Rochester Raiders

Rochester Raiders
Founded 2006
League GLIFL/CIFL 2006–2008
IFL 2009–2010
AIF 2014
Team history Rochester Raiders
2006–present
Based in Rochester, New York
Arena Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex
Colors Silver, Black
Head coach Mark Thurston
Championships (1)
CIFL: (2007)
Conference titles (1)
Atlantic: (2007)
Division titles (1)
Atlantic West: (2008)
Playoff berths (6)
CIFL: (2006, 2007, 2008)
IFL: (2009, 2010)
AIF: (2014)
Cheerleaders Rochester Raiderettes

The Rochester Raiders were a professional indoor football team based in the Rochester, New York area. They played their home games at Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex in Rochester. The Raiders were previously a member of the Continental Indoor Football League from 2006 to 2008 and the American Indoor Football Association for two exhibition matches in 2008. In 2014, the Raiders came back and played as a member of American Indoor Football (AIF).

The Raiders played in the CIFL championship game twice, both times against the Port Huron / Michigan Pirates. They lost to Port Huron in 2006 but defeated Michigan in 2007. Rochester finished the 2008 regular season undefeated at 12–0; however, the team resigned after their final regular season opponent, the Flint Phantoms, did not show for the game and forfeited.

History

2006

The Rochester Raiders were founded in 2006 as a charter member of the newly created Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIFL). The Raiders derived their name from a local flag football team. There have been a small number of fans concerned with copyright between the team's logo and the National Football League's Oakland Raiders. However, since the Rochester team never plays in California, this is not believed to be of real concern. The Raiders were one of two 2006 teams in the GLIFL that held a television contract, at the time with WBGT-CA, a local low-power station. Games have since been moved to Time Warner Cable SportsNet.

The Raiders' first home venue was the ESL Sports Centre in Brighton (a suburb of Rochester, now known as Bill Gray's Regional Iceplex). The team's 2006 roster featured Syracuse University standout wide receiver Maurice Jackson (who won the inaugural GLIFL Wide Receiver of the Year Award), quarterback Matt Cottengim (the league's inaugural MVP), Darius Smith (the league's inaugural Return Man of the Year), and in January 2006, they signed 2-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl XXVI Most Valuable Player Mark Rypien to a one-game contract. Rochester went 8–4 under head coach Dennis Greco (on loan from East Rochester High School) during the 2006 regular season and advanced to the postseason. However, they would ultimately fall to the Port Huron Pirates by a score of 40–34 in Great Lakes Bowl I, the GLIFL championship game. After the season, the Raiders moved from the 2,500-seat ESL Sports Centre to the 5,000-seat Main Street Armory in downtown Rochester.

2006 GLIFL standings

2006 Great Lakes Indoor Football League
Team W L T PCT
Port Huron Pirates-y 10 0 0 1.000
Rochester Raiders-x 7 3 0 .700
Lehigh Valley Outlawz-x 5 5 0 .500
Battle Creek Crunch-x 4 6 0 .400
Marion Mayhem 4 6 0 .400
New York/New Jersey Revolution 0 10 0 .000

2007

In 2007, ultimately the Raiders' only season in the Armory, they finished the regular season with a 10–2 record under new head coach Eddie Long, good for first in the Atlantic Division. In the playoffs, Rochester won the CIFL championship by defeating the previously-unbeaten Michigan Pirates 37–27 in the CIFL Indoor Championship Game on July 28, 2007. Mike Condello was named the game's Most Valuable Player. The game was held at the Blue Cross Arena (a venue with roughly double the capacity of the Main Street Armory) due to a pro wrestling show which was being held at The Armory. The Raiders moved to the Blue Cross Arena full-time beginning with the 2008 season.[1]

Date Opponent Home/Away Result
March 17 Port Huron Pirates Home Lost 30-62
March 24 New England Surge Home Won 77-40
March 30 Port Huron Pirates Away Lost 13-60
April 14 Lehigh Valley Outlawz Away Won 63-25
April 21 Chesapeake Tide Away Won 89-49
April 28 Chesapeake Tide Home Won 52-16
May 5 Chicago Slaughter Away Won 49-40
May 19 New York/New Jersey Revolution Home Won 62-0
May 26 Lehigh Valley Outlawz Home Won 77-49
June 2 Steubenville Stampede Home Won 81-6
June 9 New York/New Jersey Revolution Away Won 56-21
June 16 New England Surge Away Won 49-40
July 7 Chesapeake Tide (Playoffs) Home Won 76-43
July 14 New England Surge (Playoffs) Home Won 80-45
July 28 Michigan Pirates (CIFL Indoor Championship Game) Home (BCA) Won 37-27

2007 CIFL standings

2007 Continental Indoor Football League
Team Overall Division
W L T PCT W L T PCT
Great Lakes Conference
Michigan Pirates-y 12 0 0 1.000 10 0 0 1.000
Kalamazoo Xplosion-x 10 2 0 .833 10 2 0 .833
Chicago Slaughter-x 9 3 0 .750 8 2 0 .800
Marion Mayhem-x 6 6 0 .500 6 5 0 .545
Muskegon Thunder-x 4 8 0 .333 4 7 0 .364
Miami Valley Silverbacks 4 8 0 .333 3 7 0 .300
Summit County Rumble 1 11 0 .083 0 7 0 .000
Springfield Stallions 0 12 0 .000 0 11 0 .000
Atlantic Conference
Rochester Raiders-y 10 2 0 .833 90 0 0 1.000
New England Surge-x 8 4 0 .667 8 3 0 .727
Lehigh Valley Outlawz-x 7 5 0 .583 5 5 0 .500
Chesapeake Tide-x 7 5 0 .583 6 5 0 .545
Steubenville Stampede 5 7 0 .417 2 6 0 .250
NY/NJ Revolution 1 11 0 .083 0 11 0 .000

2008

Rochester kept most of its championship-caliber core together, re-signing quarterbacks Mike Mikolaichik, Matt Cottingem, and Omar Baker; running backs Jamil Porter and Dee Glanton; wide receivers Maurice Jackson, Chris Carter, Noah Fahrenbauch, and Derrick Dyer; offensive linemen Mike Kallfeltz and Eric Jendryaszek; linebackers Jason Coley and James Vann; defensive linemen Terrence Dawson and Tom Parks; defensive backs Chris Shaw, Darius Smith, Makis Whitaker, and Jeff Richardson; and kicker Adam Lanctot. The team also added tight end / defensive end TJ Cottrell (son of Ted Cottrell), wide receiver Darryl Fragger, running back Felix Joyner, defensive lineman Steve Fleming (all three from Port Huron), running back / wide receiver Mark Bly and linebacker Brenton Brady (both from Miami Valley) by way of free agency.

The mix of holdovers from the 2007 club with players from free agency proved to be a winning combination as the team was wildly successful in 2008. They finished the regular season undefeated (12–0; 11–0 in contested games) and won their second straight division title (but first in the Atlantic West Division). However, the Raiders withdrew from the CIFL playoffs on June 8, 2008, after the Flint Phantoms failed to show up for a Sunday afternoon game.[2] The team then immediately moved to the American Indoor Football Association, and played two exhibition matches there, but then announced a move to the Indoor Football League instead. Speculation among fans and league personnel on CIFL message boards is that some Raiders players will play with the new af2 team in Buffalo, New York—which shares ownership with the Raiders—starting in 2009. As part of the deal, Thurman Thomas, who is the other investor in the Buffalo af2 team, will also acquire a share of the Raiders.

Date Opponent Home/Away Result
March 21 Chesapeake Tide Away Won 43-36[3]
March 29 Lehigh Valley Outlawz Home Won 49-27[4]
April 5 Marion Mayhem Away Won 52-19[5]
April 12 New Jersey Revolution Home Won 49-3[6]
April 19 Saginaw Sting Home Won 59-43[7]
April 26 New Jersey Revolution Away Won 59-16[8]
May 3 New England Surge Home Won 62-20
May 10 Lehigh Valley Outlawz Away Won 45-26
May 17 Chesapeake Tide Home Won 58-13
May 24 Flint Phantoms Away Won 35-12[9]
May 31 New England Surge Away Won 52-25
June 8 Flint Phantoms Home Won Forfeit[10]

2008 CIFL standings

2008 Continental Indoor Football League
Team Overall Division
W L T PCT W L T PCT
Great Lakes Conference
East Division
Kalamazoo Xplosion-y 11 1 0 .917 5 1 0 .833
Muskegon Thunder-x 5 7 0 .417 2 2 0 .500
Fort Wayne Freedom 5 7 0 .417 2 4 0 .333
Miami Valley Silverbacks 3 9 0 .250 1 2 0 .333
West Division
Chicago Slaughter-y 8 4 0 .667 3 1 0 .750
Rock River Raptors-x 7 5 0 .583 3 1 0 .750
Milwaukee Bonecrushers 1 11 0 .083 0 4 0 .000
Atlantic Conference
East Division
New England Surge-y 8 3 0 .727 5 1 0 .833
Lehigh Valley Outlawz-x 7 5 0 .583 4 2 0 .667
New Jersey Revolution 3 9 0 .250 2 5 0 .286
Chesapeake Tide 2 10 0 .583 0 2 0 .000
West Division
Rochester Raiders-z 12 0 0 1.000 4 0 0 1.000
Saginaw Sting-y 10 2 0 .833 3 1 0 .750
Marion Mayhem-x 7 5 0 .583 0 2 0 .000
Flint Phantoms 1 11 0 .083 0 4 0 .000

2009

In December 2009, Rochester businessman Bob Bartosiewicz sold his majority share in the team to minority owner and team founder Dave McCarthy, and McCarthy announced that the team would be playing its 2010 home games at the Dome Arena in Henrietta, which has 2,164 seats—the lowest seating capacity of any IFL team, and lower than the previous arenas they used in the GLIFL and CIFL.

2010

On April 23, 2010, McCarthy announced that he was looking to sell part of the team.[11] On June 5, 2010, the Raiders hosted the first outdoor IFL game against the Chicago Slaughter at Marina Auto Stadium. The Raiders won that game 43-36.

2011

In November 2010, the Rochester Raiders announced its cessation of operations.

Professional indoor football would return to the city in 2013, with the announcement of the independent Roc City Thunder taking up residence in the city.

2014

Starting in the 2014 season the Rochester Raiders will be playing in the American Indoor Football League. After initially announcing plans to return to the Main Street Armory, a scheduling issue prompted the team to instead return to Bill Gray's.

The Raiders suspended operations after the 2014 season with the intent of returning in 2016.

Season-by-season record

Season W L T Finish Playoff results
Rochester Raiders (GLIFL)
2006 8 4 0 2nd League Won Semifinal (Lehigh Valley)
Lost Great Lakes Bowl I (Port Huron)
Rochester Raiders (CIFL)
2007 10 2 0 1st Atlantic Won AD Semifinal (Chesapeake)
Won AD Championship (New England)
Won CIFL Indoor Championship Game (Michigan)
2008 12 0 0 1st Atlantic West Quit league
Rochester Raiders (IFL)
2009 10 4 0 2nd United Atlantic Lost Divisionals I (River City)
2010 9 5 0 2nd Atlantic East Won Round 1 (Richmond)
Lost Conference Semi-Final (Wichita)
2011* 0 0 0 -- --
Rochester Raiders (AIF)
2014 4 4 0 3rd AIF League Lost Round 1 (Baltimore Mariners)
Totals 58 23 0 (including playoffs)

* = Current Standing

Notable players

Mark Rypien (2006)

Current roster

Rochester Raiders roster
Quarterbacks
  • Currently vacant

Running backs

  • Currently vacant

Wide receivers

  • Currently vacant
 Offensive linemen
  • Currently vacant

Defensive linemen

  • Currently vacant
 Linebackers
  • Currently vacant

Defensive backs

  • Currently vacant

Kickers

  • Currently vacant
 Injured Reserve
  • Currently vacant

Exempt List

  • Currently vacant

Rookies in italics
Roster updated October 21, 2014
0 Active, 0 Inactive

→ More rosters

Current staff

References

  1. ↑ "Raiders Move to Blue Cross Arena". R News. Time Warner Cable. November 19, 2007. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
  2. ↑ "Rochester Raiders To Withdraw From CIFL". Our Sports Central.com. June 8, 2008. Retrieved September 22, 2008.
  3. ↑ "Indoor football Raiders win opener". Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Rochester, New York: Gannett Company. March 21, 2008. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  4. ↑ Weinstein, Matt (March 29, 2008). "Indoor football Raiders win opener". Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Rochester, New York: Gannett Company. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  5. ↑ Putman, Bob. "Champ Raiders maul Mayhem". The Marion Star. Marion, Ohio: Gannett Company. Retrieved 2008-04-23.Archived 2008-04-23
  6. ↑ Weinstein, Matt (April 12, 2008). "Rochester Raiders rout New Jersey". Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Rochester, New York: Gannett Company. Retrieved 2008-04-28.
  7. ↑ "Sting suffer first loss" (xml). Saginaw News. Saginaw, Michigan: Booth Newspapers. 2008-04-20. Retrieved 2008-04-23.
  8. ↑ "Raiders rout Revolution again" (xml). Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. Rochester, New York]]: Gannett Company. 2008-04-27. Retrieved 2008-04-29.
  9. ↑ Savage, Brendan (2008-05-25). "Phantoms' upset bid fades in second half". Flint Journal. Booth Newspapers. Retrieved 2008-06-06.
  10. ↑ Nilsen, Dan (2008-06-08). "Flint Phantoms forfeit CIFL finale; opponent quits league". Flint Journal. Booth Newspapers. Archived from the original on 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2008-06-09.
  11. ↑ Thomas Adams (April 23, 2010). "Raiders owner looks to sell team". www.rbj.net. Rochester Business Journal. Retrieved July 25, 2016.
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