The Amarillo Venom are a professional indoor football team in the Champions Indoor Football league. They play their home games at the Amarillo Civic Center. The Venom began play in 2004 as the Amarillo Dusters, a charter member of the Intense Football League, a small indoor football league based in Texas. They won the championship in their first and only season with the Intense Football League. The following year, the Dusters became the first team to leave the Intense Football League and join the AF2, the minor league of the Arena Football League, where they played for four seasons until the AF2's folding in 2009. At that point, the team held a fan vote as to whether to join some of their AF2 brethren in the new Arena Football 1 or enjoy numerous Texas rivalries in the Indoor Football League. In 2009, it was announced that the Dusters would be moving to the Indoor Football League for the 2010 season. It was then announced that the Dusters would have to be renamed because the Arena Football League owned the rights to the Dusters name and logo. The new Amarillo Venom name and logo was later unveiled. The team was featured on an episode of Only in America, a show that aired on the Discovery Times channel.
History
Amarillo Dusters (2004–2009)
Expansion championship (2004)
The Amarillo Dusters finished their only season in the Intense Football League with a 13–3 record en route to a league championship. Coach Don Carthel lead the Dusters to the cup as they defeated the Lubbock Lone Stars. The Dusters would abandon their spot in the IFL to play in the AF2.
Move to AF2 (2005–2009)
In their first year in the AF2, the Amarillo Dusters reached the playoffs with an 8–8 record, which was good enough for a wildcard. The Dusters, quarterbacked by Julian Reese, came from 21 points down at the start of the fourth quarter to win Round 1 over the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz. The Dusters fell in Round 2 to the eventual-champion Memphis Xplorers The Dusters tried to build on the moderate success they had in 2005. However, in 2006, the team suffered many injuries and failed to make it to the AF2 playoffs. Quarterback Steve Panella was injured early in the season, forcing numerous backups to take the job. They ended the season with a 4–12 record. Carthel left to take the head coaching job at West Texas A&M two games into the Dusters first AF2 season. For 2007, Steve Perdue took over the head coaching job and lead the team playoffs and a first round victory over the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgs. Looking to rebound after the previous losing season, injuries plagued the Dusters' offense. After a win against the Lubbock Renegades the Dusters struggled for the remainder of the year but were still able end the Quincy Carter-led Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings' perfect season with a 51–49 upset. On July 5, 2008, Dusters running back Donte Newsome was shot to death outside of a nightclub in Huntington, West Virginia, home of his alma materMarshall University. In 2008, under the leadership of head coach Chris MacKeown and quarterback Julian Reese, the Amarillo Dusters went 10–9 and played for the AF2 National ConferenceArenaCup Finals. Following the Dusters most successful season in their AF2 history, MacKeown moved up to the Arena Football League as the offensive coordinator for John Elway's Colorado Crush. On December 21, 2008, the Dusters introduced a new color scheme for the team with crimson, grey, and black.
Amarillo Venom (2010–present)
Moving to the IFL (2010–2011)
With the AF2 breaking up and its larger market teams moving to the newly reformed Arena Football League, the Dusters were forced to find a new league. On October 9, 2009, it was announced that, because of a 65–35 percent margin in the fan vote, the Dusters would be moving to the Indoor Football League for the 2010 season. Owner Randy Sanders applied for his team's spot in the Indoor Football League and they were accepted as an expansion franchise. It was announced on January 28, 2010, that the Dusters would have to be renamed, because the Arena Football League owned the rights to the Dusters' name and logo. On February 8, the new Amarillo Venom name and logo was unveiled.
2011 season
Move to the LSFL (2012–2014)
For the 2012 season, the Venom played in the Lone Star Football League. In their inaugural season in the LSFL they won the 2012 championship. Under the leadership of quarterback Nate Davis and coach Julian Reese, the Venom finished the 2013 season with a 9–3 record. In the playoffs, the finished off the Abilene Bombers, 70–40. On July 13, 2013, they faced the Laredo Rattlesnakes, where they won 70–69, winning back-to-back championships in the LSFL. Davis won the MVP of the Game.
