweredByBeSpunki 💙🐺 | Facebook". Facebook.com. Retrieved 14 November 2021.
  10. ^ "Scunthorpe Alphas American Football". Facebook.com.
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