The Dallas Diesel is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

team, founded in 1997, which plays in the Midwest Division of the Impact Conference in the

Gridiron Developmental Football League The Gridiron Developmental Football League (GDFL) is a low-level american football minor league based in Memphis, Tennessee, using the franchise model. , the league has 63 teams. The GDFL plays a playoff format similar to NCAA tournament, as 16 ...

(GDFL). The team is also known as the DTF Diesel. The team is the 2006 NAFL champion. The Diesel defeated the

Nashville Storm Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and th ...

24-19 in the championship game played at the Wide World of Sports Complex at

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

in October 2006. Kicker Sean Riley was the leading scorer for 2006.

History

Jewell Portwood was the owner and coached the team from 1997 to 2008. Coach Portwood was inducted into the Minor League Football News Hall of Fame in 2004 and has a record of 163 wins against 39 losses. He was named "Coach of the Year" in 2006 by National Football Events and is considered a pioneer and innovator in minor league football. Portwood retired and, as owner, named Jackie Bridges as his successor. Jackie Bridges took over as coach for the 2009 season. They played the

Oklahoma Thunder The Oklahoma Thunder are a professional American football team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Starting with the 2011 season, the team competes in the Gridiron Developmental Football League, playing in the Midwest-North Division in the GDFL's Impact C ...

of the World Football League for the

World Bowl The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football/NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994). The game was conceived as the final of the NFL-r ...

title in 2009 but were defeated. The team returned to action in 2011 as part of the Gridiron Developmental Football League.

Stadium

Home games are played at the newly renovated

Clark Stadium Clark is an English language surname, ultimately derived from the Latin with historical links to England, Scotland, and Ireland ''clericus'' meaning "scribe", "secretary" or a scholar within a religious order, referring to someone who was educat ...

Plano, Texas Plano ( ) is a city in Collin County and Denton County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 285,494 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. History European settlers came to the area near ...

. This is a 14,442 capacity stadium, built in 1977. The playing surface is "state of the art" field turf.

Season summaries

1997

* International Football League Play-off Team (8 – 3 Record) * 1st Round Play-off Participant

1998

* International Football League Play-off Team (9 – 3 Record) * Southwestern Division Champion * IFL Final Four Team * 12 Players Named to IFL West All Star Team * Coach Selected as Head Coach of IFL West All Star Team

1999

* North American Football League Play-off Team (8 – 5 Record) * NAFL Final Four Team * 6 Players Named to NAFL West All Star Team * 1 Player Sign with PIFL Team

2000

* North American Football League Play-off Team (11 – 3 Record) * 3rd Round Play-off Participant * 4 Players Sign with PIFL Teams

2001

* North American Football League Play-off Team (8 – 4 Record) * North Texas Division Champion * 3rd Round Play-off Participant * 4 Players Sign with AFL2 Team

2002

* North American Football League Play-off Team (12 – 3 Record) * North Texas Division Champion * 3rd Round Play-off Participant * Player Named NAFL Defensive MVP * Player Named NAFL League MVP * Richard Simpson Named NAFL Special Teams MVP * 12 Players Named All League 1st Team * 10 Players Selected to Play in 1st Texas vs Louisiana All Star Game

2003

* North American Football League Play-off Team (9 – 3 Record) * 2nd Memphis in May Bar-B-Q Bowl Winner * North Texas Division Champion * 1st Round Play-off Participant * 3 Players Named to NAFL West All Star Team * 15 Players Selected to Play in 2nd Texas vs Louisiana All Star Game * Coach Selected as Head Coach of Texas All Stars

2004

* North American Football League Play-off Team (17 – 1 Record) * North Texas Division Champion * 3rd Round Play-off Participant * 10 Players Named to NAFL West All Star Team * Coaching Staff Selected to NAFL West All Star Coaching Staff * Head Coach wins 100th Semi-Pro Game (finishes season with 106) * Head Coach Inducted Into Minor League Football News Hall of Fame

2005

* North American Football League Play-off Team (13 – 1 Record) * Texas Lonestar Division Champion * 4th Round (Elite Eight) Play-off Participant * 20 Players Named to NAFL West All Star Team * Coaching Staff Selected to NAFL West All Star Coaching Staff * Player Named NAFL West All Star Offensive MVP

2006

* North American Football League National Champions * Player Named NAFL Offensive MVP of Championship Game * Player Named NAFL Defensive MVP of Championship Game * North American Football League Play-off Team (15 – 1 Record) * Western Conference Champion * Southwest Region Champion * Texas Division Champion * Texas Lonestar Division Champion * 30 Players Named to NAFL West All Star Team * Team Ranked #1 in the Nation by Minor League Football News * Team Ranked #1 in the Nation by Football News Events * Head Coach Named 2006 Coach of the Year by Minor League Football News * Player Named 2006 Defensive MVP of the Year by Minor League Football News

2007

Schedule ''Pre-Season'' *6/23 St.Louis Bulldogs ''Regular Season'' *7/7 South Texas Mutiny *7/14 @ Houston Sharks *7/21 BYE *7/28 @ Lubbock Rangers *8/4 Hutto Bulldogs *8/11 @ South Texas Mutiny *8/18 Houston Sharks ** *8/25 @ Bay Area Gamblers *9/1 BYE *9/8 Lubbock Rangers** *9/15 @ Hutto Bulldogs *9/22 Bay Area Gamblers *9/29 Make Up Game (If Necessary) ''Playoffs'' *10/6 Round 1 *10/13 Round 2 *10/20 Round 3 "Elite 8" *10/27 Round 4 "Final Four" *11/3 Bye *11/10 Championship Game

2008 schedule

*5/31 Loss @ Austin Gamebreakers 25-35 *6/7 Win Texarkana Warriors 21-12 *6/14 Louisiana Lightning *6/21 @ Texas Bulldogs *6/28 San Antonio Warriors *7/19 @ Arkansas Warcats *7/26 @

*8/2 Austin Gamebreakers *8/9 @ Southeast Texas Demons *8/16 Texas Bulldogs

2011 season

Team moved to the Gridiron Developmental Football League. Defeated by the

in the second round of the playoffs.

References

{{refend

External links

Dallas Diesel homepageWFL homepageHome pageNAFL home page
Rockwall County, Texas North American Football League teams American football teams established in 1997 American football teams in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Semi-professional American football World Football League (2008–2010) 1997 establishments in Texas