2019 LFA season explained

2019 LFA season
Duration:	22 February 2019 – 14 April 2019
Conf1:	North Champions
Conf1 Champ:	Raptors
Conf2:	Central Champions
Conf2 Champ:	Condors
Finals:	Tazón México IV
Finals Date:	12 May 2019
Finals Venue:	Estadio Azul, Mexico City
Finals Champ:	Condors
Prevseason Year:	2018
Nextseason Year:	2020

The 2019 LFA season was the fourth season of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional, the top American football league in Mexico. The regular season began on February 22 and concluded on April 14. The playoffs commenced on April 26 and concluded on May 12 with the Condors defeating the Raptors to win the Tazón México IV.

Preseason events

Expansion and stadium changes

Two new teams joined the league for the 2019 season: Artilleros Puebla, based in Puebla, and Osos Toluca, based in Toluca, State of Mexico. This expansion raises the number of teams in the league to eight.^[1]

During the first LFA season, the Estadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo" hosted all the league's teams. Nevertheless, 2019 will be the first season in which none of the teams would play there, due to the fact that the stadium is now working as shelter for Central American migrants.^[2]

Condors was supposed to be the only team playing at the Estadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo", but moved to the ITESM Santa Fe stadium in the district of Santa Fe after Mexico City's government designed the "Palillo" Martínez stadium as a temporary shelter for Central American migrants.^[3]
Mayas moved from the "Palillo" Martínez to the Estadio Wilfrido Massieu, which is regularly used by the Instituto Politécnico Nacional Águilas Blancas college football team.^[4]
Mexicas also moved from the Estadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo" to the Casco de Santo Tomás, the training ground of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional football teams.^[5]
Raptors moved from the Estadio José Ortega Martínez to the field of the National Autonomous University of Mexico Acatlán campus.

Draft

The 2019 Draft was regional, that is, each team chose players graduated from universities in their region. In the case of Artilleros Puebla and Osos Toluca, being unique teams in their region, they had no competition in their player selections. The Draft was held on January 12 at the FES Acatlán facilities . There were nine rounds, 6 normal and 3 complementary. The selections were as follows:

Draft 2019
Rd	Sel.	LFA Team	Player	Pos.	University	Conf.
1	1	Fundidores	Maximiliano Soto	DL	Borregos Salvajes ITESM	Liga Premier CONADEIP
	2	Condors	Aldo Alejandro Narváez	WR	Águilas Blancas IPN	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	3	Dinos	Víctor Alejandro Sánchez	LB	Auténticos Tigres UANL	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	4	Mayas	Jesús Augusto Sosa	RB	Burros Blancos IPN	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	5	Raptors	José David Casarrubias	DL	Leones UA Norte	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	6	Mexicas	José Ulises Espinosa	DL	Águilas Blancas IPN	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	7	Artilleros	Carlos Sebastián Olvera	WR	Aztecas UDLAP	Liga Premier CONADEIP
	8	Osos	Enrique Gerardo Yenny	K	Borregos ITESM Toluca	Liga Premier CONADEIP
2	9	Fundidores	Uriel Martínez	DL	Auténticos Tigres UANL	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	10	Condors	César Torres	DB	Leones UA Norte	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	11	Dinos	Jesús Gerardo Rendón	WR	Lobos UAdeC	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	12	Mayas	Luis Fernando Zárate	LB	Burros Blancos IPN	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	13	Raptors	Topilitzin Silva	LB	Leones UA Norte	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	14	Mexicas	Emmanuel Carpio	DL	Toros Salvajes UACH	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	15	Artilleros	Juan Manuel Márquez	DB	Aztecas UDLAP	Liga Premier CONADEIP
	16	Osos	Ulises Alberto Garduño	LB	Potros Salvajes UAEM	Liga Mayor ONEFA
3	17	Fundidores	Jesús David Alanís	DL	Lobos UAdeC	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	18	Condors	Irwin Heriberto Zuviri	DL	Águilas Blancas IPN	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	19	Dinos	Erick Cázares	DB	Auténticos Tigres UANL	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	20	Mayas	Jair Alonso Juárez	DL	Leones UA Norte	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	21	Raptors	Alejandro Arce	QB	Leones UA Norte	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	22	Mexicas	Oscar Lenard Vara	LB	Centinelas CGP	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	23	Artilleros	Alan Eduardo Méndez	LB	Aztecas UDLAP	Liga Premier CONADEIP
	24	Osos	Daniel Becerril	WR	Potros Salvajes UAEM	Liga Mayor ONEFA
4	25	Fundidores	Rubén Martínez	RB	Auténticos Tigres UANL	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	26	Condors	Rafael Adrián Gómez	WR	Burros Blancos IPN	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	27	Dinos	Yael de Jesús Romero	WR	Lobos UAdeC	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	28	Mayas	Marco Antonio Morales	WR	Burros Blancos IPN	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	29	Raptors	Oscar Daniel Larios	RB	Leones UA Norte	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	30	Mexicas	Edgar Ángeles Castañeda	LB	Frailes UT	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	31	Artilleros	Juan Manuel Gray	OL	Aztecas UDLAP	Liga Premier CONADEIP
	32	Osos	Jesús Eduardo Estrada	DL	Potros Salvajes UAEM	Liga Mayor ONEFA
5	33	Fundidores	Carlos Alberto Díaz	DB	Auténticos Tigres UANL	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	34	Condors	Rodrigo Omar Garfias	DB	Centinelas CGP	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	35	Dinos	Luis Eduardo Mireles	TE	Correcaminos UAT	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	36	Mayas	Juan Salvador Vázquez	DB	Toros Salvajes UACH	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	37	Raptors	Andrés Aguilar	RB	Pumas UNAM Acatlán	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	38	Mexicas	Sergio Enrique Martínez	QB	Pumas UNAM Acatlán	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	39	Artilleros	Anwar de Jesús Ramírez	RB	Borregos ITESM Puebla	Liga Premier CONADEIP
	40	Osos	Elías González	OL	Potros Salvajes UAEM	Liga Mayor ONEFA
6	41	Fundidores	Alejandro Emmanuel Palomo	DL	Corecaminos UAT Norte	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	42	Condors	Omar Torres Valle	WR	Centinelas CGP	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	43	Dinos	Adrián Azahel García	DL	Correcaminos UAT	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	44	Mayas	Enrique Hernán Benavides	QB	Pumas UNAM Acatlán	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	45	Raptors	Ian Uriel Mompala	DB	Centinelas CGP	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	46	Mexicas	Manuel Ignacio Martínez	WR	Águilas Blancas IPN	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	47	Artilleros	Manuel Eduardo Hernández	DB	Aztecas UDLAP	Liga Premier CONADEIP
	48	Osos	Rodrigo García	OL	Potros Salvajes UAEM	Liga Mayor ONEFA
7	49	Fundidores	Osvaldo Sánchez	DL	Corecaminos UAT Norte	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	50	Condors	Diego Carsolio	K	Leones UA Norte	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	51	Dinos	Hermillo Jesús Corral	DL	Corecaminos UAT Norte	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	52	Mayas	Carlos Missael Mansilla	OL	Toros Salvajes UACH	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	53	Raptors	Víctor Francisco Fosado	WR	Pumas UNAM Acatlán	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	54	Mexicas	Ángel Alexis González	DL	Frailes UT	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	55	Artilleros	Andrés Fernández	OL	Lobos BUAP	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	56	Osos	Mario Alberto González	WR	Potros Salvajes UAEM	Liga Mayor ONEFA
8	57	Fundidores	Roberto Alejandro Avilán	RB	Corecaminos UAT Norte	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	58	Condors	Pedro Arturo Martell	OL	Frailes UT	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	59	Mayas	Luis David Martínez	WR	Burros Blancos IPN	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	60	Raptors	Samuel Hazel González	RB	Centinelas CGP	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	61	Mexicas	Jesús Flores	WR	Pumas UNAM Acatlán	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	62	Artilleros	Guillermo Calderón	DL	Aztecas UDLAP	Liga Premier CONADEIP
9	63	Mayas	Jesús Ramsés Guerrero	OL	Leones UA Norte	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	64	Artilleros	Gabriel Amavizca	K	Lobos BUAP	Liga Mayor ONEFA
	65	Artilleros	Mauricio Francisco Valverde	RB	Borregos ITESM Puebla	Liga Premier CONADEIP
	66	Artilleros	José Irvin Nuñez	OL	Lobos BUAP	Liga Mayor ONEFA

Not signed with Condors but with Mexicas.

CFL–LFA draft

See main article: 2019 CFL–LFA Draft.

In November 2018, the LFA signed a non-binding Letter of Intent with the CFL to share resources and to allow for at least one CFL game to be played in Mexico, as well as lay the ground work for special Mexican-specific editions of the CFL Combine and CFL Draft.^[6]

On January 11, 2019, 51 players from the LFA and Mexican college ranks were announced as participants in a combine to beheld on January 13 and a 27-player draft to be held on January 14, 2019. Each CFL team sent scouts and were reported to likely receive four picks.^[7]

27 players were chosen from an invited pool of 51 Mexican players: 34 from the LFA and 17 seniors from Mexican university teams.^[8]

Teams

North Division
style=background:white scope="col"	Team	style=background:white scope="col"	City	style=background:white scope="col"	Stadium	style=background:white scope="col"	Capacity	style=background:white scope="col"	Head coach
Dinos	Saltillo, Coahuila	Estadio Olímpico Francisco I. Madero	8,000	Javier Adame
Fundidores	Monterrey, Nuevo León	Estadio Nuevo León Unido	1,500	Israel González
Osos	Toluca, State of Mexico	Universidad Siglo XXI	4,000	Horacio García Aponte
Raptors	Naucalpan, State of Mexico	FES Acatlán	3,000	Guillermo Gutiérrez
Central Division
Artilleros	Puebla City, Puebla	Estadio Templo del Dolor	4,500	Gustavo Torres
Condors	Mexico City	ITESM Santa Fe	2,000	Félix Buendía
Mayas	Mexico City	Estadio Wilfrido Massieu	13,000	Francisco Chaparro
Mexicas	Mexico City	Casco de Santo Tomás	2,000	Enrique Zárate

Regular season

Standings

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, PF = Points for, PA = Points against

North Division
width=100	Team	width=30		width=30		width=30		width=35	width=35	width=35	width=35
Raptors	8	6	2	210	118	5–1	W4
Fundidores	8	3	5	134	133	3–3	W1
	8	3	5	110	125	2–4	L2
	8	2	6	116	226	2–4	L1

Central Division
width=100	Team	width=30		width=30		width=30		width=35	width=35	width=35	width=35
Condors	8	6	2	205	150	4–2	W1
Mayas	8	5	3	130	129	4–2	W2
	8	5	3	145	131	3–3	L1
	8	2	6	132	170	1–5	L4

Results

Week 7
Away	Score	Home	Venue	Date	Kickoff (UTC-5)	Streaming
Osos	13–12			April 6	18:00
Mayas	22–12		Casco de Santo Tomás	April 7	12:00
	13–30	Raptors	FES Acatlán	April 7	12:00
Artilleros	29–26		Campo ITESM Santa Fe	April 7	15:00

Week 8
Away	Score	Home	Venue	Date	Kickoff (UTC-5)	Streaming
	9–16	Fundidores	Estadio Nuevo León Unido	April 12	21:00
	7–19	Raptors	FES Acatlán	April 13	16:00
Condors	16–14		Casco de Santo Tomás	April 14	12:00
Mayas	25–20			April 14	15:00

Statistical leaders

Category	Player	Position	Team	Statistic
Passing
Yards		QB		2,344
Touchdowns	Bruno Márquez	QB	Raptors de Naucalpan	18
Interceptions	Ricardo Quintana Diego Pérez Arvizu Alvaro Camacho	QB QB QB		8
Completions	Bruno Márquez	QB	Raptors de Naucalpan	192
Attempts	Bruno Márquez	QB	Raptors de Naucalpan	313
Completion percentage	José Manuel Fernández Chávez	QB		100.00%
Rushing
Yards	Luis Humberto Lopez Tinoco	RB		504
Touchdowns	Dan Ávilla	RB / WR		5
Attempts	Dan Ávila	RB / WR	Raptors de Naucalpan	97
Yards per attempt		WR		21.0
Receiving
Yards		WR		921
Touchdowns	Sebastián Olvera	WR		8
Receptions	Guillermo Villalobos	WR	Mexicas de la Ciudad de México	58
Targets	Guillermo Villalobos	WR	Mexicas de la Ciudad de México	88
Yards per reception	Marcelo Zumalacárregui Taboada	WR	Artilleros de Puebla	32.0
Defensive
Sacks	José David Casarrubias Santiago	DL		10
Assisted sacks	Felix Roberto Guerrero Sanchez	DL	Raptors de Naucalpan	3
Tackles	Miguel Angelo Canseco Larios	LB		42
Assisted tackles	Miguel Angelo Canseco Larios	LB	Mexicas de la Ciudad de México	17
Interceptions	Fernando Ramírez Paredes	DB	Raptors de Naucalpan	5
Pick sixes	Carlos Fernando Espinoza Carvajal Julián Darrell Crandall	DB DB / WR		2
Pass deflections		DB		14
Forced fumbles	Juan Francisco González Delgado Miguel Angelo Canseco Larios	DL LB	Mayas CDMX Mexicas de la Ciudad de México	3
Touchdowns	Carlos Fernando Espinoza Carvajal Julián Darrell Crandall	DB DB / WR	Condors CDMX Osos de Toluca	2
Kicking
PATs made	Diego Carsolio Urban	K		24
PAT attempts	Diego Carsolio Urban	K	Raptors de Naucalpan	24
Field goals made	Diego Carsolio Urban Alan Alessandro Paoli García	K K		16
Field goal attempts	Diego Carsolio Urban Alan Alessandro Paoli García	K K	Raptors de Naucalpan Condors CDMX	16
Points	Diego Carsolio Urban	K	Raptors de Naucalpan	72
Returning
Total returns	Sergio Enrique Barbosa Garcia	WR		22
Total return yards	Sergio Enrique Barbosa Garcia	WR	Dinos de Saltillo	453
Yards per return	Jesús David Rosales Robles	HB		39.0
Punt returns	Sergio Enrique Barbosa Garcia	WR	Dinos de Saltillo	13
Punt return yards	Sergio Enrique Barbosa Garcia	WR	Dinos de Saltillo	191
Kickoff returns	Kamaal McIlwain	CB		14
Kickoff return yards	Allan Fernando Rosado Alvares	RB		281
Total return touchdowns	Sergio Enrique Barbosa Garcia Edgar Josué Arroyo Flores Jesús David Rosales Robles	WR RB HB	Dinos de Saltillo Mayas CDMX Raptors de Naucalpan	1
Source: LFA^[9]

Playoffs

Playoff bracket

* Indicates overtime victory

Tazón México IV

center|80px

width=102px style="background:DarkGreen; color:white"

Raptors

width=10px

width=102px style="background:#C1B14F;"

Condors

(6-2)

Head Coach:

Guillermo Gutierrez

Felix Buendia

Teams	1C	2C	3C	4C
Raptors	0	9	0	7
Condors	6	0	7	7

Date: 12, May 2019

Kickoff time: 3 p.m.

Stadium: Estadio Azul

Weather: Sunny, 28°

Attendance: 18,000

MVP: Diego Arvizu, QB

Referee: Mario Matos

TV:

Half time show: Álex Lora

← III • Tazón México • V →

The Tazón México IV was held on May 12, 2019 at 3:00 p.m. at the Estadio Azul in Mexico City, with a record attendance for the LFA of 18,000 fans present. The commissioner of the CFL, Randy Ambrossie, was the great guest of the event and together with Alejandro Jaimes, commissioner of the LFA, and Gabriel Soto, they started the fourth edition of the Tazón México. Álex Lora performed the national anthem. The Condors became LFA champions, after beating the Raptors by a score of 20-16 in a somersault game and it was the most cardiac edition in the history of Tazón México, decided in the last 30 seconds of the game. The MVP of the match was Diego Arvizu "El Comandante" (QB) Condors.

Quarter	Time	Series			Team	Annotations	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yds		Team	Annotations	RAP	CON
1	9:37	2	75	0:54		Touchdown, 60-yard run by RB Luis H. López Tinoco; the extra point is no good (K Alan Paoli)	0	6
2	7:40	12	75	5:46		Touchdown, 7-yard pass from QB Bruno Márquez to WR Antonio Tenorio; the extra point is no good (K Diego Carsolio)	6	6
2	5:08	6	17	2:10		Field goal, 19 yards from K Diego Carsolio	9	6
3	3:20					Touchdown, 5-yard run of QB Diego Pérez Arvizu; the extra point is good (K Alan Paoli)	9	13
4	7:55					Touchdown, 43-yard pass from QB Bruno Márquez to WR Diego Yañes; the extra point is good (K Diego Carsolio)	16	13
4	4:25					Touchdown, 55-yard pass from QB Diego Pérez Arvizu to WR Andrés Salgado; the extra point is good (K Alan Paoli)	16	20

Awards

Following the season, awards are shown the best of the 2019 season.

Award	Winner	(Position)	Team
MVP of the season	Bruno Márquez	QB	Raptors
Coach of the year	Félix Buendía	HC	Condors
Rookie of the Year	Sebastián Olvera	WR	Artilleros
Offensive player of the year	Bruno Márquez	QB	Raptors
Defensive player of the year	David Casarrubias	DL	Raptors
Best Offensive Lineman	Diego Kuhlmann	OL	Osos
Best defensive lineman	Francisco Krauss	DL	Fundidores
Best deep threat	Jordi Saldaña	WR	Mayas
Best linebacker	Miguel Canseco	LB	Mexicas
Best runner	Luis Lopez Tinoco	RB	Condors
Best receiver	Guillermo Villalobos	WR	Mexicas

Notes and References

News: El futbol americano en México se alista con la LFA. Milenio. 21 February 2019. 25 February 2019. Spanish.
News: Estadio "Palillo" Martínez, el adiós al inmueble que vio nacer a la LFA. Máximo Avance. 17 February 2019. 25 February 2019. Spanish.
News: Debido a migrantes, el equipo Condors cambiará de sede a Santa Fe. 20 Minutos. 19 February 2019. 25 February 2019. Spanish.
Web site: Viene la nueva era en el Imperio Azul. LFA.mx. 4 January 2019. 25 February 2019. Spanish.
Web site: Alianza Mexicas LFA-IPN. LFA.mx. 16 October 2018. 25 February 2019. Spanish.
Web site: CFL, LFA sign letter of intent to grow football in Canada and Mexico. 23 November 2018.
News: 'FUN ELEMENT': CFL set for inaugural draft of Mexican talent. Dan Barnes. January 11, 2019.
Web site: CFL combine, draft in Mexico 'important first step' to expand brand | Toronto Sun. 11 January 2019.
Web site: ESTADÍSTICAS - LFA. 2 March 2019 . Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional. 6 October 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191006042650/https://lfa.mx/estadisticas-temporda-2019/. 6 October 2019.