Jersey Bearcats

Jersey Bearcats: Brick by brick, AAL Competitor

Jersey Bearcats Highlights and Record.

Based in Metuchen, New Jersey, the Bearcats were founded by AJ Roque and Jermaine Sanders in 2018 with the intention of bringing a professional arena football experience to the greater-Metuchen area. To achieve this, the two lifelong football devotees put a clear and straightforward guiding principle in place: “brick by brick”.

Founding and Vision

Unsurprisingly, at the time of writing, these are the first words you’re met with when landing on the Jersey Bearcats’ website, prominently displayed even above the team’s own logo. But they’re there for a reason, summing up the founders’ ethos of combining their deep combined coaching, playing, ownership and sports industry experience, with each building on the other to form a league-leading team.

Coach

Testament to the experience the pair bring, Roque is currently serving as coach to Kean University, where he himself was once the most decorated Quarterback (2004-2007). He also had a professional four-season stint in arena football.

General Manager

For his part, Sanders also brings a wealth of experience. However, the experience that he brings comes as a team owner/manager (Jersey Cynder and the NJ Titans), with his own football career being cut short when he suffered a badly torn ACL/MCL in 1994.

Origins

As for its playing origins, the Bearcats got their start playing in the Mid-Atlantic Indoor Football League (MAIFL). Here they faced down teams like the Maryland Warriors, Reading Raptors, Capital City Seahawks, Maryland Eagles, and the Central Penn Chargers. In 2020, when MAIFL merged with the American Arena League (AAL), the Bearcats officially made the move to join the AAL.

Jersey Bearcats vs New England Bobcats

American Arena League

COVID Issues

Unfortunately, their first season with the AAL would result in zero games due to Covid-19 forcing AAL to declare a full cancellation of the 2020 season. However, the following year, in 2021, the Jersey Bearcats got their AAL start, cementing their place as a solid contender by completing the season with a 4-1 record.

Present

For the 2022 season, the Jersey Bearcats will once again take on the AAL sports league competition. Having officially announced their league membership for the season, the Bearcats will be taking on the East Division in spring with hopes of becoming overall league champions.