Montreal Blitz

Montreal Blitz
Founded	2003
League	Independent Women's Football League
Team history	2003-present
Stadium	Dalbé-Viau High School
Based in	Lachine, Quebec
Team colours	Red, black, white
President	Saadia Ashraf
Head coach	Nick Kalaidopoulos
Championships	2 (2008 & 2010 Tier II)
Division titles	2 (2004, 2008)

The Montreal Blitz is a team in the Independent Women's Football League. Based in Montreal, Quebec, the Blitz play their home games at Dalbé-Viau High School in the borough of Lachine. The Blitz are the first and only team from Canada to play in a women's American football league.

History

2003

The Blitz finished their inaugural season with a record of 4-3, good for second place in the North Atlantic Division behind the undefeated Bay State Warriors.

2004

In their sophomore season, the Blitz finished 6-2, this time with a first-place finish in the North Atlantic Division. However, for unknown reasons, the Blitz did not participate in the playoffs that year.

2005

For the 2005 season, the Blitz were an exhibition team ("X-Team"), losing all four of their exhibition games.

2006

In 2006, the Blitz finished 3-5 and last place in the North Atlantic Division.

2007

2007 saw the Blitz finish 6-2 (their best finish since 2004) and tie for first place in the North Atlantic Division with the Manchester Freedom. However, since the Freedom won the season series against the Blitz two games to one (the Blitz' only losses of the season), they got the North Atlantic crown and the playoff berth over Montreal.

2008

2008 was a year full of changes for the Blitz. Since the IWFL divided itself into two tiers, the Blitz found themselves in the Tier II North Atlantic Division, facing competition such as the Manchester Freedom, New England Intensity, Holyoke Hurricanes, and Southern Maine Rebels.

It was then that the Blitz finished with their best regular-season record in team history at 7-1, granting them the North Atlantic Division title and their first-ever playoff berth. After a 41-27 win over the Carolina Phoenix in the Divisional Playoffs, the Blitz traveled to the IWFL Championships in Chicago, Illinois (hosted by the Tier I Chicago Force), where they would face off against the Clarksville Fox for the Tier II Championship. Defeating the Fox by a score of 26-6, the Blitz won the Tier II Championship, the first Canadian team playing in an American football league of any kind to do so.

2009

In their second season in Tier II, the Blitz remained a force to be reckoned with, finishing 5-3 and once again making the Tier II playoffs. Such dominance was exemplified in the first-round playoff game with a 68-0 win over the Manchester Freedom. Though the next round would be not nearly as simple, it was enough to advance to the title game once again as the Blitz eked out a 9-8 win over the Jersey Justice. Om July 25, the Blitz lost the IWFL Tier II North American Championship game, 42-14, against the Wisconsin Warriors at Round Rock ISD Athletic Stadium in Round Rock, Texas (a suburb of Austin).

2010

The 2010 season saw the arrival of a new coaching staff. Under head coach Nick Kalaidopoulos, the Montreal Blitz completed the regular season with 8 wins and 0 losses. The team scored an average of 40 points per game, while allowing an average of 5 points per game. The first playoff game saw the Blitz defeat the New England Intensity 53-14. The semi final was held on July 10, and the Blitz beat the North Carolina Phoenix by a score of 19-14. The Blitz won the IWFL Tier II 2010 Championship for the second time in its history by defeating the Bay Area Bandits with a score of 9-2.

Coaching staff in 2010:

• Head Coach and offensive line coach: Nick Kalaidopoulos
• Offensive Coordinator: Joe Culzac
• Defensive Coordinator and defensive line coach: Pierre Migner
• Receivers coach and special teams coach: Jordan Coons
• Linebacker coach: Charles André Migner
• Defensive backs coach: Ulises Olvera

Season-by-season

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

Season	W	L	T	Finish	Playoff results
2003	5	4	0	2nd EC North Atlantic	--
2004	6	2	0	1st NC North Atlantic	--
2005	0	4	0	N/A (X-Team)	--
2006	3	5	0	3rd EC North Atlantic	--
2007	6	2	0	2nd EC North Atlantic	--
2008	7	1	0	1st Tier II North Atlantic	Won Tier II Semifinal (Carolina) Won IWFL Tier II Championship (Clarksville)
2009	5	3	0	2nd Tier II	Won Tier II Quarterfinal (Manchester) Won Tier II Semifinal (Jersey) Lost Tier II Championship (Wisconsin)
2010	8	0	0	2nd Tier II EC Northeast	Won Tier II Quarterfinal (New England Intensity) Won Tier II Semifinal (North Carolina Phoenix) Won IWFL Tier II Championship (Bay Area Bandits)
2011	8	1	0	1st East North Atlantic
Totals	51	22	0	(including playoffs)

* = Current Standing

Season schedules

2009

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
April 18	Southern Maine Rebels	Away	Won 55-6
April 25	New York Nemesis	Home	Lost 6-14
May 2	Holyoke Hurricanes	Away	Won 48-0
May 9	Boston Militia	Home	Lost 0-39
May 17	Holyoke Hurricanes	Home	Won 2-0
May 23	Erie Illusion	Home	Won 41-10
May 30	New York Nemesis	Away	Lost 12-13
June 13	Holyoke Hurricanes	Away	Won 2-0**
June 27	Manchester Freedom (Tier II Quarterfinal)	Home	Won 68-0
July 11	Jersey Justice (Tier II Semifinal)	Home	Won 9-8
July 25	Wisconsin Warriors (Tier II Championship)	Neutral (Round Rock)	Lost 14-42

** = Won by forfeit

2010

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
April 3	Binghamton Tiger Cats	Away	Won 76-0
April 17	Manchester Freedom	Home	Won 41-14
April 24	Holyoke Hurricanes	Home	Won 1-0 (forfeit by the Hurricanes)
May 1	Southern Maine Rebels	Home	Won 41-6
May 8	Connecticut Crushers	Away	Won 22-0
May 15	New York Nemesis	Home	Won 20-0
May 22	Southern Maine Rebels	Away	Won 34-0
June 5	Connecticut Crushers	Home	Won 26-0
May 22	Southern Maine Rebels	Away	Won 34-0
June 5	Connecticut Crushers	Home	Won 26-0
July 24	Bay Area Bandits (Tier II Championship)	Neutral (Round Rock)	Won 9-2

External links

• Montreal Blitz