www.acpatriots.org
The Patriots are proud to be the first adult full-contact football team to represent our
community, one that is rich in football tradition!
The team was formed in 2005 as a way for local players to continue to compete in a
sport that they love, but had little chance to after their high school or college career had
ended. Semi-Pro football has roots in Indiana dating back to the early 1970's. While it was all but gone in the mid 1980's, it has made a strong come back and there are now over 25 teams in this state alone.
The Adams County Patriots are a Minor League Football Team based in Decatur, Indiana. Founded in 2005, the Pats are proud members of the Midwest Football League. While the team hails from tiny Adams County, do not be fooled, this is an area deep in football tradition and talent. The majority of the team's roster is made up of players who played their high school career at one of the county's 3 schools. The remainder of the team comes from surrounding communities and all are proud to call the Patriots their team. We are lucky enough to call Bellmont's Worthman field our home and will play every game with the same hard-nosed, hard-hitting, excitement that our fans have had the privilege of watching there for many years!Our inaugural season saw the team play hard but stumble often finishing with a single win and 8 losses. The lone victory coming in our first ever game in overtime, by a single point. While the team played hard and with a lot of heart, it was definitely a first year team who took it's licks and vowed to come back strong the next season.We made some coaching changes, recruited heavily, and our second season showed a much improved team on and off the football field. We finished our season with 8 wins and 4 losses, falling to the undefeated Indianapolis Dragons 23-20 in the MFL Championship game.Our battle cry for season 3 was "Finish the Job!" Having come so close to ultimate success we were more determined than ever and wanted to get back to the big game. In order for that to happen, we had to work even harder and knew we would have to prove ourselves all over again. We made a couple of off season additions in both the player and coaching ranks and were well on our way. The changes seemed to work as the team went 9 games in a row and 10 of 11 not giving up a defensive touchdown. We averaged 28 points per game on offense and went back to the 'ship.
Again we would face the Dragons for the title, this time the outcome would be completely different. We took the MFL title by defeating our nemesis 32-7. Much of the season saw us ranked #1 in the nation by the Minor League
Football News and the winner of the final game was invited to compete in Florida for a National Championship.We played the Carolina Knights in Homestead, FL for the MLFN AA National Title. We fell with a final score of 28-16. The Knights final 6 points came with 30 seconds left in the game. It was one heck of a game. We traveled to Homestead with 24 players and faced a team that had traveled very well bringing 50+ players with them. We held the lead until mid way through the 4th when they went up 22-16. The injuries and fatigue finally took their toll and we weren't able to recover.After the National Title Game, an investigation was launched by coaches within the league that the Knights are members of. These coaches felt it was unfair to the Patriots whose players worked hard as a team to earn the right to play in the game. The MFLN then released this statement:
"The Minor League Football News has announced that after a 6 week investigation into charges that the Carolina Knights used illegal players in it Class AA National
Championship game win against the Adams County Patriots, it was found they did use players from other teams in their league, which is illegal. Therefore, the MLFN has forfeited the National Championship and awarded it to the Adams County Patriots."Although we felt all along that we were the true "AA" National Champions, now it is official. The Patriots would like to thank the MLFN for their diligence in regard to this matter. We are looking forward to our upcoming season and all that it has in store for our team and our community.Just remember, without the support of all the fans, none of this would be possible!
We'll see you at the game.
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