The TFFL is back! We’re a little more than a week away from the beginning of the Season 2. If you thought Season 1 was awesome, you are in store for a big treat in Season 2. There are a lot of changes including format, free agency, new teams and faces, and more awesome TFFL features. This article is going to detail some of these big changes you’ll be seeing for Season 2.Before we get into the good stuff, wanted to post a picture so it’s fresh on the minds of everybody in the league. The Carolina Bengals will be defending their Season 1 Crown as 13 other teams are gunning for the title of “Champs“. Will your team be the one holding the trophy when the dust clears?

Changes in Format/Rules

After hosting a successful 8 man tournament (Monster Energy Classic on June 10th), a lot of league players fell in love with the style of play. A more physical game that really polices itself. Season 2 will be 8 Man-Contact and here are some of the big changes as compared to last season. If you played in the tournament, you’ll already know the rules.

-8 Man Contact

-Bigger Field, 80 yards by 50 yards.

-No Flag Guarding.

-No Live Fumbles. Anytime the ball hits the ground, it will be whistled dead. Only exclusion is when a ball is kicked to and it hits the ground previous to getting to the returner.

-Kickoffs and Field Goals added into the game. There will be a kickoff to start the game, and a kickoff to start the second half. There will not be a kickoff after every touchdown.

-1st downs every 20 yards.

-No Rush Zone at all. Defensive players can blitz from any point in the field whether they are 1 yard away or 20 yards away.

-If you have a question about any rules, contact us by email (triadflag@gmail.com) or facebook us. 

New Teams

The first season we had 10 teams, due to overwhelming interest we have expanded the field of teams to 14. Every team from Season 1 is returning, although a couple of them have changed their names. Also we have added 4 new teams into the fold. Here are the detailed changes on teams.

Carolina Eagles: The Carolina Eagles are a new team in the league. Captained by Ryan Borowitz and Dee Hodge. They are from Raleigh and will be making the trip every other week to play in the TFFL.

Dream Killers: Formerly they were the Whittsett Warriors but, now they are the Dream Killers. Captain Josh Morehead has finally found himself a Quarterback and they are looking to make some noise.

EnerG: Chris Plouffe’s team is formerly the Winston Salem Predators. They found a corporate sponsor in EnerG, who once hosted a TFFL tournament back in February. The team boasts a lot of new faces that have been rumored to be big impacts.

Guilford Conquerors: The Conquerors are a new team in the league. Captained by Luther Brock. The team is mostly composed of new players in the league although Luther Brock played with the Sabercats last season. This team also featured Jay Winton, former Sabercats captain.

Ninja Turtles: Formerly Blackout, the Ninja Turtles have made some big pick-ups and will be dawning Kelly Green Ninja Turtle jerseys. Sponsored by Guilford Orthopedic and East Coast Wings, the Turtles are doing things right!

Prime Time Ballers: Prime Time Ballers stepped into the last slot of the season led by Captain TJ Simmons. Simmons was a free agent pick-up with the Bulldogs but when a team dropped out a week before the season started he stepped up and got a team together. Not much is known outside of TJ’s athleticism.

Regulators: The Regulators have participated in every TFFL tournament and now it’s time to see them in the league. Captain D’Nodrick Hicks has always had a strong showing at every tournament so they look to be a contender for the title.

Spartans: The Spartans are a new team in the league and Alex Wolfe is the captain. The Spartans are made up entirely of new players outside of Alex who played on the Sabercats last season.

Staying the Same

Brothers in Arms: Haven’t heard a lot from the BIA camp but they will be returning. They boasted one of the most talented teams in Season 1, the big question is will they come back with better composure.

Burlington Bombsquad: There will be plenty of BOOOOMS with Earl Wallace’s bombsquad returning to TFFL action. The team has taken on a lot of new players, with a whole new attitude. Mr. Wallace has his team looking right.

Carolina Bengals: The Bengals are the Bengals. All they do is win ball games. With a tougher field of teams, this motto will be put to the test. The Bengals remain as top dawg until somebody unseats them. Robert Baker’s team is ready to get back to work.

HeadHunterz: The HeadHunterz return to action boasting a new QB and some new defensive additions. HeadHunterz are on the brink of entering contender discussion depending on their free agency acquisitions. Rod Smith‘s team is looking for a title.

Predators: The Predators are back to make a run for the championship. Rodney Beasley made some big moves in the off-season absorbing half of the House Dawgs roster.

Triad Bulldogs: Formerly the House Dawgs from Season 1, Ronte Gamble and Dave Whitefield are the co-captains of the team. They have a new name and a new attitude. The team is composed of a lot of new free agents and former Sabercats.

Notable Free Agent Moves

Burlington Bombsquad: Bombsquad acquired Kicker Rob Avriett. Rob was one of the biggest free agents of the off-season because with the addition of the kicking game, he is a hot commodity. He had several teams urging him to play. They also picked up utility player Pat Johnson who has sure hands. Bombsquads’ moves were more about who they dropped, then who they gained.

Carolina Bengals: The Bengals will remain mostly the same roster. The only addition we’ve learned of is Michael Pace. From what the TFFL has gathered…Pace is a baller and it’s a great addition to an already awesome team.

Guilford Conquerors: The Conquerors are mostly new players but they boast a roster with Luther Brock, Jay Winton, and Joshua Haynes from the Sabercats.

Dream Killers: Formerly the Whitsett Warriors, Josh Morehead finally got himself a Quarterback. Chris Bray is their big pick-up in the off-season. They also signed a big linemen in Carl Mentz. Playmaker wise they were able to land Quinton Lanier and Ky’re Keen who played with the House Dawgs in Season 1. They also picked up Kayne Gotti who was with the Bombsquad in Season 1.

EnerG: Formerly the Winston Salem Predators, Chris Plouffe’s team is ready to get relevant. With some key pick-ups all around the board the most important pick-up is former Winston Salem State player Monte Purvis at Quarterback. The team last season didn’t have stability at the QB position and with Purvis, they can make some noise.

HeadHunterz: The HeadHunterz had several solid acquisitions that we know of. Tyler Lee, James Mayfield, Dylan Gibson, etc. We haven’t seen them play yet but have also reportedly signed two 6’3” WRs. Most importantly they have signed former Elon QB Anthony Crews. Zeek Sanders played good season 1 but the HeadHunterz were a top tier team that just needed a little help at QB. With Crews, they could have taken themselves to the next level.

Ninja Turtles: Formerly Blackout, the Ninja Turtles will return mostly the same roster. They’ve picked up a couple players from Raleigh in Spenser Lebbano, Rayshad Horton, John Leiser, and Adrian Rowland. We will see if they are able to make the travel each week but if they do….get ready for a show. These guys can ball. The Turtles will be led by Marty Hassett and CJ Shook since Jeremey East will be out for the season with an injury.

Predators: #1 move in the off-season was Rodney Beasley, season 1 defensive player of the year, teaming up with DF Littlejohn, season 1 offensive player of the year. Anytime you can get an MVP to join your team, things are good. Along with Littlejohn comes a slew of House Dawg players such as Keith Holliday, The Stevenson Brothers, Kelvin Thomas, Brandon Stokes, etc. Adding these players to an already LEGIT roster will be interesting.

Regulators: As a new team it’s hard to know what they are up to but rumors are that the Regulators will have a handful of Tar Heels players on the roster. This team participated in the last 8 man tournament we ran and looked like a well oiled machine. If Travis Allred, QB from the Tar Heels, is there QB….TFFL….get ready.

Spartans: Mostly a new team but Will Wolfe, a WR is about to take the league by storm. 6’3” WR with serious mossing ability will be the focal of many highlights this season. Captain Alex Wolfe might miss the season with a knee injury, we will know more in the future but the Spartans will look to field a competitive team. Josh Severns will look to be the QB who had a strong showing at the Co-Ed tourney.

Triad Bulldogs: Formerly the House Dawgs, Dave Whitefield and Ronte Gamble  have assembled a strong team. They picked up big man Ian Kirwan, and WR/Rusher Marcus Walker from the Bombsquad, They also picked up former Sabercats Anthony Thorpe, Brandon Marrow, Chris Ettson, and Marcus Manns. This is a team that is going to compete. The defense is looking strong but we’ll find out if the offense will follow. They made a late pick-up in signing 3 “Jordan Brothers” who are going to be absolute monsters in this league. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Most Valuable Player Candidates

These are the initial most valuable player candidates for Season 2. If you think you should have been listed among the Top 5, show us what you got Season 1! We will be keeping a more focused look at the MVP Race this season since we have more weeks and opportunities for a true “race”. It’s hard to evaluate since 8 man is a different game but, we shall see!

MVP Honorable Mentions: Earl Wallace – Burlington Bombsquad, Kendon Doe – Carolina Bengals, Josh Morehead – Dream Killers, Brandon Wiggins – HeadHunterz, CJ Shook – Ninja Turtles, Rodney Beasley – Predators, Andreas Platt – Predators, Brandon Marrow – Triad Bulldogs, – Ronte Gamble – Triad Bulldogs

Top 10 Match-ups of the Season

Carolina Bengals -vs- Carolina Eagles : Two of the most physical teams will battle it out. Both have won multiple championships. Several guys who play on the Eagles, play on the Bengals. Will be interesting to see whose allegiance lies where for Season 2. I wouldn’t imagine any Bengals who play on the Eagles would leave their team though.

Triad Bulldogs -vs- Predators : Half of the House Dawgs went to the Predators, a handful stuck and changed name to Bulldogs. The MVP’s unite and face one of their former teams.

Predators -vs- Regulators : Two heavyweights will battle it out. Beasley had played a little for the Regulators in another league. Will be interesting.

Carolina Eagles -vs- Regulators : Rematch of the Monster Energy Classic. Very close/physical game.

Ninja Turtles -vs- Carolina Bengals : Rematch of a very close game last season. Bengals won 19-6 but for the whole game the score was 8-6 until the final minutes.

Guilford Conquerors -vs- Triad Bulldogs : This will be a heated match-up because some of the players played with each other on the Sabercats last season. Also the two teams have been practicing at the same facility (Allen Middle School) so there has already been some trash talk.

Burlington Bombsquad -vs- Carolina Bengals : Always a fierce game when you get two teams that love to talk trash.

EnerG -vs- Spartans : New look EnerG against the new Spartans. EnerG will want some revenge against Alex Wolfe’s team who eliminated them from playoff contention in the last game of the year. Alex Wolfe had a big sack to close the game out too.

HeadHunterz -vs- Brothers in Arms : Two very talented and young teams, will be interesting to see which team pulls this one out.

Predators -vs- Burlington Bombsquad : It was a close game last season until the Predators defense intercepted Jeremy Davis several times. Bombsquad will look for different results this time around.

That wraps it up for the Season 2 Preview…..to quote Bart Scott…….CAN’T WAIT!!!