The Rochester Raiders
are a professional indoor football team based in Rochester, New York. They are currently a member of the Indoor Football League and play their home games at the Blue Cross Arena. The Raiders were previously a member of the Continental Indoor Football League (formerly the Great Lakes Indoor Football League) from 2006 to 2008 and the American Indoor Football Association for two exhibition matches in 2008. Prior to the Blue Cross Arena, the ESL Sports Centre and the Main Street Armory served as the home venue of the Raiders.
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.
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ROCHESTER RAIDERS TICKETS
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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). 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.
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. The Raiders moved to the Blue Cross Arena full-time beginning with the 2008 season.
[1]
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 Flemming (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 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.
Season-by-season record
Note:
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties''
| 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
| Suspended/Missed Playoffs
|
| Rochester Raiders (IFL)
|
| 6
| 4
| 0
| 3rd United Atlantic
| --
|
| Totals
| 40
| 11
| 0
| (including playoffs)
|
* = Current Standing
2007 game log
| 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
|
2008 game log
| 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]
|
Current staff
- Head coach:
Eddie Long
- Assistant coaches:
Raheem Miller, Jason Collins, and Larry Long
References
- Raiders Move to Blue Cross Arena
- Rochester Raiders To Withdraw From CIFL
- Indoor football Raiders win opener
- Indoor football Raiders win opener
- Champ Raiders maul Mayhem
- Rochester Raiders rout New Jersey
- Sting suffer first loss
- Raiders rout Revolution again
- Phantoms' upset bid fades in second half
- Flint Phantoms forfeit CIFL finale; opponent quits league