Dennis Havrilla (born August 24, 1987) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

. He signed as an undrafted free agent with the Arizona Adrenaline of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

(IFL) in 2011. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Diablo Valley College Diablo Valley College (DVC) is a public community college with campuses in Pleasant Hill and San Ramon in Contra Costa County, California. DVC is one of three public community colleges in the Contra Costa Community College District (along with ...

, the

University of Nebraska at Kearney The University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) is a campus of the public University of Nebraska system and located in Kearney, Nebraska. It was founded in 1905 as the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney. History In March 1903 the Nebraska S ...

, and

Western New Mexico University Western New Mexico University is a public university in Silver City, New Mexico, United States. It was founded in 1893. History Founded in the Territory of New Mexico on February 11, 1893 as the New Mexico Normal School, the school began to o ...

Early life

Havrilla played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

Mount Diablo High School Mount Diablo High School is a public high school located in Concord, California, United States. It is the oldest school in the Mount Diablo Unified School District, founded in April 1901. The school currently serves western Concord, the unincorp ...

Concord, California Concord ( ) is the most populous city in Contra Costa County, California, Contra Costa County, California, United States. According to an estimate completed by the United States Census Bureau, the city had a population of 124,016 in 2024, maki ...

College career

Havrilla first enrolled at

. He later transferred to the

In January 2007. He started all ten games for the

Nebraska–Kearney Lopers The Nebraska–Kearney Lopers are the athletic teams that represent the University of Nebraska at Kearney, located in Kearney, Nebraska, in intercollegiate sports as a member of the Division II level of the National Collegiate Athletic Associati ...

during the 2007 season, passing for 1,928 yards and 19 touchdowns while also rushing for 247 yards and four touchdowns. He was dismissed from the team in December 2007 for violating team rules. Havrilla finished his college career at

. He

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

for the

Western New Mexico Mustangs The Western New Mexico Mustangs are the athletic teams that represent Western New Mexico University, located in Silver City, New Mexico, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Mustangs are members of the Lone Star Conference after previ ...

in 2008. As a senior in 2009, he passed for 1,581 yards and 13 touchdowns while also rushing 88 times for 433 yards and scored six touchdowns.

Professional career

Havrilla spent multiple years in the

(IFL), catching on with several teams while playing quarterback, safety and placekicker. In 2014, he began the season with the

Dodge City Law The Dodge City Law were a professional indoor American football, indoor football team based in Dodge City, Kansas, with home games at the United Wireless Arena. The team joined the Champions Professional Indoor Football League (CPIFL) in 2013 as ...

before signing with the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 Arena Football League season, 1987 season, making it the third longest-runnin ...

Spokane Shock The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won divis ...

. After three weeks on the Shock's practice squad, Havrilla returned to the Law. Not long after his return to the Law, he was assigned to the

San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

, where he appeared as a backup to

Nathan Stanley Nathan Thomas Stanley (born January 24, 1989) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football for the Southeastern Louisiana Lions after transferring from ...

. He was reassigned by the SaberCats on July 10, 2014.

Las Vegas Outlaws

On June 19, 2015, Havrilla was assigned to the Las Vegas Outlaws. He was the backup to

J. J. Raterink Jason J. Raterink (born August 4, 1981) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the Arena Football League (AFL). He played college football for the Wyoming Cowboys. Early life Born the son of Ginger and George Rate ...

, but when Raterink was pulled due to his ineffective play, Havrilla was thrust into the game. The following week against the

Portland Thunder The Portland Steel were a professional arena football team based in Portland, Oregon and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The team started as the Portland Thunder, joining the AFL in 2014 as an expansion team along with the Los Ange ...

, Havrilla was named the starting quarterback. He led the Outlaws to a 48-46 victory, where he scored the game-winning touchdown on a one-yard rush. On August 3, 2015, Havrilla was placed on reassignment, one week before the season ended.

Cleveland Gladiators

On February 5, 2016, Havrilla was assigned to the

Cleveland Gladiators The Cleveland Gladiators were an arena football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, and members of the Arena Football League (AFL). The Gladiators played their home games at Quicken Loans Arena, which they shared with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the ...

. After Chris Dieker was injured in Week 1 of the 2016 season, Havrilla became the starting quarterback. However, he also later suffered an injury and

Arvell Nelson Arvell Nelson (born September 27, 1988) is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the Arena Football League (AFL). He was signed by the Alabama Hammers as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He played college football a ...

replaced him as the starter.

High Country Grizzlies

On June 1, 2017, Havrilla signed with the

High Country Grizzlies The High Country Grizzlies were a professional indoor football team that began play in the 2017 season. Based in Boone, North Carolina, the Grizzlies played their home games at the George M. Holmes Convocation Center on the campus of Appalachi ...

. He played in one game for the Grizzlies, completing 16 of 37 passes for 282 yards, 5 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.

AFL statistics

''Stats from ArenaFan'':

Personal life

After his football career, Havrilla opened Havrilla Commercial Investment Group.

References

External links

Western New Mexico bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Havrilla, Dennis 1987 births Living people American football quarterbacks Nebraska–Kearney Lopers football players Western New Mexico Mustangs football players Bricktown Brawlers players Arizona Adrenaline players Lehigh Valley Steelhawks players Arizona Outlaws (AIF) players Dodge City Law players Spokane Shock players San Jose SaberCats players Las Vegas Outlaws (arena football) players Cleveland Gladiators players Diablo Valley Vikings football players High Country Grizzlies players Atlantic City Blackjacks players