Difference between revisions of "Sarasota Sailfish"
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Revision as of 11:01, 28 March 2024
| Sarasota Sailfish | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Current season | |||
First season: 2037 Sarasota Sailfish season Play in and headquartered in The ??? Sarasota, Florida | |||
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| League/conference affiliations | |||
NSFL (2037–present)
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Current uniform
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| Team colors | Blue, Green & White | ||
| Mascot | Sebastian the Sailfish | ||
| Personnel | |||
| General manager | Mojojojo (Mojojojo) | ||
| Team history | |||
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| Championships | |||
| League championships (1) | |||
Conference championships (1)
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Division championships (1)
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| Playoff appearances (13) | |||
| Home fields | |||
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The Sarasota Sailfish is a professional American football franchise based in Sarasota, Florida. The Sarasota Sailfish currently compete in the International Simulation Football League (ISFL) as a member club of the league's National Simulation Football Conference (NSFC) which currently only has one division. The franchise was established in 2037 (S22) in the league's third expansion. They were the first of their expansion pairing of franchises to win an Ultimus Bowl, in 2042 (S27).
Contents
History
The Sarasota Sailfish were founded after the historically large Developmental Simulation Football League Draft going into the 2037 (S22) season. Their founding general manager Bailey Cook used the first overall selection in the expansion draft to grab wide receiver Dexter Banks II; who would eventually convert to be their quarterback of the future. Meanwhile in the Season 22 ISFL Draft they traded the second overall selection and did not make their pick until 20th overall where they selected Cuco Clemente. They were also able to get pro bowlers Haha Mango-Panda, James Angler, Ragnar Rok, and Jacob Small in the massive draft.
The season got off to a good start for the expansion team as despite playing three consecutive road games to start the season the team went 2-2 to keep themselves in it. The middle of the season was not as kind as they went just 1-3 and lost just about any hope of a playoff berth. However a trade for quarterback Rose Jenkins before week nine saw them go 3-2 over the last five weeks of the season for a 6-7 record that just got them into the playoffs. They were knocked out in the first round by the eventual Ultimus Bowl XXII winners the Colorado Yeti 36-14, but the fact that they succeeded in making the playoffs in their first season of existence was considered a success by management. Unfortunately before the Ultimus it was announced that star safety Ragnar Rok had declared his retirement which left the team with an extra hole going into the next season.
After the massive draft class that brought them into existence things returned to normal in terms of draft class size as the draft before the 2038 (S23) season was just a third the size of the one that preceded it. Still the Sarasota Sailfish were able to capitalize with two first round selections that saw them get defensive rookie of the year Son Goku and fulfill their need at safety with Raphael d'Alcott. Combined with Dexter Banks II's position change and the Sarasota Sailfish planned to be in the playoffs once again.
Things did not go according to play to start th season though as they went just 2-3 over teh first five weeks; including a brutal loss to the Baltimore Hawks of 40-7 in Baltimore. The middle of the season was not much better as they went just 2-3 over the following five weeks, although with a win against their fellow expansion team the Honolulu Hahalua. They were able to get things in order though for the end of the season though as they finished with a 4-2 stretch including a 34-20 win to make up for their earlier loss to the Baltimore Hawks. Their 8-8 record left them fifth in their conference though and saw them miss the playoffs for the first time in their history.
2039 (S24) signaled changes for the franchise at the helm, as founding General Manager Bailey Cook stepped down to be replaced by Edmund “Mundl” Sackbauer. In the Season 24 ISFL Draft the Sailfish had the 4th overall pick and used it on Defensive Lineman Harrison Andrews, who they soon turned into a cornerback for their team. Aswell as Andrews they picked up some other roster pieces, including quarterback of the future Mike Boss Jr., son of Hall of Famer Mike Boss. All in all the season was shaping up to be another promising one for the young franchise.
The regular season got off to a very promising start for the team, where they racked up six consecutive wins before finally suffering their first defeat to the New Orleans Second Line in Week 7, a 22-13 loss in which they conceded 22 unanswered points after scoring the first 13 of the game. The team went on to lose just 3 more games that season, ending the regular season with a dominant 47-13 victory in Chicago against the Butchers to round their record out to a franchise best 12-4, good only for the second seed in their division. The Sailfish managed to defeat a week Butchers team in the first round of the playoffs 24-17 to pick up their first ever franchise playoff win, before bowing out of the postseason at the hands of the Yeti in the Conference Championship Game. Despite the loss, a first playoff win was a promising sign for the Sailfish. Another positive for the team was quarterback Dexter Banks II picking up the ISFL Offensive Player of the Year Award.
Off the back off their best season to date, the team had high hopes going into 2040 (S25). The draft that season was a remarkably large one, and the team used their 1st round pick, 12th overall, on Cornerback “lil” Peter Patterson. They also managed to pick up future Pro Bowler Teddy Utterstruzen in the 5th round. Retaining most of the roster that season, losing only established Defensive Tackle Big Edd midway through the season, but gaining wideout Tre’Darius J’Vathon and Defensive Tackle Sigismund Sternenstaub in the process, the team was feeling pretty confident heading into the regular season.
The season however, started off very poorly for them as they lost 5 of their opening 7 games that season, picking up wins against just the Chicago Butchers, and the newly formed Berlin Fire Salamanders, an expansion franchise. They rallied though, and managed to win all 9 of their remaining games. Their 11-5 record, similar to last season, was only good for second in the division. This meant that the team once again lacked a first round bye in the playoffs, something they had never achieved. In the first game of the postseason it was the Butchers coming to town to play them, and despite being at home it was the Sailfish sent packing, falling out of the playoffs by a score of 27-20. A silver lining for the franchise however, was long time quarterback Dexter Banks II winning his first ISFL Most Valuable Player Award in his final season with the team before retirement.
2041 (S26) only saw them strengthen as the team managed to pick up former DPOTY linebacker Derred de Ville, who had left the Baltimore Hawks in free agency. The Season 26 ISFL Draft saw them pick up defensive end Demon Jaxson at 10th overall as well as future DSFL MVP LeBron James III, along with a couple of other young talents to help strengthen their youth ranks in the developmental league, where they had a bright future. The only issue for the team was starting a young rookie at quarterback in Mike Boss Jr., an issue which they looked to overcome.
The regular season saw them open out to a hot start, winning 5 of their opening 6 games, with the only loss being a 27-15 defeat to the Colorado Yeti. This form quickly turned though as they managed to win just 3 of their final 10 games of the season landing them with a .500 record. Luckily for them however, 8-8 was just barely enough for them to scrape into the playoffs, thanks to tiebreakers. They won their first round matchup against the Butchers by just a singular point, but lost out 24-22 in the a Conference Championship Game]], to the eventual Ultimus winning Yellowknife Wraiths.
The team was still on the hunt for success going into 2016 (S), and the Season 27 ISFL draft only looked to strengthen those chances, as they drafted Running Back Giovanni Bianchi, wideout Joseph Radetzky, plus a handful of other promising young prospects. The team had also made some trade moves, picking up former 1st round pick and Defensive End Ernest Lover from the Baltimore Hawks, in exchange for their first round pick that season, and a handful of lesser picks.
The team got off to a rough start with their tough schedule, losing 2 of their first 4 to the Yellowknife Wraiths in Yellowknife, and against the Chicago Butchers. Once their schedule calmed down somewhat though, the team really hit their stride and only lost 2 more that entire season. Their 12-4 record was good for not only top of their conference, but the league as a whole. The Sailfish were getting their first ever playoff bye as a franchise and headed straight to the a Conference Championship Game. In the NSFC Championship the Sailfish made light work of the Colorado Yeti, beating them 47-27 to send them to their first ever Ultimus game, to be played against the New Orleans Second Line. When there they did not waste the opportunity. With Touchdowns from Mike Boss Jr., Tre’Davius J’Vathon, Demon Jaxson and Running Back, they took home their first ever Ultimus Trophy in a 34-10 victory.
Off the back of the biggest victory in franchise history, the Sailfish were as optimistic as ever going into 2043 (S28), and did well to strengthen their already strong roster with more depth in the Season 28 ISFL Draft, with picks such as Stumpy Jones in the second round and Saleem Spence in the third. The team started the season off mediocrely, going 2-2 in their first 4 games with losses coming at the hands of the Chicago Butchers and Berlin Fire Salamanders. However this mediocrity did not last long as in Week 5 Sarasota went to Philadelphia and blew out the Liberty 69-14, scoring 9 touchdowns. This set them off on a nice winning streak as they won their next four games before losing again in Week 10 to the Berlin Fire Salamanders by a margin of just 2 points. They managed to steady themselves again and win their next three, but finished the season out very poorly with losses in weeks 13,15 and 16, including a crushing defeat and the 1-14 Baltimore Hawks. The team had done just enough to clinch the third seed, but carried their poor end of season form into the postseason, losing in the first round 23-14 to the eventual champion Yellowknife Wraiths.
After the back of a poor playoff performance in their last game of the previous seasons the Sailfish had high hopes for the upcoming season despite losing franchise stalwart Derred de Ville in Free Agency, and, despite losing their first game of the season in Colorado to the Yeti, 26-23, these high hopes were proven to be justified, as they won their next six games before losing to the Otters at the halfway point in the season, week 8, to set up themselves up at 6-2 and looking good for the back half of the season. They would again in week 9 before winning 3 of their next 5 games, splitting the final two matchups of the season, losing to the Yeti and beating the Butchers, to set set themselves up with the third seed in the division, meaning no home field advantage in the postseason. This did not discourage the Sailfish in the divisional round however as they brushed the Yeti aside, 33-13, with running back Ichinose rushing for 123 yards and a TD. However this would be as far as the team would get, losing 23-20 in the Conference Championship Game to the Fire Salamanders with Boss Jr. throwing 2 interceptions, including a crucial pick 6 in the fourth quarter which would let Berlin back into the game. At the end of the season it would be announced GM sakrosankt would be stepping down, to be replaced by Mojojojo.
S29
With their first pick of the S29 Draft, the Sailfish would select Running Back John Huntsman from the Minnesota Grey Ducks. Huntsman would go on to become one of the most prolific in Sarasota’s history; rushing for 99 touchdowns, the most in the franchise, and finishing his career with the second most rushing yards for the organization with 8,879 rushing yards, behind Chizuru Ichinose. At pick #24 in the second round of the draft, the Sailfish would tap Offensive Lineman Keane Lover to make the trip down to Sarasota. Lover would feature on the frontline of the Sarasota offense from S30-S38, racking up 612 pancakes and only allowing 14 sacks throughout his entire career.
In the S29 Preseason, Sarasota would go 2-2. Convincing victories over Berlin (20-3) and Baltimore (27-7) showed promising signs for the season. Even in their defeats to Yellowknife and Colorado (25-22), the offense still managed to have over 400 yards of total offense. If the Sailfish could tighten up their defense, there was a good chance at a productive season.
The regular season would open against the Colorado Yeti away from home. Another three points would separate the Yeti and the Sailfish in this game. A shootout for the ages, both teams had over 370 passing yards. However, a field goal late in the fourth quarter by Colorado Kicker Lux Opal would seal the victory for the Yeti, beating the Sailfish 26-23 in the opening week of the season. Following their opening day defeat, the Sailfish would rally and go on a six game win streak in four of the six games, the Sarasota offense would put up over 400 yards of total offense with Quarterback Mike Boss Jr. completing 14 touchdown passes. Following their win streak, the Sailfish would ebb and flow over the rest of the season. They would go positive in Weeks 8-16, winning five of their nine games. Again, Sarasota would struggle with some of the better teams in their division, dropping games in the back half of the season to New York, Berlin, and Colorado who would all finish in the top two of their respective divisions. Despite the losses, Sarasota would finish the season third in their division with a record of 11-5, qualifying for the playoffs.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Sailfish would finally get revenge on the Yeti for their three defeats during the course of the season. They would wallop the Yeti, putting up 452 yards of total offense, finally getting their passing and rushing games firing on all cylinders when it mattered most. The Sarasota defense would also be active, holding the Yeti to just 32 rushing yards on the day and forcing an interception from Colorado Quarterback Mattathias Caliban. When the dust settled, the Sailfish would emerge with the victory, knocking the Yeti out of the playoffs winning the game 33-13. In the quarterfinals, the Sailfish would suffer an unfortunate and close defeat to the Berlin Fire Salamanders. Leading the game going into the fourth quarter, the Sailfish would go up 20-13 after a 34 yard field goal converted by Sarasota Kicker Jacob Small. When they needed to hang onto the ball the most, Sarasota would give up a pick six to Berlin Linebacker Adam Schell. After the interception, the tide of the game turned and Berlin was able to convert on a field goal of their own late into the fourth quarter to seal the victory 23-20 over the Sailfish before going on to lose to the Silverbacks (40-20) in the Ultimus.
S30
The Sailfish would look to build on their S29 season that saw them exit the playoffs in the Semifinals after a three point loss to the Berlin Fire Salamanders. Sarasota’s first draft pick would be Wide Receiver Calvin Hobbes who would later be converted to play Cornerback, Possessing a natural instinct for reading defenses and elite route running, the WR turned CB had the knowledge and skills necessary to go on and become a strong player in the Sailfish secondary for many seasons. In the third round, Sarasota was able to pick up Running Back Miracle Whip and LB dont draft. The latter, despite their name, would go on to have a great career with the Sailfish. He would make 1037 tackles over the course of his career with 70 TFLs, 83 sacks, and 16 interceptions. Miracle Whip, on the other hand, would make a switch to the Arizona Outlaws before finishing his career with Colorado as a linebacker. With their final pick of the draft, Sarasota would select RB Jimmy Nardello who would never feature for the Sailfsih.
Sarasota would start off the preseason strong with three wins in four games. Their sole loss in the preseason would come against the Honolulu Hahalua. The Sailfish would also lose the game by three points (34-31) in overtime to a field goal. With convincing wins over the Fire Salamanders (23-9), Outlaws (38-19), and the Otters (28-17) the Sailfish were poised to enter the season as one of the league favorites for the Ultimus.
The S30 regular season would start off with a hotly contested match deep in the Northwest Territories against the Yellowknife Wraiths. Sarasota would end the day with 100 fewer total yards of offense as the Wraiths were able to pick the Sailfish apart through the air and on the ground. However, the Sarasota defense was able to keep the Wraiths from getting into dangerous scoring positions, keeping the Fish in the game. Kicker Jacob Small was able to seal the game up with a 49 yard field goal with 23 seconds remaining in the game to see the Sailfish take an opening day victory over the Wraiths, 27-25. In the second week, Sarasota faced off against the Berlin Fire Salamanders, the team who had knocked them out of the playoffs in the season prior. In another close game, the Sailfish would end up falling to the Fire Salamanders after they scored twice in the last two minutes of the game to put them up by one point, dispatching the Sailfish 21-20. Following their two close games at the beginning of the season, the Sailfish would go on to win four of their next seven games. In two of their wins against the Baltimore Hawks in Week 3 and in Week 5 against the New Orleans Secondline, they would at least double their opponent’s scoring winning the games 48-21 and 28-10, respectively. The second half of the season is where the Sailfish began to solidify their run to the playoffs. In Weeks 9 -16, the Sailfish would only lose two games against the Arizona Outlaws and Berlin Fire Salamanders in Weeks 9 and 14. Following their solid second half of the season performance, the Sailfish would end the season atop the NSFC with a record of 11-5.
In the first round of the playoffs, Sarasota would come up against Colorado. Having beaten the Yeti twice in the regular season, hopes were high that the team could make it through the first round. Going into the fourth quarter, however, the Sailfish found themselves down 26-21. Late in the game, the team rallied and were able to drive down the field and score to open up the fourth quarter. On their next drive, Sarasota would hold Colorado to a field goal and make one of their own with 3:26 remaining in the game to go ahead by three points. Sarasota would again hold the Yeti and take back the ball before kneeling to run the time out. Sarasota would move on to the Semifinals, beating the Yeti 32-29. Next, the Sailfish would face the Fire Salamanders in a rematch of last season’s semifinals. The Fire Salamanders would hold the Sailfish to under 300 total yards of offense. Mike Boss Jr. struggled to get things going through the air, only passing for 150 yards and finding the endzone one time through WR Saleem Spence. Luckily, Running Back Chizuru Ichinose was at his best, rushing for 130 yards and scoring once as well. Sarasota would open the game with 27 points in the first half, holding the Fire Salamanders to 12. The third quarter was a low scoring affair with the Sailfish putting up the only points of the quarter through a converted 24 yard field. In the fourth quarter, things got hairy for the Sailfish with the Fire Salamanders forcing the second safety of the game and putting up 10 more points on top of it. The Sailfish were able to hold on onto the lead and fend off the Berlin offense, getting revenge for S29 and beating the Fire Salamanders 30-24.
Finally, Sarasota would come up against the Arizona Outlaws in the S30 Ultimus. On their way to the final, Arizona had beaten the Orange County Otters 28-9 and then shut out the New York Silverbacks 33-0 to secure their spot in the Ultimus. Arizona steamrolled their opposition, leaving many to wonder if the Sailfish could hold off their offense and if the Fish would stack up to the desert hardened Arizona defense. Chizuru Ichinose would open up the scoring for the Sailfish, converting on a two yard run just five minutes into the game. Mario Messi would find the endzone for the second score of the game, catching a one yard pass from Mike Boss Jr. to get the Sailfish 14 points clear of the Outlaws. Arizona would then put up their first points of the game through a field goal by Kicker Cade York. Sarasota would go into the locker room at the half leading the game 14-3. In the second half, both teams would trade a few punts before Sarasota was able to convert on another scoring opportunity. Jackson Kingston would beat his matchup on the line before catching a deep pass and getting into the endzone on a 64 yard pass. Early on in the first quarter, the Sailfish would convert on another field goal opportunity from 37 yards out. Arizona would get their first touchdown with three minutes to go through a five yard to WR Deadly Memes. On their next drive, Sarasota would run out the clock and claim a victory over the Arizona Outlaws, 27-10, to lift the Ultimus trophy of S30.
S31
Coming off an Ultimus Victory in S30, the Sarasota Sailfish would look to continue their streak of playoff appearances by strengthening their defense and locking down a new quarterback to take over for Mike Boss Jr. as he neared retirement. With the final pick of the first round, the Sailfish would select Safety Spike Daniels. A fan favorite, Daniels would be an ever present force in the Sarasota secondary. Eventually retiring in S42, Daniels would end his career with a 42-20 loss to eventual Ultimus Champions Baltimore. In his final game, he would wind the back clock with a Pick 6, four tackles, one PD, and a sack. He would pass the torch to Rookie Free Safety Spruce Willis to continue the legacy of dominant safeties for the Sailfish. With their second pick of the draft, Sarasota would select Quarterback Carter Knight. Knight would go on to have a great career with the Sailfish. A five times pro bowler, two time offensive player of the year, three time First Team All Pro, and two time NSFC Champion. Knight would set every passing record for Sarasota and will undoubtedly be a member of their Hall of Fame. Finally, the Sailfish would select Wide Receiver Devin Boateng from the Portland Pythons. He wouldn’t impress in his second season with the Pythons and as such, was never called up to the first team for the Fish.
The preseason would be an impressive one for the Sailfish. They would go 3-1, with their solitary loss coming in the first week of the preseason as they lost to Colorado away, 37-20. Despite the loss, Sarasota was able to put up more total offensive yards than Colorado. Even though their inefficiency in the red zone and two interceptions led to their defeat, there was still plenty to be excited about if the Sailfish were able to iron out the kinks in their game. In Preseason Week 2, it looked like Sarasota had figured out their game plan, shutting out Austin and beating them 32-0. The defense was remarkable, holding the Copperheads to just 159 yards of total offense and forcing two turnovers. On offense, the Sailfish were able to find a good balance, passing for 297 yards and rushing for 145. In Preseason Week 2, the Sailfish again had a stellar performance against the Philadelphia Liberty, beating them 44-27 in a game that saw Quarterback Mike Boss Jr. pass for 365 yards and five touchdowns. Wide Receiver Jackson Kingston would have 176 receiving yards on just five receptions, finding the endzone on two occasions. In their final preseason game, the Sailfish would take on the Orange County Otters away from home. While the passing attack was quite limited with Boss Jr. passing for just 218 and two touchdowns, the run game was firing on all cylinders. Rookie Running Back John Huntsman would rush for 105 and veteran Tre’Darius J’Vathon would pick up another 69 yards on the ground. While neither of them were able to find the endzone, they did get the team in position to score from advantageous field positions.
To open up the S31 regular season, the Sailfish would square off against the Yellowknife Wraiths in Fishnet Stadium. Again, the Sarasota offense was lethal. Mike Boss Jr. threw for 305 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Jackson Kingston and Saleem Spence would combine for over 200 receiving yards and a touchdown for both of them. Mario Messi would also find the endzone on one occasion. Tre’Darius J’Vathon would also rush for 77 yards and John Huntsman would add his first two regular season touchdowns to his score sheet.Over the first half the season, the Sailfish would go 5-3, outsourcing their opponents 247-171. Their most notable win would come against the Arizona Outlaws (41-24) in Week 7. The Sarasota defense was able to hold one of the most high powered offenses in the league to just 345 total yards while the Sailfish offense put up 482 of their own. The Outlaws’ rushing offense was completely nullified by Sarasota, as the Outlaws were only able to pick up 25 rushing yards on the day.
Week 9 was a matchup between the eventual ASFC division winning Austin Copperheads away from home. In the sweltering Texas heat, The Sailfish would only lose by two points, as the Copperheads beat them 21-19. While the loss was difficult to take, Sarasota was able to almost eke out a victory against one of the toughest defenses in the league and were only let down by the three interceptions thrown on the day. To close out the second half of the season, the Sailfish would again go 5-3 with a three game winning streak to close out the season, finishing the regular season 10-6 and qualifying for the playoffs. The defending champs run would be cut short in the Quarterfinals of the playoffs by the Chicago Butchers. While the Sailfish were still able rack up more total offensive yards than the Butchers, their two pronged offense would fall short with the running game only accounting for just 47 of the 357 total offensive yards. Sarasota would also give up the ball three times through two interceptions and a fumble; it could have been much worse as the Sailfish were able to fall on two additional fumbles to retain possession. Unable to stop the Chicao Butchers on their two offensive touchdowns of the day in the 3rd quarter, the Sailfish would drop out of the playoffs in the first round, losing to the Butchers 23-13 and leaving without the chance to defend their Ultimus title.
S32
Following another early exit from the playoffs at the hands of the Chicago Butchers, Sarasota would bolster their lineup in the S32 draft with first round pick, Running Back Rocky Rhoads. Rhoads would have a solid rookie year with Sailfish, scoring key touchdowns in the playoffs to beat the Fire Salamanders in the quarterfinals in S33. Unfortunately, Rhoades would retire due to personal reasons shortly thereafter. According to his teammates, Rocky was the goodest boy on the team. Always one to cheer up his teammates and push them to be their best, he was an incredible locker room presence beloved by the fans and players alike. He has been sorely missed by the team and fans since his retirement.
Next, the Sailfish would select Wide Receiver Troy Barnes from Tijuana Luchadores. Barnes would go on to have an interesting career with Sailfish, scoring 23 receiving touchdowns before switching to Offensive Line after S38. He would be a strong presence on the line before retiring in S43. Barnes would never allow more than two sacks in his career. Notably in S40, Barnes would have 110 pancakes and allow zero sacks, his best record in his time spent in the trenches. With their third and final pick of the draft, the Sailfish would again attempt to bolster their secondary by drafting Safety Abed Nadir. Like many other late round picks, Nadir would fizzle out of the league before making an appearance for the Sailfish.
Sarasota would start out the S32 Season with two wins and two losses in the Preseason. They dispatched the New Orleans Secondline (27-17) in their first matchup and beat the San Jose Sabercats (30-17) in their fourth and final preseason game. In Preseason Weeks 2 and 3, the Sailfish would drop a close game to Honolulu (28-25) and get beaten convincingly by the Fire Salamanders (45-27). The Sailfish opened the regular season with a three game losing streak with losses against the Colorado Yeti (28-13), Baltimore (37-31), and Philadelphia (26-21). Despite solid individual performances from the big names on the teams, the Sailfish were just not efficient enough in the redzone to take advantage of the close games. Most notably, in their Week 2 loss to Baltimore, their run defense was particularly weak. They would yield 135 yards and two touchdowns to Running Back Busch Goose and another 142 rushing yards to Dante King. Their first win would come against the Chicago Butchers in Week 4. The Sailfish defense would hold the Butchers to just 236 yards of total offense and completely shut down their running offense, only allowing 55 rushing yards on 19 attempts. While the Sailfish would beat their opponents by 23 points, they were unable to find the endzone through the air with Huntsman (1 TD) and J,Vathon (2 TDs) picking up the only scores of the game. Kicker Jacob Small would convert on all four of his field goal attempts to give the Sailfish 12 additional points. In Weeks 5-10, Sarasota would go 3-3 with solid victories over the eventual runner up Berlin Fire Salamanders (37-17) and a 49-20 win over Yellowknife in Week 7 that saw Quarterback Mike Boss Jr. throw for 298 yards and five touchdowns. Following this patch, the Sailfish would go on to win five games in a row before dropping one last game to the Wraiths in Week 16. Finishing the regular season 9-7 and third in the division, the Sailfish would find themselves facing off against divisional rivals Berlin in the Quarterfinals of the playoffs.
Having beaten the Salamanders handedly during the season, outsourcing them 61-27 over their two regular season games, fans and players alike expected the Sailfish to come out and beat the Fire Salamanders to move onto the semifinals. Unfortunately, the Sailfish would unexpectedly lose to Berlin 34-17. Throughout the season, Sarasota had struggled with defending the run game and would give up 137 yards on just 16 attempts to Running Back Goat Tank who would end up finding the endzone on two occasions. Berlin Quarterback Dexter Zaylren would also be extremely efficient; averaging 10.4 yards per reception and adding two passing touchdowns in addition to his 218 yards.
S33
After another disappointing exit in the first round following a defeat against the Berlin Fire Salamanders, the Sailfish would look to make a push further in the playoffs in the S33 Season. This would start with the S33 Draft. A smaller class than most, the Sarasota Sailfish would only have one pick in the draft and with their first round, ninth overall pick, they would select Cornerback King Zeus. The King of the Gods would be called up for his rookie debut in S33 and would end the regular season with 10 tackles, 10 passes defended, 3 sacks, and two forced fumbles. Zeus would go on to become a main feature in the secondary for the Sailfish for many years to come, almost 12 seasons later, the God is still going strong.
Season 33 would start off disappointingly with a 1-3 record in the preseason. The Sailfish would pick up a solitary victory against the Orange County Otters (31-20). Even though Quarterback Carter Knight was not at his best throwing three interceptions that day, the defense more than made up for it by holding the Otters to just 211 total yards of offense. Unfortunately, that defensive domination could not be found in the other weeks of the preseason as they were defeated by the Philadelphia Liberty (38-13), the Arizona Outlaws (27-24), and the Honolulu Hahalua (34-7) in Preseason Weeks 1, 2, and 4, respectively.
For the first regular season game of S33, the Sarasota Sailfish would travel to Chicago to take on the Butchers, who had also been eliminated in the first round of the playoffs the previous season. In this matchup, the Butchers would get the better of the Sailfish, eventually beating them 21-15. While Carter Knight was able to pass for 337 yards, he was only able to find Wide Receiver Jackson Kingston in the endzone one time and the Sailfish struggled to put up points outside of two field goals by Kicker Jacob Small and a safety forced by Ernest Lover on defense. Ultimately, their inefficiency would be their demise and the Butchers would hand the Sailfish their first loss of the season. Eager to prove the media wrong and show the fans that their playoff run last season wasn’t a fluke, the Sailfish would go on to win their next four games before losing to the Baltimore Hawks (34-21) in Week 6. In Week 4, the Sailfish would get their revenge on the Fire Salamanders by beating them 45-14 after being knocked out of the playoffs by them in the season prior. Running Back John Huntsman would rush for 102 yards on 26 attempts, finding the endzone on four separate occasions. The Sarasota Sailfish would also lock down the Fire Salamander offense, holding them to just 235 yards of total offense. Their pass defense was exceptional this game, holding opposing Quarterback Dexter Zaylren to just 151 passing yards.
After their loss to the Hawks, they would pick up two wins against Chicago and Honolulu before dropping their third regular regular season game to the Arizona Outlaws. Starting in Week 10, the Sailfish would beat the Hawks on the reverse at home fixture to start a five game win streak that would culminate with another win against the Fire Salamanders away from home. Week 15 would see the Sailfish lose their fourth and final game to Orange County before coming home to finish the season on a high, beating the Colorado Yeti 35-24, improving their record to 12-4 which saw them finish first in the division and punch their ticket to the playoffs.
The quarterfinals of the S33 Playoff season would be a revenge match against the Berlin Fire Salamanders who had beaten them in the quarters the season prior. This time, it was the Sailfish who came out on top, beating the Fire Salamanders conveniently, 33-24. Rookie Running Back Rocky Rhoads would find the endzone twice this game Wide Receivers Jackson Kingston and Troy Barnes hauling in a touchdown each. Next, the Sailfish would find themselves coming up against the Baltimore Hawks in the semifinals. This time, the Sailfish would travel to Baltimore to face off in The Aviary, a notoriously tough venue for opposing teams. With almost seven and half minutes remaining, the Sailfish would find themselves trailing by 20 points. They would be able to rally with touchdown contributions from rookies Rocky Rhoads and Troy Barnes, but the late rally by the Fish would not be enough to overcome the deficit set by the Hawks, who would knock the Sailfish out of the playoffs in the semifinals, beating them 30-24.
S34
Following a 12-4 season that saw the Sailfish finish atop the NSFC and playoff semi finals loss to the Baltimore Hawks, the Sailfish would start off with the 11th pick of the S34 Draft. With that pick, Sarasota would select Wide Receiver Lucius Salem from the Norfolk Seawolves. Salem would later be converted to play Tight End, a position he would have great success in over the years, highlighting the experience of the Sarasota scouting team at finding players to excel in needed positions. With their second and the 25th overall pick of the draft, Sarasota would select Safety Titus Samson from the Kansas City Coyotes. Samson would fizzle out of the DSFL with KCC, not making a single appearance for the Fish. With their third and final pick of the draft (39th overall), Kicker Moustache Santoso would get picked. They too wouldn’t work out for the Sailfish, setting up the S35 first round pick up of Kicker Swantavious King.
In the preseason, the Sailfish would go 2-2. They would lose their first and second preseason matchup against the Philadelphia Liberty (24-13) and the Arizona Outlaws (42-16). In the third and fourth week of the preseason they would pick up two wins at home as they defeated the Orange County Otters (24-7) and the Honolulu Hahalua (31-21). They would be hard fought victories for the Sailfish as they struggled to put up consistent yards through the air in the preseason, opting to instead move the ball into scoring position on the ground.
The S34 would open up with a five game win-streak, culminating in a victory over the Berlin Fire Salamanders that saw the Sailfish win 41-33. Carter Knight at this point in the season was back to his regular self after a tough preseason. In this game, he passed for 356 yards and threw four touchdowns with no interceptions. Wide Receiver Saleem Spence accounted for 123 of those yards and also found the endzone on two occasions while Jackson Kingston was able to score twice on just six receptions. The Sarasota pass defense would also be in action in this game, holding Quarterback Joliet Christ Jr. to just 183 passing yards with one interception. However, Berlin Running Back Goat Tank was able to pick apart the Sarasota defense with ease as he would steamroll his way to 231 rushing yards on just 20 attempts with two touchdowns to his name. Luckily his individual performance wasn’t enough and the Sailfish were able to pick up one of their best wins of the season. Following their win streak, the Sailfish would go on to lose the next three games in Weeks 5-7 against the New York Silverbacks (27-21), Baltimore Hawks (20-9), and the Chicago Butchers (48-38). These defeats would see the Sailfish sputter and highlight some of the inefficiencies in their game as despite strong individual performances from John Huntsman, Carter Knight, and Saleem Spence, they were still unable to pick up wins in favorable at home matchups. Following that tough streak, the Sailfish would get back to winning ways, picking up three wins in three games in Weeks 8, 9, and 10 and then finish out the regular season going 3-2-1 in the final six games of the season. After their Week 16 victory against the Colorado Yeti, the Sailfish would improve their regular season record to 10-5-1 and qualify for postseason play.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Sailfish would once again face off against the Berlin Fire Salamanders. This time, the Sailfish would again struggle to stop Running Back Goat Tank who’s 132 rushing yards, 19 receiving yards, and three all purpose touchdowns, would be too much for the struggling Sarasota offense to overcome. In the end, the Sailfish would put up less than 300 total offensive yards as the Berlin Fire Salamanders beat them on the road, 35-10 to send them out of the playoffs.
S35
After finishing the regular season 10-5 and being ousted in the first round of the playoffs in S34, the Sailfish would select Kicker Swantavious King in the first round of the draft. King would go on to earn a lifetime contract for the Sailfish and at the time of writing, the kicker is second on the list of all time points for the Sailfish with a view to be the first by the time he retires. With their second and third pick of the draft, Sarasota drafted DT Mistah Freddy and S Daniel Sturgeon. Sturgeon would never make it to the Sailfish gameday roster while Freddy’s career would slowly fizzle out before dropping out of the league altogether.
Despite opening the preseason with a 28-21 home loss to the Chicago Butchers, the Sailfish would go on to dominate the remainder of the preseason. In Preseason Week 3, they would beat the Orange County Otters 55-3. In this game, Running Back John Huntsman would put up 127 rushing yards on 22 attempts with five touchdowns on the ground. Rookie and future legendary Sarasota Tight End Lucius Salem would also put up his first career Sarasota touchdown in this matchup and LB dont draft would add a defensive touchdown to the mix. With wins over Honolulu and New York, the Sailfish would end the preseason 3-1.
Sarasota would start off the S35 Season with three wins against the Philadelphia Liberty (41-38), the Chicago Butchers (37-35), and the Colorado Yeti (45-23). The high-octane shootouts in Weeks 1 and 2 would foreshadow the remainder of the season for the Sailfish, as many games would come down to just one score and while fun for the fans, one play could change the course of the game in either direction. During Weeks 4-9, Sarasota fans would be on a roller coaster as the Sailfish were unable to string another series of victories together. A solid win against the Honolulu Hahalua (37-13) in Week 9, would showcase the potency of Sarasota’s offense as QB Carter Knight passed for 343 yards and four touchdowns while the defense would get three interceptions and hold the Hahalua to just 13 points. However, a high-scoring loss (52-48) in Week 8 to New York, and close one score losses in Weeks 4 (Berlin 31-24) and 6 (Yellowknife 30-23), would highlight a streaky team with an offense that was unable to find the endzone with efficiency and defense that just couldn’t hold on to the end sometimes. In Weeks 10-16, Sarasota’s luck would run out. With just a lone win in Week 12 against the Colorado Yeti (47-24), the Sailfish ended the back half of their season 1-6. Four of those six losses would be decided by seven points or less. With a four-game losing streak to end the S35 Season, the Sailfish would finish with a 7-9 record and not qualify for postseason play.
S36
Following a second to last finish in the NSFC after a 7-9 finish, the Sailfish did not have a pick until the second round of the S36 Draft. With their first pick of the draft, the Sailfish would select DE turned CB Harley Andrews, who would go on to captain the team for a number of seasons. With their second pick, DE turned LB Aqeel Steele got the call to Sarasota. Completing the trifecta of Des in this class, the Sailfish would take Justin Cloud in the third round. With the 53rd pick of the draft, the Sailfish would bring in QB Pete Zuh who would later make the switch RB. Finally, with their last two picks, RB Malcom Graces and CB Greg Givens would be taken by the Sailfish in the fifth and sixth round, respectively.
In the preseason, the Fish came out with something to prove. As perennial playoff contenders, the Sailfish wanted to get back to winning form as soon as possible. They opened the preseason with a bang, handing a 27-10 to the Berlin Fire Salamanders, which saw Running Back John Huntsman rush for 156 yards and one touchdown on 22 carries and chipping in another receiving touchdown as the Sailfish defense held the Fire Salamander offense to under 300 yards. They would go on to lose 37-30 against the Arizona Outlaws, the defense would force three interceptions but QB Carter Knight would give up four of his own, unable to make up for the strong play of the defense. The Sailfish would end their preseason at home with big wins over the Colorado Yeti (32-20) and the Austin Copperheads (47-13). Carter Knight would come alive in the final preseason game, completing 28/45 passes for 336 yards and four passing touchdowns. Nick Kaepercolin Jr (105 yards), Saleem Spence (102 yards), and Troy Barnes (57 yards) would all find the endzone with Kaepercolin scoring twice and Huntsman punching in two on the ground.
In the first week of regular season play, the Sailfish would come up against the Berlin Fire Salamanders. Eager to continue the streak started in the preseason, Sarasota would roll over Berlin, beating them 28-17 after an exceptional performance by Nick Kaepercolin Jr who racked up 103 yards on 9 catches. In Week 2, Sarasota would come up against the New York Silverbacks. Against, Kaepercolin would run circles around the Silverbacks’ secondary, accounting for four of Knight’s five passing touchdowns in the 48-20 win over the team from New York. Their first loss of the season would come against the eventual Division Winners, the Chicago Butchers. Away from home, the Sailfish offense seemed less potent. With QB Carter Knight only passing for 207 yards and giving up three interceptions. Sarasota would be run over by Chicago Running Back Lalu Muhammad Zohri who’s 156 yards and two touchdowns would send the Sailfish back to Sarasota losing 28-13. With a bounce back win in Week 4 against the Yeti (45-17) and another loss in Week 5 to the Hawks (27-20), the Sailfish would end the first third of the season positive, 3-2. In Weeks 6-8, the Sailfish would outscore their opponents 84 – 36, doubling their output and bringing in three more victories over the Philadelphia Liberty, Yellowknife Wraiths, and Austin Copperheads. The remainder of the season would see the Sailfish only drop two more games in Week 9 to Arizona and in Week 11 to the Wraiths as they finished the season with a five-game winning streak, ending the regular season in second place in the NSFC and a 12-4 record.
Their first match up in the playoffs would be against the Yellowknife Wraiths. The defense was able to get the job done against the Wraiths with three takeaways while Kicker Swantavius King would make 6 of his 7 field goal attempts, contributing 18 and making the difference in the Sailfish win, 25-22 over the Wraiths. After a hotly contested game, the Sailfish wanted to prove they were the best team in the division as they came up against the division winners, the Chicago Butchers. While both teams put up similar total offense yardages, the Sarasota offense was more efficient and their defense held the Butchers to only 2 points as the Sailfish racked up 22 of their and sent the Butchers packing back to Chicago. The S36 Ultimus would pit the Sarasota Sailfish against the Honolulu Hahalua. After a convincing victory against the Hahalua (30-21) away in Week 14, the Sailfish were eager to put away the team from Hawaii and take their Ultimus trophy back home to Florida. Despite a 149 yard and two touchdown performance from Nick Kaepercolin Jr., three turnovers would cause the demise of the Sailfish as Honolulu would outscore them 31-28 and dash the hopes of a another Ultimus title for the Sailfish.
S37
Having suffered a close defeat in the previous season’s Ultimus to the Honolulu Hahalua, the Sailfish turned their attention to the draft, eager to add new players to an already deep lineup. With their first pick of the S37 Draft, the Sailfish would select CB Dip Dhillon, who would go onto become a household name in Sarasota, continuing to play a consistent role for the Sailfish even late on into their career. With their second and third pick of the draft the Sailfish would select OL Yummy Hotdogpie to help protect Carter Knight in the pocket and WR Duke Smith to deepen an already solid WR room.
In the preseason, the Sailfish would go 2-2 with victories over the San Jose SaberCats (23-13) and Philadelphia Liberty (30-20). They would pick up losses against the New Orleans Secondline (38-31) and Austin Copperheads (13-10). The losses in the preseason were somewhat troubling as both the Secondline and Copperheads would finish in the bottom three teams of the season but, nonetheless, hopes were high going into the regular season as many of the main pieces of the team remained intact and much improvement had been made over the offseason in training camp.
Sarasota would open up the season with a four-game win streak. Picking up wins against conference opponents Chicago (24-13), Berlin (26-14), Colorado (33-29), and Yellowknife (17-12). Sarasota’s pass first, ask questions later offense was on full display throughout the course of these four games with 77% of their total offensive yards being gained through the air. In Week 5, the Philadelphia Liberty would hand the Sailfish their first lost beating them in Fishnet Stadium, 38-28. Despite QB Carter Knight’s 468 passing yards, overshadowing the Liberty’s 315 yards of total offense, the Sailfish turned the ball over in dangerous positions with one of those being an interception by Rookie FS Jasper Fontaine who would take it all the way to the endzone. After that embarrassing defeat, the Sailfish would go on to another four-game win streak. Veteran RB John Huntsman would rack up 142 yards on the ground and one touchdown while Rookie RB Pete Zuh would account for 47 rushing yards and two touchdowns, a departure from the usually pass happy Sailfish. In Weeks 10-12, they would be brought to Earth, losing three games in a row to Colorado (35-24), Berlin (17-12), and Chicago (20-16). Turnovers plagued the Sailfish in these three games, with Carter Knight throwing 6 interceptions between the three games. Even though the Sailfish continued to put up massive yardage stat lines, their high-powered offense could sometimes become their own undoing. Eager to finish the season on a positive note, the Sailfish would bounce back from their three-game losing streak and once again win four games against the Secondline (31-19), Yellowknife (37-30), Philadelphia (21-20), and Baltimore (31-23) rounding out their season and finishing atop their division with a 12-4 record. QB Carter Knight would end the season with 37 passing touchdowns (most in the league) and 21 interceptions (second most in the league) with the second highest passing yardage total.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Sailfish would face the Liberty for the fourth time this season. The Sailfish would demolish the Liberty 32-7, sending a message that they meant business and were out to get the victory they so narrowly missed out on the previous season. The second round would see the Sailfish take on the Yellowknife Wraiths. The Florida heat proved too much for the Wraiths as they were unable to keep up with RB John Huntsman, who tore the Wraith’s defense to shreds, putting up 145 yards and picking up three touchdowns along the way to a 41-24 victory. Finally, the Sailfish would come up against the Arizona Outlaws who had knocked out the defending Ultimus Champions, Honolulu, in the Semifinals. While the Sailfish were able to put up more total yards than the Outlaws, their opponents would turn out to be more efficient as they outscored the Sailfish 31-11 and handed them their second Ultimus defeat in as many years to the Sailfish.
S38
After their S37 loss to the Arizona Outlaws in the Ultimus, the defending division winners would not have a first-round pick after trading it for Baltimore’s S39 Pick and WR Sconnie McSix. However, even with a later round pick, the Sailfish were still able to find incredible value when they drafted WR Johnny Blaze Jr. at the 27 spot. Blaze would go on to becoming one of the franchise’s best wide receivers and lead the line for years to come after the departure of Nick Kaepercolin Jr and Sconnie McSix. With the 41st pick of the draft, the Sailfish would also select Safety Julius McMiller who would never make an appearance with Sailfish, after a disappointing second season with the Norfolk Seawolves.
Following their Ultimus appearance in the previous season, hopes were high for the Sailfish as they entered into the preseason. However, those hopes were dashed quickly after they were beaten by Chicago (44-20) and Orange County (30-10). Thankfully, the Sailfish were able to get a win over the Hawks (17-12) before losing their final preseason game to the New Orleans Secondline, 20-17, and finishing the preseason 1-3.
In the first week of the regular season, the Sailfish were able to shake off the disappointing preseason, beating the Yellowknife Wraiths away from home 31-18. The Sarasota defense would hold the Wraiths to just 249 passing yards but would give up 132 rushing yards, 120 of which would go to RBs Kumquat Archipelago and Adebayo Akinfenwa, a duo that would go on to terrorize many a defense in the ISFL over the following years. An interception by CB Calvin Hobbes and four sacks spread across the defensive line and linebackers, would see the Sailfish to their first win of the season. S38 would end up being a disappointing season for the Sailfish, as they were never able to put together a long winning streak over the course of a few close losses to the Chicago Butchers (20-17) in Week 2, the Baltimore Hawks (24-23) in Week 4, and the Colorado Yeti (19-17) in Week 6. There were some bright spots in the season though, as the Sailfish downed the Philadelphia Liberty (34-7) in Week 14 before going on to lose their final two games of the season to Baltimore (15-13) and Berlin (28-24). Of the 9 losses that Sarasota suffered over the course of the S38 season, five of them would be decided by four points or less. Many fans were left feeling pretty disappointed as many of those felt that many of those games should have gone in the Sailfish’s favor. However, even with a disappointing season following their Ultimus appearance, the Sailfish were still able to reach the playoffs after a 7-9 season.
The Sailfish entered to into the postseason with something to prove, taking on the Berlin Fire Salamanders in the first round. After pummeling the Fire Salamanders in Week 5 with a score of 47-35 and narrowly losing in the final week of the season, hopes were high that the Sailfish could make a run in the playoffs. Their postseason would be cut short after getting walloped 27-3 by the Fire Salamanders. The Sailfish would be held to just 187 total yards with Quarterback Stumpy Jones being sacked 6 times and throwing 3 interceptions. Running backs John Huntsman and Pete Zuh were also gobbled up at the line, only able to combine for 35 rushing yards between the two of them. Licking their wounds, the Sailfish would exit the playoffs disappointingly and look to the S39 Season to make a comeback.
S39
After finishing middle of the pack in the S348 Season, going 7-9 in the regular season, the Sailfish used their first pick of S39 Draft to select Running Back Willier Miller, who would eventually be converted to quarterback to take over for the aging Carter Knight. In the second round of the draft, journeyman Cornerback Apollo Program would be selected, and the draft would be rounded out with Safety Demarius Cook.
Sarasota made a statement in the preseason, winning three of their four games before the start of the regular season. In their 45-42 win over the Austin Copperheads, Carter Knight would pass for 471 yards, with Wide Receivers Nick Kaepercolin Jr, Sconnie Mcsix, and Johnny Blaze Jr would each get 100 plus receiving yards with TE Lucius Salem also chipping in with 86 yards on three receptions. The high-powered Sarasota offense was on full display and fans were itching for the start of the season.
The Sailfish would come out of the gate hot in S39 winning six of their first seven games of the season. Over this seven-game span, the Sailfish would outscore their opponents by more than 100 points by putting up almost 3000 yards of total offense. Their only loss in this stretch was the hotly contested Week 5 Matchup against the Yellowknife Wraiths, where the Canadian team dominated the second half of the game and beat the Sailfish by a field goal in overtime. Sarasota would cool off over the following weeks only winning game in Weeks 8-13 against the New York Silverbacks in Week 10 and tying with Colorado in Week 13. Anxious to secure their spot in the playoffs, Sarasota would rally in the final three weeks of the season where they dispatched Berlin (23-17), Yellowknife (20-16), and Baltimore (26-13) which would see them qualify for the playoffs finishing second in their division behind the eventual Ultimus Champions the 13-3 Yellowknife Wraiths.
In the first round of the playoffs, the Sailfish (10-5-1) would take on the Chicago Butchers (10-6). In the regular season, Sarasota had beaten the Butchers away from home in Week 2 and tied them in Week 13 at home so the team was confident they could get a win at home. In the first half, Chicago outscored Sarasota 21-6 and despite holding the Butchers to just three points in the second half, the late rally of the Sailfish was not enough to defeat the Butchers. They would lose the game 24-22 losing in the first round of the playoffs for the second season in a row.
S40
Following a second place (10-5) finish and disappointing first round playoff exit in the previous season, the Sailfish looked to the draft restock on defensive talent to push for further playoff appearances. With their first pick of the S40 Draft, the Sailfish selected DE Ginand Toxic. The young defensive end would gain great experience learning from veteran Mrs. Sticks McHits and eventually become one DE2 after Harley Andrews’ switch to Cornerback in S41. With their second pick of the draft, Linebacker Fronky Fresh was brought in to supplement the secondary. The scouts would eventually move Fronk to Cornerback, forming an elite pairing with Andrews in S43. With their third and final pick of the draft, running back Luis Randall would make his way to Sarasota. Unfortunately, the Fish wouldn’t hit on every draft prospect this season as Randall soon fell to the wayside and was eventually cut from the team.
In the preseason, Sarasota would go 2-2 with wins against the Chicago Butchers (20-10) and Orange County Otters (33-13) and two one-score losses to the Cape Town Crash (30-27) and the Arizona Outlaws (36-29). Sarasota’s high-powered passing offense was on display throughout the preseason with veteran Quarterback Carter Knight passing for over 300 yards in each of the four games.
Unfortunately, the Yellowknife Wraiths were able to cool off Sarasota’s red-hot offense in Week 1 of S40, holding them only 17 points and sacking the quarterback 6 times and putting up 27 points of their own. For their home opener in Week 2 against the Berlin Fire Salamanders, the Sailfish would get back to winning ways, dousing the Fire Salamanders 34-6 and sending them packing back to Berlin. Pete Zuh lit up the field this week, he racked up 124 rushing yards and 2 TDs and also picked up 51 receiving yards and another touchdown. This game would also see TE Lucius Salem gain 101 yards and 1 touchdown on just three receptions. On the other side of the ball, the defense held Berlin Quarterback Roque Santa-Cruz to just 222 passing yards with don’t draft picking up two interceptions along the way.
The rest of the season would be a roller coaster for the Sailfish. Their early season hype after the beatdown of Berlin, would be stopped with two tight losses against Baltimore (38-37) and Chicago (27-24) in Weeks 3 and 4. The following two games would see the Sailfish defeat the Colorado Yeti (36-16) and Austin (34-7), improving their record to 3-3. The ups and downs would continue through the rest of the season, with two more losses in Weeks 7 and 8, a win against the Otters in Week 9 in which Dip Dhillon would chip in with the first defensive touchdown of the season. In the next four games, Sarasota would go 1-2-1 with a 20-20 Tie against the Yeti in Week 10. In Week 13, the Sailfish would also trade WR Sconnie McSix to San Jose for WR Cornelius King III. Finally, the season would end on a high note with the Sailfish winning their last three games by wide margins beating the Fire Salamanders 30-16, the Crash 35-17, and the Hawks 45-9. Over the course of these three games, Carter Knight would be unstoppable, putting up a combined 973 passing yards and accounting for 8 touchdowns. This would see the Sailfish finish the regular season 8-7-1, just barely qualifying for the playoffs.
After the late season push, the Sailfish found themselves facing off against the Yellowknife Wraiths in the first round of the playoffs. Even though the Sailfish would put up over 400 yards of total offense, sadly, the Wraiths were too much for them, eventually beating them 47-31 on the back of Running Back Adebayo Akinfenwa’s four rushing touchdowns. After crashing out of the playoffs, the Sailfish would turn their attention to the S41 draft, eagerly awaiting the rise of a new quarterback and a crop of brand-new recruits.
S41: It's Miller time baby!
Season 41 begins with the Sailfish giving Willier Miller the call up as their future franchise Quarterback. Miller would join the league as a DSFL S38 rookie playing for the London Royals and would be drafted to Sarasota in S39. Along with Miller, Sarasota would also call up rookie RunningBack Eilliot Berry and rookie Defensive Tackle Damarcus Cole.
Though Sarasota would lose the season opener against their conference rivals the Cape Town Crash in a contested 24-17 match, Sarasota would get the job done at the home opener versus Colorado in a 44-23 victory. The first half of the season sees the Fighting Fish go down a 5-3 stretch, taking key conference victories against the Cape Town Crash, Baltimore Hawks, Berlin Fire Salamanders, Arizona Outlaws and suffering only a single conference lose only to the Yellowknife Wraiths. Though the tail end of the season would see the Fish going 4-4, they would absolutely slaughter the Butchers in 51-0 victory that would be the sixth highest scoring shut-out in league history. Miller would lead the Fish to a 9-7 season and a trip to the playoffs.
The Quarterfinals match up would see the Scrapping Sailfish face-off against the Wraiths, having lost both regular season match-ups to Yellowknife the Fish were well aware of what was at stake. Led by Miller's 3TD offensive showing and a strong defensive performance by Linebacker Fronky Fresh with twelve tackles and two sacks, the Sailfish come away with a 40-16 victory and advance to the Conference Championship. Sarasota meets with Capetown for a final showdown in season 41 on an 0-2 record in regular season bouts. Sarasota ends the first half on a 44yd field goal by Swantavius King that's good for three and brings the score to 17-10. That wouldn't be enough for Sarasota though as The Crash keep up the offensive push and come away with a 34-20 victory. Regardless of the loss Aqeel Steele would set a post-season defensive record of 18 tackles and Miller would secure the leagues prestigious MVP award for S41.
S42
The Sailfish look strong in the preseason of S42 going 3-1 with victories against NOLA, Chicago and Austin and only losing to Yellowknife in week 1. Sarasota would also draft rookie Running Back Ace Anderson to the team to bolster the teams running game, Anderson would ultimately supplant Elliot Berry as the teams RB1. Looking to add some muscle to the Line Backing corps Sarasota would also tap Rookie Linebacker Max Honestly on the shoulder and receive the call-up into the big leagues by the Fish.
Entering week 1 of the regular season, the stalwart Sailfish send the Butchers packing with a 45-31 victory at home. Willier Miller gave the fans at Fishnet Stadium an offensive showing that day, throwing for 342 yards and 5 touchdowns, while on the defensive side of the ball Fronky Fresh was able to get the opposing Quarterback twice, with a nice pair of sacks. The next stretch of games for the Fish would take them on a roller coaster going for a lose against the Berlin Fire Salamanders 37-17 in Berlin, a 34-10 win at home versus Cape Town, with star Cornerback Harley Andrews pulling one in for a pick 6, and a lose up in the deep north of Yellowknife only putting up 17 to the Wraiths 33 points. The sailfish would win three of the next four defeating the Otters 45-38, winning a rivalry match-up against the Yeti 30-27, taking a lose in a tightly contested matchup against the Hawks in a 13-12 low scoring affair, and closing out the first half of the season with a victory against the Secondline 38-31.
Don't stop the ride just yet though sports fans, the Fish are not done roller coasting! The second half of the season was just as erratic for Sarasota, trading wins and losses each game in a near perfect amazingly alternating fashion. The final stretch of the season the Fish would go 3-5 and conclude S43 with a remarkably average record of 8-8. Week 15 would see the Fighting Fish facing off against the Butchers at their home field in The Chopping Block. A strong defensive showing led by Free Safety Spike Daniels with two tackles, one pass deflected and and interception, would give the Fish a 22-9 victory. Daniels would retire at the end of season 42 having joined the Fish as a season 31 rookie. Though the season could not have been anymore balanced, the Sailfish did manage to set a season record. Swantavius King sets the punt yards per season record with 51.2 average yards per punt! Though Sarasota is a perennial contender for playoff contention, their 8-8 standings would not be enough for them to make it into the post season.
S43
After a heart-breaking end to the S42 season which saw the Sailfish narrowly miss out on a playoff, the team set off to fix their defensive woes by drafting Defensive End Wing Gundam with their third pick, the Tight End turned Linebacker Ignatious Cleetington at the six spot, and Safety Spruce Willis as the ninth pick and Sarasota’s last pick until Round 3. With their fourth and final pick of the S43 draft, the drafted Running Back Reginald Arceneaux from the Dallas Birddogs to add some depth to the running backs room.
With the draft taken care, the Sailfish turned their attention to the preseason. In their first matchup, Sarasota lost to the Chicago Butcher 17-14 in a hotly contested game that saw veteran Wide Receiver Johnny Blaze Jr. rack up 122 yards on seven receptions with one touchdown, a stat line that would foreshadow his performance over the course of the season. In their second preseason game, the Sailfish would beat the Baltimore Hawks 37-43. Quarterback Willier Miller was able to showcase his arm talent passing for 395 yards and 3 touchdowns, two of those going to Blaze. In their final two games of the preseason, the Sailfish would lose to Cape Town and New York 32-19 and 20-17, respectively.
Following the disappointing preseason, the Sailfish rallied to win their first three games of the season. Defeating the Colorado Yeti in their opening game at Fishnet Stadium, 28-24. Johnny Blaze Jr. ended the game with 172 yards and one touchdown on nine receptions and Rockbot Rockbo would chip in with two more touchdowns of his own. After their wins over San Jose and Yellowknife, welcomed the Baltimore Hawks with high expectations. Unfortunately, the Sailfish would get thrashed by the Hawks, doubling their score and losing 42-26 to the eventual Ultimus Champs. Wide Receiver Rocky Moreaux and Running Back Kumquat Archipelago would combine for 266 yards and account for three of the five touchdowns scored by the Hawks, who took advantage of the largely inexperienced Sarasota defense. In Week 5, Sarasota would bounce back, defeating the Butchers in Chicago 34-17.
After that came the great slump of S43, losing four games in a row, culminating in another beatdown by the Hawks that ended 52-17. Thankfully, a hard-fought win against Arizona (20-17) in Week 9 and a road win against Austin (41-35) would end their drought. But the chances of a playoff appearance were slashed in half with unexpected losses to Colorado and bottom of the table Chicago. At this point in the season, the front office decided enough was enough and the Sailfish could no longer rely on just Johnny Blaze Jr to carry the Sailfish week in and week out. After the loss to Chicago, the Sailfish traded WR Artemis Entreri to Orange County to bring veteran WR Thomas Robinson to Fishnet Stadium. The following game, the Sailfish beat Yellowknife 47-21, their highest points scored in the season. Unfortunately, after losing to Cape Town in Week 15, the Sailfish were unable to punch their ticket to playoffs even after defeating Berlin in the final week of the season.
The main bright spot of the came in the form of Johnny Blaze Jr.’s historic season. The talisman of the Sarasota offense was able to rack up 1914 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns, accounting for roughly 38% of Sarasota’s receiving yards all season. Rookie Running back Ace Anderson, also was able to chip in with 992 rushing yards and 7 touchdowns. Finally, Quarterback Willier Miller ended the season with 5070 passing yards (most in the league) and 38 passing touchdowns (second most in the league). Off the back of an impressive offensive performance in S43, the Sailfish worked tirelessly throughout training camp to improve on both sides of the ball, laying the groundwork for what they would hope to be a successful season in S44.
S44
Having missed out on the playoffs in the previous two seasons, the Sailfish were eager to return to winning ways and get back to playing postseason football. Preparation for the S44 Season began in the draft, in which Sarasota used their first pick, 7th overall, to draft Safety Jamie Orion from the DSFL Champions Portland Pythons joining Spruce Willis as the starting Safety pairing on defense. Next with the 36th pick of the draft, Sarasota would select CB Geo Roberts and with the 44th pick they would select OL LeBlockus Brickwall both from the London Royals. Finally, they would select TE Theo Blake from Tijuana with their fourth and final pick of the draft. Unfortunately, save for Jamie Orion, the draft picks would not work out as they were replaced at the DSFL by other new recruits.
Sarasota’s preseason would start off well. Beating three of their four opponents and only losing to the Arizona Outlaws 21-10 in the final preseason matchup of the season. The Sailfish would claim victory over the Chicago Butchers (14-0), Baltimore Hawks (41-38), and the Cape Town Crash (33-22). Having beaten two of the better teams in the league in the Hawks and the Crash in preseason, hopes were high that the Sailfish would make a return to the top of the division after two disappointing seasons without postseason football.
The Sailfish were brought back to reality quickly, losing there first three games of the season to the Yellowknife Wraiths (24-21), Orange County Otters (31-24), and the Berlin Fire Salamanders (22-20). A worrying start to the season to say the least, especially after S43 when the Sailfish lost most of their games by a single score deficit. In Weeks 4 and 5, Sarasota finally picked up their first wins of the season, taking down the Baltimore Hawks at home 26-23 and the Chicago Butchers away 22-20. Kicker Swantavius King made four field goals that game including a 64-yarder tying the record set by Yellowknife’s Kicker, Double Doink. Johnny Blaze Jr would also rack up 179 receiving yards on just 8 receptions, making sure Sailfish were in good scoring position on each drive. Still, even with the offense finally firing, it was worrisome that the Sailfish were unable to put the game away handedly. Following their first two wins of the season, the Sailfish would go on to lose two more games against the Crash and Yeti in Weeks 6 and 7, making many fans believe the Sailfish would once again miss out on the postseason.
Entering Week 8, the Sailfish were 2-5 on the season, going up into their toughest three games stretch of the season. In Week 8, the Sailfish faced off against the Arizona Outlaws. They dispatched them easily, beating them 33-27. Running back Ace Anderson was able to find the end zone twice and got the Sailfish 84 yards on the ground while Johnny Blaze Jr. and Thomas Robinson both put up a touchdown each. Fronky Fresh and Dip Dhillon also helped keep the Outlaws at bay as they both were able to intercept a pass each from QB Donovan Winters III. In Week 9, the Sailfish took on the defending Ultimus Champs, the Baltimore Hawks away from home. Going in the clear underdog, the Sailfish were able to again stun their opponents, beating them 24-13 with QB Willier Miller’s 74.3% completion rate finding Blaze, Salem, and Rockbo in the endzone to lead the Sailfish to victory. Finally, in Week 9 the New York Silverbacks were sent packing 30-24 as the Sailfish put up 397 passing yards, seeing Blaze and Anderson both rack up over 100 yards. The league was officially on notice. After their incredible run in Weeks 8-10, the Sailfish finished the season strong, winning four of their remaining six games, including a 13-6 away win against title favorites Cape Town, eventually finishing the regular season 9-7 and finally, making their way back to the playoffs.
After their end of the season run, the Sailfish would come up against the Baltimore Hawks, a team they had beaten all three times they played them over the course of the S44 Season. However, it looked like the Hawks had learned a thing or two about the Sarasota offense, holding QB Willier Miller to just 213 Passing Yards, his second worst passing game of the season. Even with Ace Anderson two rushing touchdowns, Robinson’s 100 receiving yards, and three interceptions by Ignacious Cleetington, Harley Andres, and Spruce Willis, the Hawks proved to be too much for the Sailfish sending them out of the playoffs with 19-14 victory against the Fighting Fish. Even after the disappointing loss, the Sailfish came out of the season with heads held high after being able to rally following a disappointing start to S44. All eyes turned to S45, as the Sailfish looked to continue improving and chasing their ultimate goal of achieving their second Ultimus win.
Season-by-season records
| Season | Regular Season Record | Post Season Record | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | W | L | |||
| 2037 | 6 | 7 | 0 | .462 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2038 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2039 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2040 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2041 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2042 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2043 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2044 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2045 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2046 | 10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2047 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2048 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2049 | 10 | 5 | 0 | .656 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2050 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2051 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2052 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2053 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2054 | 10 | 5 | 1 | .656 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2055 | 8 | 7 | 1 | .531 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2056 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 2057 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2058 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2059 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 2060 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 2 | 1 | ||
| 2061 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .562 | 0 | 1 | ||
| Total | 238 | 156 | 2 | .602 | 17 | 19 | ||
Players and Personnel
Current roster
 | This article is pending review by an Approver on the wiki team. Do not award TPE yet. |
Sarasota Sailfish roster
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| Quarterbacks
Running backs Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
DSFL Send-downs
Rookies in italics
Roster updated January 24th 2024 | ||||||
Current staff
Sarasota Sailfish staff
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References
