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Fabian Guerra (born May 18, 1995)[1] is an American football wide receiver for the San Antonio Gunslingers of the Indoor Football League (IFL). He played college football at Fairmont State. Professionally, he was a member of the Carolina Cobras of the National Arena League (NAL) before joining the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). He has also been a member of the Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League (AFL) and Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL).

Early life

The son of Fabian Guerra Sr. and Diana Benito,[2] Guerra attended Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, where he played football and was on the track team.[3] He was teammates with three-star recruit and future Florida State receiver Bobo Wilson, and thus did not receive many targets.[4]

His grandparents were originally from Cuba and migrated to the Miami area, where his parents were born. Raised in a Spanish speaking household, he began playing football at a young age because his dad had played.[4]

College career

Upon graduating high school, Fairmont State University offered Guerra an opportunity to play college football for the Fighting Falcons; FSU was the only school to make an offer.[5] In his freshman year in 2013, he appeared in ten games (starting seven), during which he recorded 32 catches for 315 yards and two touchdowns.[6]

During his sophomore year, he had 63 receptions for 822 yards and five touchdowns; the receptions were the fourth-most in school history. In the season opener against Notre Dame College, he caught 13 passes for 247 yards and a touchdown, with the first two categories leading all receivers across the NCAA's divisions that week.[6] During a 45–21 defeat to Concord, Guerra garnered media attention with a one-handed catch over two Concord defenders, a play that Fairmont State head coach Jason Woodman called "possibly the best he had ever seen";[7][8] the feat appeared on ESPN's SportsCenter program as one of the weekend's top ten plays.[9] He was subsequently named first-team All-MEC,[10] and was also a member of Beyond Sports Network's third-team All-Atlantic Region.[11]

In 2015, he had 62 catches, 819 yards (eighth most in FSU history), and six scores, including four games in which he recorded at least 100 receiving yards.[6] Guerra was named second-team All-MEC for his season.[11]

Guerra's senior campaign saw the Fighting Falcons open the 2016 season 7–0, their best start since 1967, during which he set the school's all-time receptions record.[12] Against Concord, he recorded three receiving touchdowns, his first game with multiple scores, in a Fairmont State 28–0 win; it was the Falcons' first win against the Mountain Lions since 2008.[5][2] He was a member of the 2016 All-MEC Second Team.[13]

He ended his college career with 233 total catches, 2,805 receiving yards, and 20 touchdowns.[14] The receptions were a Fairmont State record, while the yards and touchdowns ranked second and third in school history, respectively.[15]

Professional career

Carolina Cobras

Unable to sign with a National Football League or Canadian Football League team, Guerra caught the attention of Billy Back, head coach of the National Arena League's Carolina Cobras, who noticed him on Twitter and remembered his catch against Concord.[15] Guerra signed with the team in December 2017 ahead of the 2018 season.[14] That year, he made 70 catches for 818 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns as the Cobras won the league championship.[16]

In October 2018, Guerra re-signed with the Cobras.[16]

Memphis Express / Columbus Destroyers

On December 12, 2018, he announced his intention to join the Memphis Express of the Alliance of American Football on December 12.[17] He eventually made the Express' final roster for the 2019 AAF season,[18] becoming one of two Memphis players who attended an NCAA Division II school along with fellow receiver Reece Horn.[19] In his first game, Guerra had just one reception for 11 yards in a shutout loss to the Birmingham Iron.[20] He was released on March 8,[21] and signed with the Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League (AFL) on March 11. He was re-signed by the Express on March 26,[22] and subsequently placed on the league suspension list by the Destroyers. After the AAF suspended football operations, Guerra was activated from the league suspension list by the Destroyers on April 6, 2019. He was placed on the league suspension list again on April 8.

Carolina Cobras (second stint) / Columbus Destroyers

Guerra signed a contract with the Carolina Cobras of the NAL on April 9, 2019. He was activated from the AFL league suspension list again on April 18, placed on the list again on April 25, and activated again on April 29. He was placed on the league suspension list again on July 18. Following the 2019 AFL season, Guerra was named co-Rookie of the Year on August 6, 2019.[23] The AFL folded on November 27, 2019.

Montreal Alouettes

Guerra signed a two-year contract with the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League on December 4, 2019.[24] After the CFL canceled the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Guerra chose to opt-out of his contract with the Alouettes on August 26, 2020.[25] He re-signed with the Alouettes on December 18, 2020.[26] He was released on April 23, 2021.[27]

BC Lions

On September 15, 2022, Guerra signed with the BC Lions.[28]

New Jersey Generals

Guerra signed with the New Jersey Generals of the USFL on August 22, 2023.[29] The Generals folded when the XFL and USFL merged to create the United Football League (UFL).[30]

San Antonio Gunslingers

On March 7, 2024, Guerra signed with the San Antonio Gunslingers.[31]

References

  1. ^ "Fabian Guerra #6". Carolina Cobras. Archived from the original on August 10, 2018. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  2. ^ a b McNamara, Sean (September 11, 2016). "Big game a family affair for Guerras". Times West Virginian. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  3. ^ Welch, Matt (June 14, 2015). "One-handed catch motivating FSU's Guerra to become even better". Times West Virginian. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Hertzel, Bob (April 1, 2017). "Hertzel column: Long odds won't stop Guerra's NFL pursuit". Times West Virginian. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
  5. ^ a b Cassesse, Shelby (September 14, 2016). "Guerra shines for Fairmont State football". WDTV. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  6. ^ a b c "Fabian Guerra". Fairmont State Fighting Falcons. Retrieved March 23, 2019.
  7. ^ Fenelon, Andy (October 7, 2014). "Catch of the Year alert: One-handed grab by Div. II receiver". National Football League. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  8. ^ Chin, Ken. "College WR Fabian Guerra Hauls in Beautiful 1-Handed TD Catch". Bleacher Report. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  9. ^ "FSU's Guerra featured on ESPN". Times West Virginian. October 6, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  10. ^ "MEC Announces Football Awards". Mountain East Conference. November 18, 2014. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  11. ^ a b "Fairmont State University Football: Week 1 Game Notes" (PDF). Fairmont State Fighting Falcons. September 1, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  12. ^ Prosba, Zach (October 18, 2016). "Fairmont State Football's Simple Secret to Success". Hero Sports. Archived from the original on March 26, 2019. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  13. ^ "MEC Announces Football Awards". Mountain East Conference. November 15, 2016. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  14. ^ a b "Cobras add Wide Receiver Fabian Guerra – Division II Star joins Carolina's Receiving Core". National Arena League. February 14, 2017. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  15. ^ a b McNamara, Sean (April 28, 2018). "Guerra making the most of an opportunity once again". Times West Virginian. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Guerra Re-signs with Carolina for Sophomore Year". National Arena League. October 25, 2018. Archived from the original on March 25, 2019. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  17. ^ Guerra, Fabian [@fabianguerra_86] (December 12, 2018). "Blessed to sign with the Memphis Express of @TheAAF and continue living my dream. Memphis you're getting someone who's going to give you everything I got each and everyday. Ready to get started!" (Tweet). Retrieved March 24, 2019 – via Twitter.
  18. ^ Munz, Jason (January 30, 2019). "AAF: The Memphis Express set their initial 52-man roster. Who made the cut?". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  19. ^ Cavadi, Wayne (February 12, 2019). "DII football players on Alliance of American Football rosters". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  20. ^ Hesterman, John (February 12, 2019). "AAF Week Two Matchup Preview of Arizona Hotshots at Memphis Express". Last Word on Pro Football. Retrieved March 25, 2019.
  21. ^ Munz, Jason (March 8, 2019). "Zach Mettenberger and Aaron Murray go back a ways. They'll cross paths again Sunday". The Commercial Appeal. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
  22. ^ Rubino, Dylan James [@DylanJRubino] (March 26, 2019). "Roster moves for @aafexpress: Added to the active roster: WR Fabian Guerra and WR Drew Morgan. Placed on reserved/injured list: WR Devin Lucien" (Tweet). Retrieved March 26, 2019 – via Twitter.
  23. ^ "Co-Rookie of the Year Announced". ArenaFootball.com. August 6, 2019. Archived from the original on September 2, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
  24. ^ "Alouettes sign new deals with three players including Canadian Michael Sanelli". MontrealAlouettes.com. December 4, 2019. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  25. ^ "Alouettes rookie receiver Fabian Guerra Jr. opts out of CFL contract". 3downnation.com. August 25, 2020. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  26. ^ "Roosevelt, Matte, Reid headline long list of Als extensions". CFL.ca. December 18, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  27. ^ "2021 CFL Transactions". CFL.ca. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  28. ^ "Alt-League Movement: Bills Release Former Guardians WR Tanner Gentry, Former Express WR Fabian Guerra Signed by BC Lions Of CFL". XFLNewsHub.com. September 15, 2022. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
  29. ^ @USFLGenerals (August 22, 2023). "Free Agent Signing" (Tweet). Retrieved August 22, 2023 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ Seifert, Kevin (January 1, 2024). "Newly formed United Football League sets 8 markets, tabs coaches". ESPN.com. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  31. ^ "GUNSLINGERS SIGN WIDE RECEIVER FABIAN GUERRA". San Antonio Gunslingers - IFL. 2024-02-13. Retrieved 2024-03-08.

External links

source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabian_Guerra