The Gulf Coast Riptide was a women's

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

full contact football team in the

Women's Spring Football League The United States Women's Football League (USWFL) is a full-contact women's American football minor league that opened with exhibition play in 2010 and subsequently played its first regular season in 2011. The league was known as the "Women's Sp ...

founded in 2001 as the Pensacola Power of the

National Women's Football Association The National Women's Football Association (NWFA) was a full-contact American football league for women headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee. The league was founded by Catherine Masters in 2000, as the two benchmark teams, the Alabama Renegade ...

. The WFA plays under NFL rules with minor modifications such as ball size and kick off placement. Their home field was

Escambia High School Escambia High School is a high school located in Escambia County, Florida, United States. There was controversy over its rebel mascot and playing of "Dixie." History Escambia High School (EHS) opened for the 1958–59 school year, and its f ...

in West Pensacola. This team no longer plays.

History

Pensacola Power

2001 Season

The team's history started one cool Saturday morning in February 2001. That's when Catherine Masters (NWFA CEO & founder) held tryouts for the first women's football team in Pensacola. Ray Quinn (Head Coach & owner of the Alabama Renegades) and Tim Smart (Power Head Coach Candidate) were on hand to greet the first batch of football hopefuls. Over 120 women tried out for the team over the next three weekends but only 60 could make the squad. After a laborious selection process, 60 women were chosen and the team was ready to get started. The Power had less than 2 months to select a team, get in shape, order equipment and learn the fundamentals of the game. Expectations for the first season were understandably moderate. With 4 games against teams from

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

and

Huntsville Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the 100th-most populous city in the U.S. The Huntsville metropolitan area had an estimated 525,465 ...

, (teams with 8 games under their belts) the Power was optimistically hoping for a 4–4 season. The Power burst on the NWFA scene with a vengeance setting records for attendance ranging from a reported 2,500 to 5,000 fans per game. No one was disappointed. During the course of their first season the Power recorded the first ever undefeated regular season, earned the Southern Division Title with the 2nd ranked defense and the 2nd ranked offense in the league led by team captain and starting quarterback (Julie Moss), they had the leagues first and only 1,000 yard rusher (Jill Penderghest), the league leader in interceptions (Jodi Albright), the leagues’ best punter and field goal kicker (Emily Morgan) and earned a berth in the first ever

National Championship game. While the Power lost the championship game to nerves and the overwhelming size and strength of the

Philadelphia Liberty Belles The Philadelphia Liberty Belles are a team of the Women's Football Alliance which began play for its inaugural 2009 season. Home games are played on the campus of Wissahickon High School in Ambler, Pennsylvania. The Liberty Belles are named i ...

, no one could have asked for a better start.

2002 Season

The 2002 season began under a heavy cloud of doubt. After an awesome 8-1 inaugural season but after bad management, the Power was given a new life. Bolstered by new ownership and confidence, the Power prepared for the 2002 season. With about 25 returning veterans the Power had a solid core to build on. The NWFA had added another 10 teams to the league and had recreated itself into five conferences. The Power found itself in the new Gulf Coast Division with teams from

Biloxi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in Harrison County, Mississippi, United States. It lies on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast in southern Mississippi, bordering the city of Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport to its west. The adjacent cities ar ...

Panama City Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...

and

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

. The Power was quick to use its experience and power to dominate divisional opponents and wrapped up its second consecutive undefeated season and divisional title. They outscored their opponents 421–19. They had the #1 rated offense and the #2 rated defense in the league. The Power defeated the Alabama Renegades 12–8 in the first round of the playoffs but fell to the eventual National Champion, the Detroit Danger by a score of 14–7. The Power has amassed a 17-2 (.894 winning percentage) record over the last two years. Unlike the 2001 season the 2002 season was a success on and off the field. With new management and solid financial controls the Power ended the year with zero debt and the ability to start the 2003 season with a small balance in the bank.

2003 Season

Head Coach Tim Smart - who is a retired

Air Force Officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer (NCO), or a warrant officer. However, absent c ...

currently coaching the 2006 champions (the D.C. Divas) receives orders and is unable to complete the season. The Power warms up with a home pre-season game against the Nashville Dream, winning 37–12. Coach Smart takes the Power to a regular season 7–0 record before he has to pack up. Coach Mike Thomas (defensive coordinator) takes over as head coach and the transition is smooth. Coach Thomas' first official game as head coach is a victory and seals up an incredible record of 8-0 for the season outscoring opponents 480–10. The Power is now undefeated in regular season play for the third consecutive year. Entering the playoffs with an official Bye and home field advantage, the Power is ranked No. 1. The first match-up was against the Alabama Renegades. With a victory of 32–12, the Power advanced to play

Oklahoma City Lightning The Oklahoma City Lightning is a full-contact women's American football team in the Women's Spring Football League based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Home games are played at Taft Stadium. Formerly a member of the Independent Women's Football L ...

. Again, the Power was successful with a victory of 26-14 and went on to the Championship in

TN. Although the Power played a head to head game at Vanderbilt against the

Detroit Demolition The Detroit Demolition was a women's American football team based in the Detroit, Michigan area. During their most recent season, home games were played at Franklin High School in Livonia. They joined the National Women's Football Associatio ...

, Detroit made wise use of the clock and went on to win the Championship Title with a score of 28–21. The Power holds a record of 10-1 for the 2003 Season and are the reigning Gulf Coast Division Champions and Southern Conference Champions. For the 2003 season, the Power were rated #1 Defense and #2 Offense in the NWFA according to Massy Ratings. The franchise record stands at 27-3 (.894), not including pre-season scrimmages. The National Title has so far managed to slip out of their grasp, but the Power has without a doubt established themselves as a national contender.

2004 Season

With Coach Mike Thomas leading the way, the Power saw some new competition, as their favorite rival the Alabama Renegades were shifted into a different division. Although the games were tougher as the competition gets more experienced, the Power had their 4th consecutive 8–0 regular season. New playoff rules put into place made the scenario such that you must beat each opponent by more than 30 points to ultimately gain the home field advantage. Teams who were given forfeits automatically were credited with a 30-point spread win. Although 8–0 and outscoring their opponents 398–57, the Power lost the home field advantage, was seeded #3 and had to travel for 2 out of 3 playoff games. The Power breezed their way through the first round defeating the Ashville Assault 61–0. The team met the always competitive

Chattanooga Locomotion The Chattanooga Locomotion was a team in the Independent Women's Football League based in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Home games of the team were played on the campus of Red Bank High School. From their inception in 2001 until 2008, the Locomo ...

in the next round. This was the first time the two teams had met again since the 2001 season. The game began slowly with both teams showing some strengths and weaknesses but the Power opened things up in the second half and defeated the Locomotion 35–20. The final playoff game and Southern Conference Championship was against the Lightning in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

. The Power was disappointed as they weren't able to take the team to the final game with a loss to OKC. The franchise record after this season is 36–4 (.894) not including pre-season scrimmages.

2005 season

This time, riding another 8–0 season, the Power beat OKC in overtime earning a third appearance at the Championships. They traveled to

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

to play the Detroit Demolition for the NWFA Championship but they were literally out of their league as they were overpowered by a painful 74–0 loss.

2006 season

Limping home after their loss, the Power never quite recovered and suffered their first regular season loss in the franchise history to the

Austin Outlaws The Austin Outlaws are a women's football team in the Women's Football Alliance. They are based in Austin, Texas. Home games are played at historic House Park in downtown Austin. Founded in 2001 as a charter member of the Independent Women ...

. They ended the 2006 season 6-2 but still captured their Southeast Division Title. The Power were beaten by the

Columbus Comets The Columbus Comets were a women's professional American football team based in Columbus, Ohio. They played in the Women's Football Alliance. The Comets played in the National Women's Football Association from their inception in 2003 until 2 ...

in the 2nd round of playoffs to end their 2006 season.

2007 season

Despite capturing a 7–1 record and another Southeast Division Title, the Power were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the

once again.

2008 season

Once again, the Power finished 6-2 and won the Southeast Division championship. Likewise, the Power were eliminated in the first round, losing 6–0 to the

Kentucky Karma The Kentucky Karma was a team in the Women's Football Alliance. Based in Louisville, the Karma played their home games at South Oldham High School in Crestwood, Kentucky, approximately 20 miles northeast of Louisville. From 2005 to 2008, the Ka ...

Gulf Coast Riptide

2009 season

For the 2009 season, the Power moved to the

Women's Football Alliance The Women's Football Alliance (WFA) is a semi-pro full-contact women's American football league in the United States. Founded in 2009, it is the largest 11-on-11 football league for women in the world, and the longest running active women's ...

and changed their name to the Gulf Coast Riptide. Despite another well-played season and another 6–2 record, for the first time in franchise history, the Riptide missed the playoffs. This is because of the WFA's new playoff system which did not allow for any wildcards from the American Conference and because of the Riptide's two losses to the

Jacksonville Dixie Blues The Jacksonville Dixie Blues are a women's American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville, Florida. Founded in 2001, they are currently members of the Women's Football Alliance (WFA), playing their home games on the campus o ...

2010 season

The Riptide took the 2010 season off to reorganize.

2011 season

The 2011 season continued the downfall of their previous season. For only the second time in team history, the Riptide failed to win the division title or play any postseason games; also for the first time in team history, the team finished with a losing record at 3–5.

Season-By-Season

, - , colspan="6" align="center" , Pensacola Power (NWFA) , - , 2001 , , 8 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1st Unknown Division , , Lost NWFA Championship (

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

) , - , 2002 , , 8 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1st Gulf Coast , , Won First Round (

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

)
Lost Semifinal (

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

) , - , 2003 , , 8 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1st South , , First-round bye
Won Conference Semifinal (

)
Won Conference Championship (

)
Lost NWFA Championship (

) , - , 2004 , , 8 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1st South Gulf Coast , , Won Southern Conference Quarterfinal (

Asheville Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populous city in Western North Carolina a ...

)
Won Southern Conference Semifinal (

Chattanooga Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

)
Lost Southern Conference Championship (

) , - , 2005 , , 8 , , 0 , , 0 , , T-1st South , , Won South Division Semifinal (

)
Won South Division Championship (

)
Lost NWFA Championship (

) , - , 2006 , , 6 , , 2 , , 0 , , 1st South East , , First-round bye
Lost NWFA Quarterfinal (

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, the capital city of the U.S. state of Ohio * Columbus, Georgia, a city i ...

) , - , 2007 , , 7 , , 1 , , 0 , , 1st South South , , Lost Southern Conference Quarterfinal (

) , - , 2008 , , 6 , , 2 , , 0 , , 1st South Southeast , , Lost Southern Conference Quarterfinal (

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

) , - , colspan="6" align="center" , Gulf Coast Riptide (WFA) , - , 2009 , , 6 , , 2 , , 0 , , 2nd American Southeast , , -- , - , 2010 , , colspan="6" rowspan="1" align="center" , ''Did Not Play'' , - , 2011 , , 3 , , 5 , , 0 , , 3rd South Atlantic , , -- , - , 2012* , , 1 , , 3 , , 0 , , 3rd WFA National 8 , , -- , - !Totals , , 76 , , 23 , , 0 , colspan="2", (including playoffs) * = current standing Image:Helmet logo.jpg, Pensacola Power (2001–2008) Image:GulfCoastRiptide.PNG, Preliminary Gulf Coast Riptide logo (pre-2009) Image:GCRiptide.PNG, Former Gulf Coast Riptide logo (2009) Image:GulfCoastRiptide.jpg, New Gulf Coast Riptide logo (2011–present)

2009

Season schedule

2011

Standings

Season schedule

2012

Season schedule

** = Won by forfeit

External links

Gulf Coast Riptide website

WFA website
{{Florida Sports Sports in Pensacola, Florida Women's Football Alliance teams Women's Spring Football League teams American football teams in Florida American football teams established in 2001 2001 establishments in Florida Women's sports in Florida