Richmond Raiders

Last updated
Richmond Raiders
Established 2008
Folded 2015
Played in Richmond, Virginia
at the Richmond Coliseum
RichmondRaiders.PNG
League/conference affiliations
American Indoor Football Association (2010)
  • Eastern Division (2010)

Southern Indoor Football League (2011)

  • Eastern Conference (2011)
    • Mid-Atlantic Division (2011)

Professional Indoor Football League (2012–2015)

  • American Conference (2014)
Current uniform
Team colorsBlue, Black, Silver, White
    
MascotRisky the Horse
CheerleadersLady Raiders
Personnel
Owner(s)Richmond Raiders, LLC
(Mike & Elizabeth Fraizer)
Head coachJames Fuller
Team history
  • Richmond Raiders (2010–2015)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (1)
  • SIFL Mid-Atlantic: (2011)
Playoff appearances (3)
  • PIFL: 2012, 2013, 2015
Home arena(s)

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.

Contents

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

Final roster

Richmond Raiders roster
Quarterbacks

Fullbacks

  • 35Derrick Okafor

Wide receivers

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

Defensive linemen

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

Defensive backs

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

Kickers

Injured reserve
  • -- Ammar Dyson WR (IR Tooltip Injured reserve) Injury icon 2.svg

Exempt list

Suspended

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

Awards and honors

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

SeasonPlayerPositionAward
2012 Antwon Young QB Most Valuable Player
2012 T. C. Stevens K Special Teams of the Year
2014 Devin Jones DL Defensive Rookie of the Year
2014 Devin Jones DL Defensive Player of the Year
2015 T. C. Stevens K Special Teams of the Year
2015 Jonathan Bane QB Offensive Player of the Year [12]

Head coaches

NameTermRegular seasonPlayoffsAwards
WLTWin%WL
Mike Siani 2010 250.28600
Charlie Gunnings 2010 430.57100
James Fuller 2011–2015 37240.600332012 PIFL Coach of the Year
2015 PIFL Coach of the Year

Season-by-season results

League ChampionsConference ChampionsDivision ChampionsWild Card BerthLeague Leader
Season Team League Conference Division Regular season Postseason results
FinishWinsLossesTies
2010 2010 AIFA Eastern5th680
2011 2011 SIFLEasternMid-Atlantic1st660
2012 2012 PIFL 1st1020Won Semifinals (Louisiana) 56-50
Lost PIFL Cup I (Albany) 56-60
2013 2013 PIFL3rd750Won Semifinals (Lehigh Valley) 44-40
Lost PIFL Cup II (Alabama) 44-70
2014 2014 PIFLAmerican3rd570
2015 2015 PIFL2nd840Won Semifinals (Nashville) 54-35
Lost PIFL Cup IV (Columbus) 38-64
Totals42320All-time regular season record (2010–2015)
33-All-time postseason record (2010–2015)
45350All-time regular season and postseason record (2010–2015)

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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. Archived from the original on February 3, 2016. 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.
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