Richmond Raiders

Richmond Raiders
Founded 2008
Current season 2015
League AIFA (2010)
SIFL (2011)
PIFL (2012–2015)
Team history Richmond Raiders (2010–2015)
Based in Richmond, Virginia
Arena Richmond Coliseum
Colors Blue, Black, Silver, White
                   
Owner(s) Richmond Raiders, LLC
(Mike & Elizabeth Fraizer)
Head coach James Fuller
Championships (0)
Conference titles (0)
Division titles (1)
SIFL Mid-Atlantic: 2011
Playoff berths (3)
PIFL: 2012, 2013, 2015
Dancers Lady Raiders
Mascot Risky the Horse
Website www.RichmondRaidersProFootball.com

The Richmond Raiders were a professional indoor football team located in Richmond, Virginia the Richmond Coliseum as their home arena. The Raiders began play in the 2010 as an expansion team of the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA). The Raiders moved to the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) when the Eastern Division of the AIFA merged with the SIFL in the winter of 2010, beginning SIFL play in the 2011 season. After just a single season in the SIFL the Raiders, along with four other members of the SIFL, became the charter members of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL). The team was then a member the PIFL from 2012 to 2015.

History

In July, 2009, the American Indoor Football Association announced that they would be expanding into Richmond, Virginia. After a month-long name-the-team contest, the Richmond franchise announced that it would be nicknamed the Raiders on August 5, 2009.[1] On October 12, 2009, the Raiders officially unveiled their new logo.[2]

The Raiders' first game was the 2010 AIFA Kickoff Classic; on January 23, 2010, where they played an exhibition game against the AIFA All-Stars at the Richmond Coliseum.[3]

On May 5, 2010, defensive coordinator Charles Gunnings replaced Mike Siani as the head coach, as Siani resigned.[4][5]

Chris Simpson became the head coach of the Raiders for the 2011 season, coming over from the Baltimore Mariners on September 13, 2010. Even more change came about for the 2011 season, as the AIFA announced an merger with the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL).[6] In February, 2011, Simpson resigned before opening day, as he "relocated to Texas to pursue family business opportunities".[7] He was replaced by James Fuller, who was the interim head coach for the Arena Football League's Dallas Vigilantes in 2010.

Former Richmond Revolution head coach Steve Criswell signed with the Raiders as a senior consultant for the 2011 season. Criswell brought several former Revolution players along, including QB Bryan Randall and DL Lawrence Lewis.

The 2012 season saw the Raiders move to the just formed Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL).[8]

After starting the season with a 2-4 record, the Raiders rallied to win their final six games to clinch the #2 seed in the PIFL playoffs. After a 54-35 victory over the Nashville Venom in the opening round of the PIFL playoffs,[9] the Raiders advanced to PIFL IV against the Columbus Lions. The Raiders were defeated 38-64.[10]

After the 2015 season, and due to turmoil in the lower levels of indoor football, the Raiders announced that they would take the 2016 season off, as there was no league within reasonable geographic distance that the team's ownership felt comfortable joining.[11] In summer 2016, the ownership announced that Raiders would not be returning and they would continue to focus on their sports performance training business.

Players

Current roster

Richmond Raiders roster
Quarterbacks

Fullbacks

  • 35 Derrick Okafor

Wide Receivers

  • 12 Gerron Bryant
  •  2 Daron Clark
  •  9 Ronald Davis
  • 14 Dexter Green
  •  1 Robert Holland
  •  5 Herb Jones
Offensive Linemen
  • 77 James Carter
  • 56 Blade Shoop
  • 78 Jarius Spain
  • 63 Ken Van Heule
  • 55 Eric Weaver

Defensive Linemen

  •  7 Alex Johnson
  • 94 Devin Jones
  • 90 Christian Lacey
  • 41 Chris Robinson
  • 75 Brandon Sparrow
Linebackers
  • 32 Blake Jones
  • 45 Brandon Robinson

Defensive Backs

  • 21 Kevin Allen
  • 22 Tyrell Austin
  •  6 Malik Cromartie
  •  8 Torez Jones
  • 31 Maurice Thorne

Kickers

  • 18 T. C. Stevens
Injured Reserve
  • -- Ammar Dyson WR

Exempt List

Suspended

  • Currently vacant

Rookies in italics
Roster updated June 14, 2015
27 Active, 4 Inactive

→ More rosters

Awards and honors

The following is a list of all Raiders players who have won league awards:

Season Player Position Award
2012 Antwon Young Quarterback Most Valuable Player
2012 T. C. Stevens Kicker Special Teams of the Year
2014 Devin Jones Defensive Lineman Defensive Rookie of the Year
2014 Devin Jones Defensive Lineman Defensive Player of the Year
2015 T. C. Stevens Kicker Special Teams of the Year
2015 Jonathan Bane Quarterback Offensive Player of the Year[12]

Head coaches

Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2015 PIFL season.

Name Term Regular Season Playoffs Awards
W L T Win% W L
Mike Siani 2010 2 5 0 .286 0 0
Charlie Gunnings 2010 4 3 0 .571 0 0
James Fuller 2011–2015 37 24 0 .600 3 3 2012 PIFL Coach of the Year
2015 PIFL Coach of the Year

Statistics and records

Season-by-season results

Note: The Finish, Wins, Losses, and Ties columns list regular season results and exclude any postseason play.

League Champions Conference Champions Division Champions Wild Card Berth League Leader
Season Team League Conference Division Regular season Postseason Results
Finish Wins Losses Ties
2010 2010 AIFA Eastern 5th 6 8 0
2011 2011 SIFL Eastern Mid-Atlantic 1st 6 6 0
2012 2012 PIFL 1st 10 2 0 Won Semifinals (Louisiana) 56-50
Lost PIFL Cup I (Albany) 56-60
2013 2013 PIFL 3rd 7 5 0 Won Semifinals (Lehigh Valley) 44-40
Lost PIFL Cup II (Alabama) 44-70
2014 2014 PIFL American 3rd 5 7 0
2015 2015 PIFL 2nd 8 4 0 Won Semifinals (Nashville) 54-35
Lost PIFL Cup IV (Columbus) 38-64
Totals 42 32 0 All-time regular season record (2010–2015)
3 3 - All-time postseason record (2010–2015)
45 35 0 All-time regular season and postseason record (2010–2015)

References

  1. ↑ "Raiders chosen as name for Richmond's AIFA team". www.richmond.com. BH Media Group Holdings, Inc. August 5, 2009. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  2. ↑ "Richmond Raiders unveil team logo". OurSports Central.com. October 12, 2009. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  3. ↑ "AIFA Kickoff Classic Set For Richmond Saturday Night". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. January 22, 2010. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Richmond Raiders change coaches". www.richmond.com. BH Media Group Holdings, Inc. May 5, 2010. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  5. ↑ Time Pearrell (May 6, 2010). "Gunnings replaces Siani as Raiders' coach". www.richmond.com. BH Media Group Holdings, Inc. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  6. ↑ Matthew Felan (November 10, 2010). "Raiders Join Southern Indoor Football League". www.richmondcoliseum.net. Richmond Coliseum. Retrieved December 17, 2014.
  7. ↑ "AFL Veteran Takes Over For Promising 2011 Season". Retrieved February 21, 2011.
  8. ↑ "Raiders join PIFL for 2012". www.richmond.com. Richmond Times-Dispatch. September 29, 2011. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  9. ↑ Laura Fien (June 29, 2015). "Strong start spurs Raiders to semifinal win". www.richmond.com. Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  10. ↑ Justin Ferguson (July 6, 2015). "Columbus Lions feast on Richmond Raiders again, claim indoor football title with 64-38 win". www.richmond.com. Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
  11. ↑ Elizabeth and Mike Fraizer (September 8, 2015). "A MESSAGE FROM THE RICHMOND RAIDERS MANAGEMENT". www.richmondraidersprofootball.com. Richmond Raiders. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Raiders QB Jonathan Bane wins PIFL Offensive Player of the Year". www.richmond.com. Richmond Times-Dispatch. July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 15, 2015.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/19/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.