Coventry Jets
The Coventry Jets were an American football team based in Coventry, England.The club ceased to exist in 2018 and dropped out of the BAFA National Leagues with all club assets and teams being moved over to the Etone Jaguars based in Nuneaton, Warwickshire.
The Jets were first established and named as the Bears in 1985 and merged in 1991 with the Walsall Titans. After a couple other name changes the Jets were reformed in 2004 and have competed in six BAFANL bowl games, including four consecutive BritBowl appearances from 2007 to 2010 and a BritBowl championship in 2008.
History
Origins
The first American football team in Coventry was the Warwickshire Bears, who were formed in February 1984 by two local men with assistance from the head coach of a United States Air Force team located at RAF Chicksands. The Bears played their inaugural season in the Midland Division of the British American Football League, recording only one regular-season victory. However, the Bears were more successful in friendly games, with their best result coming when they travelled to London to take on the undefeated and eventual Summer Bowl finalist Streatham Olympians and won 26–0. In 1986, the Bears played in and won the Anglo Conference Central Division with an 8–2 record, including a BAFL record 100–0 victory over the Black Country Nailers. The Bears also hosted a Norwegian team, the Oslo Trolls, losing by one point on the last kick of the game. The following year, in an effort to improve their overall talent level, the Bears merged with the Milton Keynes team and formed the CMK Bucks. However, the merger did not work, and the team folded losing a lot of talent to neighbouring teams, such talent as Von Sheppard who played for the Titans from 1988–1990.The team was reformed as the Coventry Bears, and at the end of the 1990 season they completed a successful merger with the Walsall Titans and formed to become the. The Jaguars imported two American players; quarterback Travis Hunter from East Carolina University and tight end Craig Otto from the University of Minnesota. The influx of talent led to the Jaguars finishing 10–0 in 1991 and winning the National Division Managements Association Division II Coca-Cola Bowl. They also had a notable win over the Upper Heyford Sky Kings, a United States Air Forces in Europe team and reigning USAFE champions.
In 1992, Hunter left the Jaguars for the rival Birmingham Bulls, but Mark Cohen, who would also play in NFL Europe, joined the Jaguars. They once again defeated the Sky Kings, this time on their airbase, but the Jaguars' lost to the Kent Mustangs in the league semi-finals, and then narrowly lost to the defending champion Bulls in the third place game.
The Jaguars played in the NDMA Division I during the 1993 season, with games against the Birmingham Bulls, the Glasgow Lions, the Nottingham Hoods, the Leicester Panthers, the Northants Storm and the London Olympians. Expectations were high for the Jaguars, as they had signed quarterback and former Cleveland Browns draft pick Clemente Gordon, line-backer Steve Donlin from the Toronto Argonauts and head coach Bruno Waldner who was a former assistant with the Minnesota Vikings. However, the Jaguars lost their first game, 14–6, at the Bulls and would then lose 44–8 at home against the reigning champion Olympians. Gordon and Donlin both returned to the United States so the Jaguars had to use an untried quarterback Jamie Kilby for the last part of the season. The Jaguars then suffered additional key losses throughout the season, which led to the team folding at the end of the season.
Formation and inaugural season
In 2003, American football returned to Coventry when former Jaguars and Bulls quarterback Jamie Kilby had the idea to resurrect the Coventry Jaguars team. Gerry McManus, and former Jaguars and Bulls player Jon McNulty, joined Kilby in recruiting coaches for the team. They were successful in recruiting former player Paul Newey, and brought Dave Cowan and Karl Burgess out of retirement. They also recruited four players from the Loughborough Aces, a local British Universities American Football League team. Two American running backs also joined Coventry the team.The rest of the team was made up of local rookie players, however the Jaguars were competitive against all of their opponents in their inaugural season. In the Jaguars' first ever game, they lost 13–7 to the Oxford Saints and scored in all but one game. Throughout the season, the Jaguars recruited more players. American import Quarterback Tim Spaull replaced Kilby, and wide receiver Mark Cohen returned to Coventry after a prior stint with the original Jaguars as well as NFL Europe. The season highlights included: the team's first touchdown, which was fittingly scored by Jon McNulty on a completed pass from Jamie Kilby; a game against the South Wales Warriors, where they lost 60–32 but set a team record for highest combined score; and that the Jaguars had three players on the Great Britain national American football team roster when they qualified for the 2005 European Championship of American football.
After the Jaguar's first season, it was clear that progress needed to be made on the field. Off the field, however, the team was already quite successful. They led the league in attendance with an average of 500 spectators, secured sponsorships from Coventry Aquatics and Fitness First, and were gaining media attention.
During the offseason, the Jaguars rebranded as the Coventry Jets when it was announced that a Jaguar car plant in Coventry would be closing. While the team had no association with the Jaguar car brand, they wanted to distance themselves from the controversy. The Jets name was chosen to honour Sir Frank Whittle who lived in the city and invented the jet engine.
2005 season
In 2005, the Jets signed many new players including national team running backs Steve Coles and Tony Perkins and national team quarterback Adam Lane. John and Lester Hopewell, both offensive guards, upgraded the offensive line and brought with them the experience of playing in Eurobowl with the Bergamo Lions. Defensively the Jets upgraded all areas. Bernie Hacksaw and Paul Rickhuss arrived on the defensive line, an area of concern the previous year with many linemen playing both ways. The Jets benefited from the unfortunate end of Nene Valley Hybrids and picked up line-backers Steve Booth and Gary Royer and defensive back Wayne Gumbs, all of whom played a major role during the season. More players arrived from Loughborough Aces and local BUAFL team Warwick Wolves. The newly opened Butts Arena became the Jets home stadium for the season.The team won every match they played in 2005, and nearly went the entire season without conceding a point until during the final game Norwich Devils QB Lance Buckingham hit WR Ben Green on a deep ball which went for a TD, the Jets however went 10–0, breaking several records on the way. In the playoffs, the Jets played the Dundee Hurricanes, beating a spirited squad 35–0. This set up a huge semi-final clash against the West Coast Trojans, the most anticipated game of 2005. In front of 1500 people, the Jets drew first blood, returning the opening kick-off for a touchdown. The Trojans replied straight away, working their way downfield with GB Lions WR Mark Squire scoring. This was the only time they threatened the Jets end zone. The Trojans defence were manhandled by the Jets front five; RBs Coles and Perkins found huge holes in the Trojans defence. Quarterback Spaull had all the time he needed to pick apart their secondary, finding GB Lions pair Cohen and Tam Byrne for TDs before half time, the Jets leading 41–7. The Trojans were done, they were beaten by a combination of aggression, power, speed and skill. QB McNey was sacked nine times in the first half alone. The game finished 55–7, the Jets rotating the whole squad and easing up in the second half. Their win meant that they were promoted for the 2006 season. They had one goal left, however, the division championship against the Kent Exiles, also undefeated.
The Jets started nervously but got the first score on the board, QB Spaull finding Cohen. After that, the Exiles took control of the game, scoring 20 unanswered points and looking odds on to win. Angry at trailing 20–7 at the half, a spirited fightback from the Jets looked to have swung the game in their direction, taking the lead 24–20 but a bomb from Exiles' QB Matt Duncan beat the coverage and put Kent up 26–24. On the following KO, however, Tony Perkins returned the ball all the way, not only sealing a memorable 30–26 win for the Jets but the MVP trophy in what will go down as one of the best finals in Britball history.
2006 season
was another brilliant season for the Jets. To begin, they secured a major headline sponsor, international property development company Cassidy Group, who had just become the main sponsors of Coventry City FC and the Coventry Blaze. Their support helped the club to realise the full potential of the sport in Coventry. Again the club attracted arguably some of the best British players in the BAFL to Coventry. The signings of Jeremy Simms, Will White, Mick Mills Neil Edwards and Mike Dunson sent shockwaves through the league and made the Jets the team to beat. They were joined by former Sioux Falls Cougar QB Joe Wright and former St. Ambrose Fighting Bee Centre Kurt Gersch. Links were also established with local BUAFL team Leicester Longhorns. Defensive end Andy Steadman, LB Xin Xu and WR Nathan Dobson signed for the Jets; all played their part in the team's success.In preseason, the Jets travelled to Bergamo, Italy for a weekend training camp. Their hosts for the camp were the Bergamo Lions, perennial Italian Super Bowl champions and three-time Eurobowl winners. There was a joint training session and a controlled scrimmage. This was a tough test for the Jets. Bergamo boasted a roster with 17 North American players with NCAA or Canadian Interuniversity Sport experience and were led by former BYU QB Kevin Feterik. It was also while the Jets were in Italy that links were made with New Zealand's Papatoetoe Wildcats. Their attention now turned to the upcoming league season.
Opening against Staffordshire Surge, the Jets won 39–0 in difficult conditions. Next up were local rivals Birmingham Bulls. The Bulls were a division above the Jets and came into the game full of confidence. However, the Jets were just too powerful for the Bulls, and won 27–0. After this they registered back to back 10–0 seasons. The Kent Exiles stood before the Jets in the BAFL Div 1A semi final. There was no repeat of the 2005 Div 2 Final—the Jets destroyed Kent 63–18. In the final, they met the Bristol Aztecs, who had overcome Ipswich 20–7. RB Tony Perkins took the ball down the field for a TD on the opening drive. The Jets scored three TDs in the first quarter alone. The game finished 52–20 securing promotion to BAFL Div 1.