2012 Cougars Strong As Ever
The Kenosha Cougars have been enjoying their off season preparing for 2012 at a casual pace. Where most teams have been actively recruiting and practicing, off time has been a vital ingredient to the Cougars to keep the passion alive. The silence from the Cougars, has created tons of rumors throughout the league of how many players were actually returning which this article will hopefully clear up as well as describe what’s ahead.
The first team meeting, of the off season, arrived with a bang. 14 new recruits showed up ready for the season ahead, and 10 others that had prior work commitments that didn’t allow them to attend. This included 4 players from other teams in the GFL and 6 others from semi-pro teams in different leagues. Probably the most impressive part of the meeting was the spread of positions and prior experience. They showed huge promise for a repeat season with hopefully better results in the post season, with the Cougars just shy of a second championship and tying the second best record in the league’s history (9-1 regular season with a 2-1 post season – both losses to the 4 time Champions, Lake Shore Lynx).
Onto the schedule… The new arrangement of conferences will make for the most interesting year ever. The Cougars will no longer be part of the American Conference. The National Conference will consist of the most established teams to include:
Chicago Chaos - Kenosha Cougars - Kenosha Sabers - Lake County Cowboys - Lake Shore Lynx - Racine Gladiators - Racine Rampage - South Milwaukee Rage - Wilmot Phoenix
Of this conference the Cougars have been deemed as one of the 3 tier one teams (top rated in the league in 2011) and will therefore play teams from only the National League. This will leave two games to play a team twice at which will be the Lynx and the Cowboys. Obviously a very competitive schedule and one that every player of all teams involved look forward to.
The tier 2 teams (teams with winning records) will play one team twice and one American Conference team once.
The tier 3 teams (bottom National teams in 2011) will play 8 games in the National Conference and 2 in the American Conference.
The 3 preseason games have been scheduled for 2012:
April 27th – Cougars @ Jefferson Scorpions – Jefferson Scorpions will be hosting the Cougars in the first preseason of the year. Time is set for an 8pm start. With the Scorpions in a different conference this year, this will be the teams’ only chance at a matchup. In 2011 this game became one of the hardest hitting games of the year and nothing is to show that it will be otherwise this time around.
May 4th – South Milwaukee Rage @ Cougars – The Cougars will be hosting the South Milwaukee Rage. This matchup was originally scheduled for last year but due to last second schedule changes, this rivalry was never able to be played. The Cougars are 1-1 in regular season play against the Rage. We lost to the Rage in 2009 but regained ourselves in 2010 with a win in the regular season and in the playoffs.
May 11th – Cougars @ Kenosha Sabers – The Cougars and Sabers will be playing their 6th annual preseason game. A year cannot begin without this matchup. Where the Cougars and Sabers have not been typically rivals, per the sense of the word, this is a matchup that both teams look forward to every year and it shows. This preseason game has always brought the best football out of both teams to start the year off on the right foot.
Now to address the long awaited “damage” to the Kenosha Cougars Roster. 21 of its original 29 will be returning, with 2 more that still may return for a grand total of 23 of the original 29. Of the 8 players not returning, 3 have decided to move on to different teams and the rest moved on for retirements (still pending official retirements) or career related reasons. This is actually below the average annual loss of players (10). In the 2010-2011 offseason the Cougars lost 14 players alone, with none playing for a different team. The dedication of the veteran players and new recognition in the Lake County/Kenosha County area, have helped this team recruit more talent than it’s ever had in the past. 2nd year players, like Derek Gardner, Joe Hourieh, Deshawn Oliver, and Tony Storniolo have shown their level of talent and more importantly leadership that the Cougars need to win their second Championship. The Cougars are confident that 2012 will show the same level for its new recruits.
The Cougars would like to thank its 8 players and wish them the best of luck in the futures endeavors!
John Cole – RB – Navy orders to Iraq
Adrian Abbott – RB – Shoulder Injury that may result in surgery. TBD (will be still involved in coaching, worst case scenario but will eventually be returning)
Garrett Dailey – WR – Marine Corps orders (after moving from Reserves to Active Duty) to New Orleans
Joe Clark – DB – Free Agency to the Wilmot Phoenix
Jason Holland – LB – Free Agency to the Lake County Cowboys
Corey Williams – DE – Free Agency to the Lake County Cowboys
Chris Hinojosa – S/DB – Pending retirement
Pedro Irizarry – DE – Retirement
The roster is in the process of being updated but won’t be finalize until after the 2 day tryouts on February 5th and February 12th. Veteran’s practice will be held during the tryouts and will continue on February 26th. December and January will bring a few unofficial Cougar mini camps but the Cougars will be concentrating its efforts with its sole 3 time sponsor, Baker Street, on a Fund Raising event on January 21st to include the band Cannibal Galaxy that have graciously volunteered their time for the cause (time TBD). This event will raise funds for the Spinal Muscular Atrophy Foundation. More details to come within the next couple of weeks.
Other events the Cougars are working on include the 2nd annual Toy Drive. Drop locations for the toy drive are at Scamps Gymnastics, Twisted Cuisine and Baker Street. This toy drive will benefit Women and Children’s Horizons, an organization to help victims of domestic and sexual abuse get back on their feet. We continue to participate in the Special Olympics Wisconsin’s Annual Polar Plunge at Lake Andrea (February 11th). Visit our Polar Plunge team page to join or donate now! We will also be hosting the 2nd annual Bachelor Auction (April 28th tentatively) with proceeds going to the Boys and Girls Club of Kenosha.
Over $4000.00 and Christmas gifts were raised last year alone by the Cougars. With the dedication and passion of its current and potential new players, that this next season promises, the Cougars aim to hit their goal for over $6000.00 and make more of a difference in its community than ever before. Please standby for more regular updates as the season closes in!!!
