The Wenatchee Valley Skyhawks are a dormant professional indoor football team based in Wenatchee, Washington, that began playing football in 2019 with home games at the Town Toyota Center. It is the first team to play in the Wenatchee Valley since the Wenatchee Valley Venom of the Indoor Football League in 2011. They are owned by Hook Sports Media, LLC.[1][2]
History
On October 15, 2018, the American West Football Conference (AWFC) was founded by the Idaho Horsemen and added the Skyhawks, Reno Express, and Tri-Cities Fire to create the league.[3] [4]
Prior to the planned start of the 2020 AWFC season, the Tri-Cities Fire folded leading to the Skyhawks deciding to play an independent schedule.[5] The league then tried to move forward with three teams — Idaho, Wenatchee, and the expansion Yakima Canines — following the withdrawal of the Reno Express from the league with non-league teams filling for the newly vacant dates.[6] The AWFC then postponed the 2020 season due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic[7] and then cancelled the season entirely due to the unavailability of arenas during the pandemic.[8] The AWFC played the 2021 season, adding two teams in the Oregon High Desert Storm and Tri-City Rush, but the Skyhawks were unable to play any home games due to their home arena, the Town Toyota Center, being used for as a pandemic relief center and vaccination site.[9]
In 2022, the Skyhawks were able to return to playing home games. They posted a 6-4 record and went to the American West Bowl III where they lost 32–57 to the Tri City Rush.
In 2023, the Skyhawks finished their season with a 69-57 loss to the Oregon High Desert Storm. After the season ended, the AWFC folded officially in 2024 following the departure of the Horsemen to the National Arena League and the Skyhawks were forced to go dormant in 2024 with hopes of playing again in the future.
Season-by-season records
| League champions | Playoff berth |
| Season | League | Regular season | Postseason results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finish | Wins | Losses | |||
| 2019 | AWFC | 2nd | 6 | 6 | Lost semifinal (Reno) 27–28 |
| 2020 | AWFC | Season canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |||
| 2021 | AWFC | 5th | 0 | 4 | |
| 2022 | AWFC | 3rd | 5 | 4 | Won semifinal (Idaho) 80–70 Lost American West Bowl III (Tri-City Rush) 32–57 |
| 2023 | AWFC | 3rd[a] | 1 | 3 | |
| Total | 12 | 17 | All-time regular season record (2019–2023) | ||
| 1 | 2 | All-time postseason record (2019–2023) | |||
| 13 | 19 | All-time regular season and postseason record (2019–2023) | |||
Roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve lists
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Staff
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Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
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References
- ^ Darby, Uriah (October 9, 2018). "Evening News October 9, 2018". NCW Life Channel. Retrieved October 22, 2018.
- ^ "Western US based indoor football league forming for 2019". Arena Football Talk. October 21, 2018.
- ^ "A DECISION HAS BEEN MADE". AWFC Insider. October 15, 2018.
- ^ "Western US based indoor football league forming for 2019". Arena Football Talk. October 21, 2018.
- ^ "Wenatchee Valley Skyhawks Facebook post February 26, 2020". Facebook. February 26, 2020.
- ^ "THE TRI-CITIES FIRE UN-EXPECTANTLY CLOSES UP SHOP!". AWFC. February 28, 2020.
- ^ "2020 AWFC Season Postponed due to Coronavirus". www.americanwestfootballconference.com. March 13, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2020.
- ^ "THE AWFC CANCELS THE 2020 SEASON DUE TO COVID-19". American West Football Conference. July 31, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2020.
- ^ @WSkyhawks (May 21, 2021). "It's been a very crazy 2 years for us, players, and most importantly, our seasons ticket holders and sponsors. It's out of our control as well as the TTC. Due 2 the TTC being the relief center as well as the vaccine location, we are unable to play any home games at this time" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "2023 AWFC standings". AWFC. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
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