Artilleros Puebla

Artilleros Puebla (English: Puebla Artillerymen), officially Artilleros, is a professional american football team based in Puebla City, Mexico. The Artilleros compete in the Central Division of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional, the top American football league in Mexico. The team plays its home games at the Estadio Universitario BUAP.

Artilleros Puebla

Established	2018
Based in	Puebla City, Puebla, Mexico
Home field	Estadio Universitario BUAP
Head coach	Gustavo Torres
General manager	David Vera
League	Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional
Division	Central Division
Colours	Orange, blue, white
Mascot(s)	Nacho
Current uniform

History

The team was founded on 17 August 2018, as the first team of the 2019 Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional expansion (the other being the Osos), and the seventh team overall in the LFA.[1]

The Artilleros are part of LFA's Central Division, alongside the Condors, Mayas and Mexicas.

The name of the team is a tribute to the patriots that defeated the army of the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Artilleros is the Spanish word for artillerymen.[2]

On their first season, Artilleros debuted with a victory against the 2018 champions, Mexicas.[3] Despite finishing the season with 5–3 record, the team was unable to qualify for the playoffs after losing their last game of the season against Mayas 20–25.[4]

Stadiums

Artilleros Puebla stadiums
Stadium	Tenure
Estadio Templo del Dolor	2019
Estadio Universitario BUAP	2020–present

During their first season, the Artilleros played their home games at Estadio Templo del Dolor, located in San Andrés Cholula within the Universidad de las Américas Puebla campus. The stadium had a capacity of 4,500 spectators and it was normally used by the UDLAP's college football team: the Aztecas.[5]

In 2020, Artilleros moved from the Templo del Dolor to the Estadio Universitario BUAP, with a larger capacity of 19,283 seated spectators.[6] The stadium, originally built from 1997–1999, was renovated in 2012 and used to host Lobos BUAP Liga MX matches until 2019, when the club was dissolved.

Roster

Artilleros Puebla roster

Quarterbacks  2 Diego Ruiz Running backs 28 Raymundo Torres 39 Antonio Hernández Wide receivers  6 Humberto Noriega  7 Andrés Chío 12 Luis Miguel Ramírez 17 Anwar Landa 31 Rodrigo Arias 80 Diego Vásquez 81 Eduardo Retana Tight ends 82 Marcelo Zumalacárregui 89 Alberto Cebada		Offensive linemen 51 Diego Bedolla 59 Jorge Ruiz 67 Marco Bautista 69 Oscar Tellez 70 Marcos Covarrubias 72 Juan Manuel Gray 73 Josué Figueroa Defensive linemen  9 José López 41 Germán Meza DT 45 Hassen Aguilar 78 Guillermo Calderón DT 90 Javier Marín 95 Daniel Carreón DT 97 Francisco Krauss 98 Mario Campos 99 Noé Paredes		Linebackers 21 Carlos Quiroz 32 Diego Torres 44 Joaquín Guerra 52 Germán Villarreal 56 Armando Vargas 57 Sergio Silva Defensive backs  1 Zachary Alexis CB  3 Elroy Douglas CB  5 Osvaldo Zumalacárregui S 13 Brandon Barrios S 18 Geovanni Gómez CB 26 Luis Daniel Rivera 27 Daronne Russell S 37 Manuel Hernández S Special teams  4 Gabriel Amavizca K/P
Italics indicate International player Roster updated 2020-02-16

Staff

Artilleros Puebla staff

	Front office Owner – Luis Vera General manager – David Vera Head coaches Head coach – Gustavo Torres Assistant head coach – Alejandro Bravo			Offensive coaches Wide receivers – Rodrigo Núñez Offensive line – Anuar Gutiérrez Defensive coaches Defensive line – Gerardo Frías Defensive backs – Erick Zuluaga

Season-by-season

Season	Head coach	Regular season				Postseason
		Won	Lost	Win %	Finish	Won	Lost	Win %	Result
2019	Gustavo Torres	5	3	.625	3rd (Central)	–	–	–	–
2020	Gustavo Torres	2	3	.400	3rd (Central)	Season cancelled

Mascot

Nacho

The team's mascot is Nacho, a Mexican army general from the times of the Second French intervention in Mexico. The name Nacho is a nickname for Ignacio. Thus, the mascot's name is most likely inspired by Ignacio Zaragoza, the general who led the Mexican Army that defeated invading French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

Nacho was first introduced in the first game of the 2019 season, against the Mexicas. Since, Nacho makes appearances at every Artilleros' home game at the Estadio Templo del Dolor.

Notable players

• Gabriel Amavizca – K (2019–present)

References

1. "Presenta la LFA a su séptimo equipo; los Artilleros de Puebla". Máximo Avance (in Spanish). August 17, 2018. Retrieved November 22, 2018.
2. "Artilleros". LFA.mx (in Spanish). Retrieved 10 February 2019.
3. "Artilleros debutó "abollando" la corona del campeón". LFA.mx. 25 February 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
4. "Artilleros cae con Mayas y dice adiós a la temporada". Milenio. 14 April 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2019.
5. "Nuestro campus - Instalaciones deportivas". www.udlap.mx. UDLAP. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
6. "Artilleros LFA anuncia su nueva casa". LFA.mx (in Spanish). LFA. 17 December 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2020.