2017 LFA season

The 2017 LFA season was the second season of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional. This season saw two new franchises join the league: Dinos(short for "dinosaurios", the Spanish word for dinosaurs) and Fundidores(Spanish for smelters or founders) to bring the league to a total of 6 teams. The regular season began on February 18 and concluded on April 9. The Tazón México II was played on April 30 with the Mayas defeating the Raptors to win their second LFA championship.[1]

2017 LFA season
Duration18 February 2017 – 9 April 2017
North Champions championsDinos
Central Champions championsMayas
Tazón México II
Date30 April 2017
VenueEstadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo", Mexico City
ChampionsMayas
Seasons
← 2016
2018 →

News

On September 28, 2016, the LFA announced its expansion for the 2017 season: the Monterrey Founders and the Saltillo Dinos.[2]

Prior to the Mexico II Bowl, the visiting team, Dinos, was about to cancel the match since they had to travel by bus 10 hours from Saltillo to Mexico City, get to play and return immediately, with no opportunity to train or rest before the game, which put them at a notable disadvantage. The LFA had no budget to pay for airplanes and hotels for players and staff members.[3][4]

Due to the increase in teams for the 2017 season, the LFA made some changes in the competition format, creating two divisions, the North and the center, although for sponsorship reasons these divisions were named after commercial products. The new format included divisional championships to be played in the postseason, the winners of which would go to the Tazón México.

The salary cap per franchise was 650,000 MXN (US$30,000 ).

Coaching changes

Eagles: José Campuzano replaced Antonio Sandoval as head coach for the Eagles after a 3–3 season

Standings

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, PF = Points for, PA = Points against, Diff=Difference between pts. for and against

Teams in bold qualified for the playoffs

Central Division
TeamGPWLPFPADiff
Mayas761256150106
Eagles7431591509
Condors725110210-100

Results

Week 1
AwayScoreHomeVenueDateKickoff (UTC-6)
Dinos33-16FundidoresOlímpico Francisco I. MaderoFebruary 1815:00
Condors10-13RaptorsEstadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo"February 1911:00
Eagles33-21MayasEstadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo"February 1915:00
Week 2
AwayScoreHomeVenueDateKickoff (UTC-6)
Condors16-64MayasEstadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo"February 2611:00
Fundidores24-25EaglesEstadio TecnológicoFebruary 2613:00
Raptors34-27DinosEstadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo"February 2615:00
Week 3
AwayScoreHomeVenueDateKickoff (UTC-6)
Eagles20-24CondorsEstadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo"March 511:00
Fundidores22-21RaptorsEstadio TecnológicoMarch 513:00
Mayas30-12DinosEstadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo"March 515:00
Week 4
AwayScoreHomeVenueDateKickoff (UTC-6)
Raptors31-34MayasEstadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo"March 1211:00
Dinos10-14EaglesOlímpico Francisco I. MaderoMarch 1214:00
Condors14-12FundidoresEstadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo"March 1215:00
Week 5
AwayScoreHomeVenueDateKickoff (UTC-6)
Dinos23-10CondorsOlímpico Francisco I. MaderoMarch 1915:30
Eagles24-27MayasEstadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo"March 2611:00
Raptors14-10FundidoresEstadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo"March 2615:00
Week 6
AwayScoreHomeVenueDateKickoff (UTC-5)
Mayas47-20CondorsEstadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo"April 211:00
Fundidores14-6DinosEstadio TecnológicoApril 214:00
Eagles12-28RaptorsEstadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo"April 215:00
Week 7
AwayScoreHomeVenueDateKickoff (UTC-6)
Condors16-31EaglesEstadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo"April 215:00
Mayas33-14FundidoresEstadio TecnológicoApril 914:00
Dinos6-19RaptorsOlímpico Francisco I. MaderoApril 914:00

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

Division FinalsTazón Mexico II
      
C2Eagles18
C1Mayas48
C1Mayas24
N1Dinos18
N2Dinos13
N1Raptors10
* Indicates overtime victory

Tazón México II

Tazón México II
DinosvsMayas
(2-5)(6-2)
1824
Head Coach:Head Coach:
Guillermo RuizErnesto Alfaro
Teams1234Total
Dinos370818
Mayas0143724
Date: 30, April 2017
Stadium: Estadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo"
Attendance: 3,000
MVP: Marco Garcia, QB
Referee: Jorge Armando Rodríguez
TV:
← I • Tazón México • III →

The Tazón México II (called Indian Motorcycle Tazón México II for sponsorship reasons) was the second edition of the LFA championship game. The Mayas obtained repeat championships by winning against Dinos at the Estadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo" in Mexico City, by a score of 24–18. The MVP of the game was QB Marco Garcia.

QuarterTimeSeriesTeamAnnotationsScore
PlaysYdsTOPDINMAY
14:2711785:37DINField goal, 20 yards from K Gallarado30
213:303751:30DINTouchdown, 1-yard run from QB Alberto García; the extra point is good (K Gallarado))100
29:317803:53MAYTouchdown, 42-yard pass from QB Marco García to WR Josue Martinez; the extra point is good (K Mauricio Morales)107
24:516473:06MAYTouchdown, 10-yard run from QB Marco García; the extra point is good (K Mauricio Morales)1014
31:509423:35MAYField goal, 20 yards from K Gallarado1017
46:217934:11MAYTouchdown, 10-yard run from RB Omar Cojolum; the extra point is good (K Mauricio Morales)1024
41:16---DINSafety of P Aceves (Mayas)1224
40:393750:35DINTouchdown, 5-yard pass from QB Alberto García to WR Gerardo Álvarez; the extra point is good (K Gallarado)1824

Awards

Following the season, awards are shown the best of the 2017 season.[5]

AwardWinner(Position)Team
MVP of the seasonBruno MárquezQBRaptors
Coach of the yearErnesto AlfaroHCMayas
Offensive player of the yearJosué MartínezWRMayas
Defensive player of the yearDaniel CarreteLBDinos
Best Offensive LinemanJonathan SeguraOLEagles
Best defensive linemanOctavio MartínezDLEagles
Best deep threatLuis GonzálezWRRaptors
Best linebackerÁngel RosadoLBCondors
Best runnerOmar CojolumRBMayas
Best receiverGerardo ÁlvarezWRDinos

References