| 2011 Erie Explosion season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Shawn Liotta |
| General manager | Shawn Liotta |
| Owner | Bill Stafford |
| Home field | Louis J. Tullio Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 9-3 |
| Division place | 1st |
| Playoff finish | Lost Eastern Conference Round 1 (vs. Albany Panthers) 68-43 |
The 2011 Erie Explosion season was the 5th season for the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) franchise.
The 2011 Southern Indoor Football League season was the SIFL's third overall season, the first since its merger with the American Indoor Football Association (AIFA), and the last before its breakup into three regional leagues.
The Erie Explosion was a professional American indoor football team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. Founded in 2007 as the Pittsburgh RiverRats, the Explosion played in the Professional Indoor Football League, the United Indoor Football League, the Southern Indoor Football League, the Continental Indoor Football League and the American Indoor Football Association and operated continuously from 2007 to 2015.
The Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) was an indoor football league based in the Southern and Eastern United States. The most recent incarnation of the league was a consolidation of an earlier league of the same name that was formed by Thom Hager along with Dan Blum, Robert Winfrey and Dan Ryan in 2009 and the American Indoor Football Association, which traces its roots to the founding of the Atlantic Indoor Football League in 2005. The SIFL broke up into three regional leagues after the 2011 season.
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On December 3, 2010, the team announced its new identity as the Erie Explosion, including a new logo, but retaining the same color scheme as the Storm previously had. After dealing with the legalities of the previous name, the ownership of the Explosion have secured the legal trademark of the new name, ensuring that this will be the last re-brand in the foreseeable future. [1] The Erie Explosion was also one of 6 AIFA teams which were merged with the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) prior to the 2011 season. [2] The Explosion announced the signing of Quarterback, Adam DiMichele, [3] along with former local Erie Strong Vincent star, Maurice Williams, [4] and college star receiver David Ball.
Adam DiMichele is an American football coach and former quarterback. He was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Temple. DiMichele was also a member of the Calgary Stampeders, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Erie Explosion and Philadelphia Soul.
David Ball is a former American football wide receiver. He was signed by the Chicago Bears as an undrafted free agent in 2007. He played college football for the New Hampshire Wildcats, and held the I-AA record for touchdown receptions until 2016.
On May 21, 2011, the Explosion set a single-game franchise record, including an unofficial indoor football record, for the most points scored in a 138-0 blowout win over the Fayetteville Force after the Force was forced to restock its team with scrubs in an ownership change. [5] The margin of victory is the third-highest in all of professional football, and the highest in over 100 years: only the 1903 Massillon Tigers (who won a game 148-0) and 1904 Watertown Red & Black (who won a game 142-0) have had wider margins of victory.
The Fayetteville Force is the former name of a professional indoor football team in the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL). They debuted in the SIFL following the SIFL/AIFA merger and played home games at the Cumberland County Crown Coliseum.
The Massillon Tigers were an early professional football team from Massillon, Ohio. Playing in the "Ohio League", the team was a rival to the pre-National Football League version of the Canton Bulldogs. The Tigers won Ohio League championships in 1903, 1904, 1905, and 1906, then merged to become "All-Massillons" to win another title in 1907. The team returned as the Tigers in 1915 but, with the reemergence of the Bulldogs, only won one more Ohio League title. Pro football was popularized in Ohio when the amateur Massillon Tigers, hired four Pittsburgh pros to play in the season-ending game against Akron. At the same time, pro football declined in the Pittsburgh area, and the emphasis on the pro game moved west from Pennsylvania to Ohio.
The Watertown Red & Black is a semi-professional American football team based in Watertown, New York. Founded in 1896, the team is the oldest semi-pro football team in the United States. Because of this, the team has the most wins (565), losses (268), ties (43) and games played (876) of any semi-professional team; their overall win percentage is .670.
The Explosion finished the season with a 9–4 record, winning the Northeast Division, but were defeated 68–43 by the Albany Panthers in the first round of the playoffs. [6] Despite the playoff loss, DiMichele was named SIFL MVP, finishing the season with 91 touchdown passes. [7]
The Albany Panthers were an indoor football team based in Albany, Georgia. The team joined the Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) during their inaugural season in 2010. When the SIFL folded, the team joined the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) in 2012. The Panthers' home games were played at the Albany Civic Center until 2014.
