Maidstone Pumas
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| Established | 1997 | ||||||||||||||||
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| Based in | Maidstone | ||||||||||||||||
| Home stadium | New Line Learning Academy | ||||||||||||||||
| Head coach | Olly Dracup | ||||||||||||||||
| League | BAFA National Leagues | ||||||||||||||||
| Division | National Division South Central Conference | ||||||||||||||||
| Current uniform | |||||||||||||||||
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The Maidstone Pumas are an American Football team based in Maidstone, Kent. The team were formed in 1997 as a continuation of the former youth team of the same name, and currently play in National Division South Central Conference of the BAFA National Leagues (BAFANL).
The Maidstone Pumas were first formed as a youth team that was active between 1988 and 1990, finishing as conference champions twice and losing to the Tiptree Titans in the BYAFA playoff final in 1990 the youth team continued for 7 more seasons in the youth league and entered Division Two the British Senior League the following year in 1998. They struggled to adapt and finished bottom of the South East conference, losing all ten of their regular season games and failing to score in six.
They were realigned into the Southern conference for their second season and on their third matchday they won their first senior game, a 27–0 win over the Chiltern Cheetahs. This was followed by a mixture of wins and narrow defeats, which included them completing a double over their local rivals, the Kent Exiles. They eventually finished fifth out of seven teams with a 4-5 record.
They were realigned once again for the 2000 into the five-team Eastern conference along with the Exiles and the Southend Sabres and eventually finished fourth with a 2-6 record. 2001 also saw the Pumas struggle, ending the season with a 1-7 record and only avoiding finishing bottom of their group by virtue of having conceded less points than the Kent Exiles.
It was decided that a period of rebuilding was needed, and so the club took a year out from senior competition in 2002. However, they continued to struggle upon their return to the BSL. In 2003, they finished bottom of the South East conference with a 1-9 record, and failed to win a single match in 2004, losing nine games and drawing one. The Pumas ended both the 2005 and 2006 seasons with a 2-8 record, whilst 2007 saw them lose every one of their ten games. In all, the Pumas lost 17 consecutive games, a streak which was ended on their first matchday of 2008 with a 13–12 victory over the Essex Spartans.
The 2009 season was marred by the death of offensive lineman Alan 'Minty' Newcombe, who collapsed on the sideline during the home match against the East Kent Mavericks on 16 August. His funeral was attended by hundreds of people, including his teammates who wore their team colours at the request of his family.
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