Gabriel Amavizca Ortiz (born January 11, 1993) is a Mexican professional gridiron football placekicker for the Mexicas de la Ciudad de México of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional (LFA). He played college football at UDLAP, Universidad Madero and BUAP.
 | |
| No. 11 – Mexicas de la Ciudad de México | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Placekicker |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | January 11, 1993 Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico |
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight: | 191 lb (87 kg) |
| Career information | |
| College: | UDLAP BUAP |
| CFL draft: | 2019 LFA / round: 3 / pick: 26 |
| Career history | |
| * Offseason and/or practice squad member only | |
| Stats at CFL.ca | |
In June 2019, Amavizca became the first CFL global player ever to score points in a regular season match.[1]
Early years
editAmavizca was born in Hermosillo, Sonora, but moved to Puebla when he was eight years old. He started playing gridiron football at the age of 11, after practicing other sports such as baseball, tennis and association football. In high school, he received a scholarship to play football at the ITESM Puebla.[2]
College career
editAmavizca first enrolled in the UDLAP's college football program, the Aztecas, where he played for the 2013 season and won the CONADEIP championship. In 2014, he played for the Universidad Madero Tigres Blancos (White Tigers). After retiring for one season due to personal motives, he came back and played his last two college years for the BUAP, where he also earned a major in Business Administration.[2][3]
Professional career
editAmavizca played for the Artilleros de Puebla of the Liga de Fútbol Americano Profesional for the 2019 season He became the first Artilleros player to score points.[4]
He was selected by the Winnipeg Blue Bombers at the 2019 CFL-LFA Draft as the team's third pick (26th overall).[5] Amavizca attended the training camp with the Blue Bombers, but was released by the team on June 8, 2019 during the pre-season. Three days later, on June 11, he was signed by the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.[6]
On June 22, 2019, Amavizca became the first global player to score points in a CFL regular season game kicking two converts during his team's 64–14 win over the Toronto Argonauts.[1][7][8] He dressed in the first seven games of the season before being placed on the team's practice roster. He ended the 2019 season on the practice roster and was released at the end of the year.[9]
In December 2021, Amavizca signed with the Reyes de Jalisco ahead of the 2022 LFA season.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b "CFL.ca Game Notes: A look at Week 3". CFL.ca. CFL. June 26, 2019. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
- ^ a b ""Los tiempos de Dios son perfectos": Gabriel Amavizca". El Sol de Puebla (in Spanish). July 22, 2019. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2019.
- ^ "Ex jugador de Lobos de futbol americano busca ser titular en la CFL de Canadá". BUAP.mx (in Spanish). August 29, 2019. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
- ^ "Gabriel Amavizca Ortiz". LFA.mx (in Spanish). LFA. February 19, 2019. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
- ^ "Bombers Select Three Players in Inaugural CFL/LFA Draft". bluebombers.com. Winnipeg Blue Bombers. January 14, 2019. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
- ^ "Tiger-Cats sign global kicker Amavizca-Ortiz". ticats.ca. Hamilton Tiger-Cats. June 11, 2019. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
- ^ "2019-06-22 Game Tracker – Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs. Toronto Argonauts (2567)". CFL.ca. Archived from the original on September 29, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
- ^ Barnes, Dan (June 26, 2019). "Interest in CFL's global players sparks imminent Mexican streaming deal". canada.com. Archived from the original on September 3, 2019. Retrieved September 3, 2019.
- ^ "Transaction – Football player trades and signings". Canadian Football League. Retrieved December 19, 2020.
- ^ "Presentan a Reyes de Jalisco, nuevo equipo de la LFA bajo el mando del coach Ernesto Alfaro". Máximo Avance (in Spanish). December 21, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2022.