| Raptors de Naucalpan | |
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| Current: | 2023 Raptors de Naucalpan season |
| Uniformsize: | 230px |
| Location: | Naucalpan, Mexico |
| Field: | Estadio FES Acatlán |
| League: | Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional |
| Colours: | Green, gold and white |
| Nickname: | La Furia Verde (The Green Fury) |
| Coach: | Horacio García |
| Owner: | Armando Zúñiga |
| Div Champ Type: | Division Championships |
| Div Champs: | 3 (2018, 2019, 2020) |
| Mascot: | Rolo |
Raptors de Naucalpan (English: Naucalpan Raptors) are an American football team based in Naucalpan, Mexico. The Raptors compete in the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional, the top American football league in Mexico. The team plays its home games at the Estadio José Ortega Martínez.
Despite never winning an LFA title, the Raptors have the most playoff appearances with six.
The team was founded on 4 November 2015 and is one of the four charter members of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional.[1]
In their first season, the Raptors finished second in the league with a 4–2 regular season record, qualifying for the Tazón México I. The team, though, lost the league's championship 13–29 to the Mayas.[2]
The Raptors led the North Division on the 2017 season, qualifying for playoffs with a 5–2 regular season record, led by League MVP, QB Bruno Márquez. In the divisional game, the team lost to the newcomers Dinos, despite their opponent having a losing record.[3]
In 2018, Guillermo Gutiérrez replaced Rafael Duk as head coach. Also, the team switched from the Estadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo" to the Estadio José Ortega Martínez, in Naucalpan, State of Mexico. The Raptors qualified to the playoffs as second in the North Division with a 3–4 record. In a rematch of the 2017 game, Raptors defeated 21–6 Dinos in the divisional game, earning a spot in the Tazón México III.[4] The team lost its second Tazón Mexico game, 0–17 to the Mexicas.[5]
In 2019, the team dominated the North Division, finishing with a 6–2 (5–1 in the division) regular season record.[6] After defeating the Fundidores in over time at the divisional game, Raptors qualified for their third Tazón México, and the second in a row. Raptors lost the championship against the Condors 16–20. This was the third Tazón Mexico loss for the team and the second in a row.[7]
The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Raptors had a 4–1 record at the moment of the suspension of the season.[8] The 2021 season was also cancelled.[9]
In 2022 the Raptors finished the regular season as the fourth ranked team with a 4–2 record, qualifying to the playoffs, where they were eliminated by the Fundidores on the semifinal 27–30 with a touchdown pass from Shelton Eppler to Tavarious Battiste on the last play of the game.[10]
The Dinos de Saltillo and the Raptors play each season the so-called Jurassic Duel (Spanish: Duelo Jurásico). Due to these teams being two of the strongest in the league in recent years, this rivalry is considered amongst LFA's most important rivalries.[11]
| Dinos de Saltillo vs. Raptors de Naucalpan season-by-season results | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Results | Location | Overall series |
| Raptors 34–27 | Estadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo" | Raptors 1–0 | |
| Raptors 19–6 | Estadio Olímpico de Saltillo | Raptors 2–0 | |
| Dinos 13–10 | Estadio Jesús Martínez "Palillo" | Raptors 2–1 | |
| Dinos 29–27 | Estadio José Ortega Martínez | Tie 2–2 | |
| Dinos 23–20 | Estadio Olímpico de Saltillo | Dinos 3–2 | |
| Raptors 21–6 | Estadio Olímpico de Saltillo | Tie 3–3 | |
| Raptors 21–7 | Estadio Olímpico de Saltillo | Raptors 4–3 | |
| Raptors 19–7 | Estadio FES Acatlán | Raptors 5–3 | |
| Dinos 30–29 | Estadio Olímpico de Saltillo | Raptors 5–4 | |
| Raptors 28–27 | Estadio FES Acatlán | Raptors 6–4 | |
| Dinos 24–14 | Estadio Francisco I. Madero | Raptors 6–5 | |
| Raptors de Naucalpan stadiums | ||
| Stadium | Tenure | |
|---|---|---|
| 2016–2017 | ||
| 2018 | ||
| Estadio FES Acatlán | 2019 | |
| 2020–2021 | ||
| Estadio FES Acatlán | 2022 | |
| 2023–present | ||
For the 2018 season, Raptors moved from "Palillo" Martínez stadium to the Estadio José Ortega Martínez in Naucalpan, State of Mexico, the stadium has a capacity of 3,700 spectators and it is located inside the Universidad del Valle de México Lomas Verdes campus and it is regularly used by the university's college football team, the Linces.[13]
In 2019, the team moved from the Estadio José Ortega Martínez to the field of the National Autonomous University of Mexico Acatlán campus, also located in Naucalpan and used by FES Acatlán's college football team: Pumas Acatlán. The cause of the movement has not been disclosed nor by the team or the league.[14]
Raptors returned to the Estadio José Ortega Martínez for the 2020 season.[15]
Despite the fact that the team is branded as being from Naucalpan, Raptors played their home matches for the two first seasons in Mexico City and they only moved to Naucalpan for the 2018 season.
| Quarterbacks Running backs Wide receivers | Offensive linemen Defensive linemen | Linebackers Defensive backs
Special teams
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| Italics indicate International player Roster updated 19-04-2023 | |||||||||
| Season | Head coach | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | |||
| 2016 | Rafael Duk | 4 | 2 | .666 | 2nd | 0 | 1 | .000 | bgcolor=silver | |
| 2017 | Rafael Duk | 5 | 2 | .714 | 1st | 0 | 1 | .000 | ||
| 2018 | Guillermo Gutiérrez | 3 | 4 | .429 | 2nd | 1 | 1 | .500 | bgcolor=silver | |
| 2019 | Guillermo Gutiérrez | 5 | 2 | .714 | 1st | 1 | 1 | .500 | bgcolor=silver | |
| 2020 | Guillermo Gutiérrez | 4 | 1 | .800 | 1st | Postseason cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | ||||
| 2021 | Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | |||||||||
| 2022 | Guillermo Gutiérrez | 4 | 2 | .600 | 4th | 1 | 1 | .500 | ||
| 2023 | Guillermo Gutiérrez | 4 | 6 | 7th | - | - | - | - | ||
| Total | 29 | 19 | 3 | 5 | ||||||