Reading Express

Reading Express
Established 2006 Folded 2012 Played in Sovereign Center in Reading, Pennsylvania ExpressIndoorFootball.com
League/conference affiliations
American Indoor Football League/Association (2006–2010) Northern Conference (2006) Northern Division (2007) Eastern Conference (2008) North Division (2008–2010) Indoor Football League (2011–2012) United Conference (2011–2012) Atlantic Division (2011)
Current uniform
Team colors	Blue, silver, white
Mascot	Caboose
Cheerleaders	Smokin' Hot Steam Team
Personnel
Owner(s)	Ted Lavender Lisa Lavender
Head coach	Mark Steinmeyer
Team history
Reading Express (2006–2012)
Championships
League championships (1) 2009
Conference championships (1) 2006
Division championships (4) 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011
Playoff appearances (5)
2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011
Home arena(s)
Sovereign Center (2006–2012)

The Reading Express were a professional indoor football team based in Reading, Pennsylvania. They were most recently a member of the United Conference of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Express began play in 2006, as an expansion team of the American Indoor Football League. The team was originally going to be named the Reading RiverRats , but passed on that name in favor of the "Reading Express." The RiverRats name and logo was moved to an AIFA team in Pittsburgh in 2007. ^[1] The owners of the Express were Ted & Lisa Lavender. They played their home games at the Sovereign Center.

Franchise history

2006

On September 14, 2005, the Express were announced as an expansion team of the American Indoor Football League (AIFL). ^[2] On November 6, 2005, the Express named Ollie Guidry the team's first ever head coach. ^[3]

On Sunday, March 26, 2006, the Express won the AIFL's very first overtime game 41-38 against the Johnstown Riverhawks on the road, as kicker Erik Rockhold booted the game-winning 45-yard field goal. ^[4]

On Friday, May 12, 2006, the Express managed to knock the Erie Freeze out of the #1 spot in the conference by getting revenge 59-48. ^[5]

At the end of their inaugural year, the Express held the highest record in the AIFL's Northern Conference, at 12-2. This, however, was padded by two games against amateur outdoor franchises—the Cumberland Cardinals and a team known as the Philadelphia Scorpions, both of which were blowouts.

In the opening round of the 2006 AIFL Playoffs, the Express managed to knock out the fourth-seeded Huntington Heroes with a 56-23 victory. ^[6] In the Northern Conference championship game, they faced the second-seeded Canton Legends for the Northern Conference title and a chance to participate in the American Bowl. Unfortunately, the Express got derailed as they got shut out in the second half and fell 44-24. Even though they fell one game shy of the league championship, it wasn't a total loss, as wide receiver Carmelo Ocasio was named the 2006 Northern Conference Offensive MVP. ^[7]

2007

In the 2007 season, now part of the AIFL's reorganized form (the American Indoor Football Association), the Express built on their success in the previous season, finishing a league-best 14-2 in the regular season, defeating the Pittsburgh RiverRats 42-24 in the first round, and defeating the Canton Legends 66-51 to claim the Northern Conference Championship and earn a trip to AIFA Championship Bowl I at the Florence Civic Center. Unfortunately, the Express got derailed yet again, losing to the Lakeland Thunderbolts 54-49.

Season Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
February 18	Pittsburgh RiverRats	Away	Won 35-28
February 25	Erie Freeze	Home	Won 46-38
March 3	Tallahassee Titans	Away	Lost 37-47
March 10	Baltimore Blackbirds	Home	Won 78-6
March 16	Erie Freeze	Away	Won 50-35
March 23	Canton Legends	Away	Won 50-19
March 31	Huntington Heroes	Home	Won 48-18
April 7	Johnstown Riverhawks	Away	Won 55-33
April 14	Canton Legends	Home	Won 63-56
April 21	Danville Demolition	Away	Won 56-42
April 28	Montgomery Bears	Home	Won 73-57
May 6	Pittsburgh RiverRats	Home	Won 57-40
May 12	Johnstown Riverhawks	Home	Won 76-16
May 19	Huntington Heroes	Away	Lost 29-42
May 21	Baltimore Blackbirds	Away	Won 58-32
June 2	Danville Demolition	Home	Won 83-41
June 9	Pittsburgh RiverRats (Playoffs)	Home	Won 42-24
June 16	Canton Legends (Playoffs)	Home	Won 66-51
June 23	Lakeland Thunderbolts (Championship Bowl I)	Neutral (Florence)	Lost 49-54

2008

Season Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
March 8	Baltimore Mariners	Home	Won 36-27
March 15	Carolina Speed	Away	Lost 17-49
March 22	Arizona Adrenaline (Exhibition)	Home	Won 47-43
March 29	Erie RiverRats	Away	Won 44-34
April 5	Huntington Heroes	Home	Won 57-38
April 12	Columbus Lions	Away	Loss 50-25
April 19	Florence Phantoms	Home	Won 66-30
April 25	Canton Legends	Home	Won 36-7
May 10	Canton Legends	Away	Won 50-48
May 17	Fayetteville Guard	Home	Won 51-24
May 24	Baltimore Mariners	Home	Won 49-27
May 31	Huntington Heroes	Away	Loss 50-41
June 7	Erie RiverRats	Away	Loss 51-32
June 14	Erie RiverRats	Home	Won 66-26
June 23	Baltimore Mariners	Away	Won 47-38
July 3	Erie RiverRats(Playoffs)	Home	Won 67-57

2009

In the 2009 season, the Express had another fantastic season, finishing the regular season 11-3, defeating the Baltimore Mariners 50-20 in the first round, and defeating the Columbus Lions 60-51 in the conference championship game to earn another berth in the AIFA Championship Bowl III in Casper, Wyoming. This time in the title game, the Express were overpowering and they defeated the Wyoming Cavalry 65-42 to win their first AIFA championship.

Season Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
March 13	D.C. Armor	Home	Won 51-28
March 22	Baltimore Mariners	Away	Loss 59-49
March 28	South Carolina Force	Home	Won 47-27
April 4	D.C. Armor	Away	Won 39-19
April 11	Erie RiverRats	Home	Won 47-13
April 18	Baltimore Mariners	Home	Loss 40-36
April 26	Erie RiverRats	Away	Won 66-48
May 2	Florence Phantoms	Away	Won 66-55
May 9	Fayetteville Guard	Home	Won 63-53
May 17	Harrisburg Stampede	Home	Won 44-6
May 23	D.C. Armor	Away	Won 51-35
May 30	Fayetteville Guard	Away	Loss 57-53
June 13	Erie RiverRats	Home	Won 45-27
June 27	Harrisburg Stampede	Away	Won 41-19
July 2	Baltimore Mariners (Playoffs)	Home	Won 50-20
July 13	Columbus Lions (Playoffs)	Away	Won 60-51
July 26	Wyoming Cavalry (AIFA Championship Bowl III)	Away	Won 65-42

2011

Main article: 2011 Reading Express season

On July 21, 2010, the Express announced that they would be promoting interim head coach/offensive coordinator, Chris Thompson, to head coach for the 2011 season. ^[8] On August 18, 2010, the Express announced that will be leaving the AIFA and joining the Indoor Football League (IFL). ^[9]

2012

Main article: 2012 Reading Express season

Final roster

Reading Express roster
Quarterbacks  9 Tim Bailey 18 Kevin Clancy Running backs  6Donald Babers  5 Elliott White Wide receivers  7 Jermaine King 28 Chris Shubert  3 Keith Stokes		Offensive linemen 59 Nick Dean 71 Corey Dowless 64 Ty Gieser 68 Frank Toarmina Defensive linemen 11 Mike Dell  8 Anthony Kelly 77 Michael London 92 Brandon Perry 90 Bryan Wick		Linebackers 48 Kevin Bolinsky 51 Michael Thompson Defensive backs 23 Ivory Bradshaw  2 Sam Bryant 14 Geoffrey Howard 17 George Ortiz  1 Marcus Sargeant 15 Trey Womack Kickers 25 Eric Rockhold		Injured reserve currently vacant Exempt List currently vacant Practice squad currently vacant rookies in italics Roster updated June 8, 2012 25 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 PS → More rosters

Head coaches

Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2012 Indoor Football League season.

Name	Term	Regular Season				Playoffs		Awards
		W	L	T	Win%	W	L
Ollie Guidry	2006	12	2	0	.857	1	1
Kelly Logan	2007	14	2	0	.875	2	1
Bernie Nowotarski	2008-2010	26	12	0	.684	4	1
Chris Thompson	2010-2011	11	7	0	.611	1	1
Mark Steinmeyer	2012	2	12	0	.143	0	0

Season-By-Season

Season records

Season	W	L	T	Finish	Playoff results
Reading Express (AIFL)
2006	12	2	0	1st Northern	Won Round 1 (Huntington) Lost NC Championship (Canton)
Reading Express (AIFA)
2007	14	2	0	1st Northern	Won Round 1 (Pittsburgh) Won NC Championship (Canton) Lost AIFA Championship Bowl I (Lakeland)
2008	10	4	0	1st EC Northern	Won ECN Round 1 (Erie) Lost EC Championship (Florence)
2009	11	3	0	1st Northern	Won Divisional (Baltimore) Won Semifinal (Columbus) Won AIFA Championship Bowl III (Wyoming)
2010	8	6	0	4th Eastern	--
Reading Express (IFL)
2011	8	6	0	1st Atlantic	Won Round 1 (Chicago) Lost Conference Semi-Final (Green Bay)
2012	2	12	0	8th United	--
Totals	73	39	0	(including playoffs)

References

1. Shawn Liotta (August 18, 2010). "Reading Express Moving to IFL". www.shawnliotta.com. The Twenty Eleven Theme. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
2. "Freeze start off season with win". www.goerie.com. CyberInk LP and the Erie Times-News. February 27, 2006. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
3. "Guidry Named Express Head Coach". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
4. "Express Wins AIFL's First OT Game". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. March 26, 2006. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
5. Bob Jarzomski (May 13, 2006). "Express force out Freeze". www.goerie.com. CyberInk LP and the Erie Times-News. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
6. "Stetzer, Ocasio and Rockhold -- As Always -- Key Express In 56-23 Rout of Heroes". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. June 15, 2006. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
7. Archived October 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
8. "Chris Thompson Named Express Head Coach". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. July 21, 2010. Retrieved March 27, 2015.
9. Brian Rippley (August 18, 2010). "Switch: Express to join new league". www.readingeagle.com. Reading Eagle. Retrieved March 27, 2015.

External links

• Official Site of the Reading Express
• Express' 2006 Season & Results
• Official Site of the Reading Express Smokin' Hot Steam Team
• Express's 2007 Stats ^{[ dead link ]}
• Express's 2008 Stats ^{[ dead link ]}
• Express's 2009 Stats ^{[ dead link ]}
• Express's 2010 Stats ^{[ dead link ]}