Spartans Announce First Player Signings in Franchise History

Published on November 3, 2009 under Indoor Football League (IFL)
La Crosse Spartans News Release


The La Crosse Spartans announced today the first signings in franchise history. The players signed will attend the team's training camp which begins in February. A roster of 45 can be carried into training camp, with a cut down to 21 active players by the time the season starts in March.

Joining the Spartans are six players, all of whom participated in the team's recent tryouts in La Crosse & St Louis earlier this month. The players signed include S Jamez Foster, RB Tom Stark, S Jamil Abdullah, CB/KR Craig Polifka, CB/S Mark Sullivan, and LB Billy Alexander. "These guys all showed our coaching staff something special during tryouts," said Gilbert Brown, Spartans head coach. "Obviously putting pads on will show us more, however we are excited to see what these players can offer our franchise."

The Spartans expect to announce additional signings in November as they continue to build their franchise.

Jahmez Foster

Jahmez Foster was a two sport athlete at Oklahoma State where he wrestled and played football. During his two seasons there, Foster averaged 25 yards on punt returns and rushed for five touchdowns for the Cowboys. Foster transferred to TSU in Nashville, TN where he led the team with 2,251 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns in two seasons. After college, Foster continued his career for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League in 2001.

Tom Stark

Tom Stark is back to continue playing football in the Coulee Region. A West Salem and University of Wisconsin-La Crosse graduate, Stark averaged 4.9 yards per carry and 18 yards per catch. Stark played the 2008 season with the Rock River Raptors of the Continental Indoor Football League.

Jamil Abdullah

Jamil Abdullah played for William Rainey Harper College from 2002-2004, where he was a First Team All-Conference strong safety and punter. Abdullah was also named JC Gridwire All-American and Team MVP. In 2007, Abdullah continued his collegiate career at Lindenwood University where he was named Second Team All-Conference and recorded 73 tackles, four sacks and three forced fumbles in eight games.

Craig Polifka

Polifka comes to La Crosse through the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he played defensive back and returned both kicks and punts. During his career at UW-Eau Claire, Polifka lead the team in interceptions his last two seasons and led the conference in punt returns for three straight years and kick returns his junior year. Polifka was also voted first Team All-Conference defensive back and first Team All-West Region defensive back by D3football.com in his senior season.

Mark Sullivan

Sullivan comes back to La Crosse as a member of the Spartans after finishing his collegiate career at Concordia University in St. Paul. Sullivan, a graduate of Logan High School went on to become a NSIC All-Academic in 2008 at Concordia and earned the Cory Parlet Award in 2006. He graduated with a degree in Kinesiology and is pursuing his Master's in Physical Education at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Billy Alexander

Billy Alexander is a relatively familiar face to Spartan fans. After playing for the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Alexander played two years with the La Crosse Night Train of the NIFL. Continuing his career, Alexander played for Team USA in 2003 in Graz, Austria and 2005 in La Vegas, Nevada.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Indoor Football League Stories from November 3, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central