Amarillo Venom The Amarillo Venom are an professional indoor football team in the Indoor Football League . The Venom began play in 2004 as the Amarillo Dusters , a charter member of the Intense Football League , a small indoor football league based in Texas . They won the championship in their first and only season with the IFL . The following year , the Dusters became the first team to leave the Intense Football League and join the af2 , where they played for four seasons until the af2 ' s folding in 2009 . At that point , the team held a fan vote as to whether to join their af2 brethren in the new Arena Football 1 or enjoy numerous Texas rivalries in the Indoor Football League . On October 9 , 2009 , it was announced that , because of a 65 - 35 percent margin in the fan vote , the Dusters would be moving to the Indoor Football League for the 2010 season . The team plays their home games at Amarillo Civic Center . The team was featured on an episode of " Only in America " , a show that airs on the Discovery Times channel . On December 21 , 2008 the Dusters introduced a new color scheme for the team . The new colors were revealed as Crimson , Grey , and Black . It was announced on January 28 , 2010 that the Dusters would have to be renamed , because the Arena Football 1 owns the rights to the Dusters name and logo . On February 8 , the new Amarillo Venom name and logo was unveiled . IFL success . The Amarillo Dusters finished their only season in the Intense Football League with a 13 - 3 record en route to a league championship . Coach Don Carthel lead the Dusters to the cup as they defeated the Lubbock LoneStars . The Dusters would abandon their spot in the IFL to play in the af2 . Carthel would take the head coaching job at West Texas A & M mid - way into the first Dusters af2 season . Steve Perdue took over the Head Coaching job but , never had the success Carthel had . Season - By - Season . ! Totals | | 51 | | 62 | | 0 < nowiki > * < / nowiki > = Current Standing Past Seasons . 2005 season . In their first year in the af2 , the Amarillo Dusters reached the playoffs with an 8 - 8 record , which was good enough for a wildcard . The Dusters , lead by Julian Reese , came from 21 points down at the start of the 4th quarter to quiet the Cox Convention Center crowd to win Round 1 over the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz . The Dusters fell in Round 2 to the eventual - af2 champion Memphis Xplorers . 2006 season . The Dusters tried to build off of the moderate success they had in 2005 . However , in 2006 , the team suffered many injuries and failed to make it to the af2 playoffs . Quarterback Steve Panella was injured early in the season , forcing numerous backups to take the job . The Dusters then lost receivers . They ended the season with a 4 – 12 record . 2007 season . Looking to rebound after the previous losing season , injuries plagued the Dusters ' offense . After a win against the Lubbock Renegades in Week 2 , Steve Panella required hand surgery , putting him out for the season . The Dusters struggled for the remainder of the year but were still able end the Quincy Carter - led Bossier - Shreveport Battle Wings ' perfect season with a 51 – 49 upset . 2008 season . Death of Donte Newsome . On July 5 , 2008 , Dusters running back Donte Newsome was shot to death outside of a nightclub in Huntington , West Virginia , home of his alma mater Marshall University . On The Field . Under the leasdership of Head Coach Chris MacKeown the Amarillo Dusters went 10 - 9 in 2008 , and played for the af2 National Conference ArenaCup Finals . Following the Dusters most successful season , in their af2 history , MacKeown stepped up to AFL as the offensive coordinator for John Elway ' s Colorado Crush . Future . On October 25 , 2007 , the Dusters signed a contract to remain at the Amarillo Civic Center until at least 2011 . It was announced that their offices would be moving into the historic Paramount Building in Downtown Amarillo .