Erie Explosion

Erie Explosion
Founded	2007
League	AIFA (2007-2010) SIFL (2011) UIFL (2012-present)
Team history	Pittsburgh RiverRats (2007) Erie RiverRats (2008-2009) Erie Storm (2010) Erie Explosion (2011-present)
Arena	Louis J. Tullio Arena
Based in	Erie, Pennsylvania
Team colors	Black, Orange, White
Head coach	Shawn Liotta
Dancers	ERIEsistables
Website	www.ErieExplosion.com

The Erie Explosion is a professional indoor football team. It is a member of the Ultimate Indoor Football League, and plays its home games at the Louis J. Tullio Arena in Erie, Pennsylvania.

History

The Explosion began play in 2007 as the Pittsburgh RiverRats, playing that season's home games at the Rostraver Ice Garden in Rostraver Township, Pennsylvania. The "RiverRats" name and logo were originally supposed to be used by the Reading Express, but that team chose the Express branding instead, freeing it up for use by another AIFA team.

On August 20, 2006, the RiverRats signed quarterback David Dinkins, formerly of the Erie Freeze of the AIFA, and designated him as the team's franchise player for the 2007 season.

The RiverRats played their first game on February 3, 2007 on the road in Tupelo, MS, but lost 54-34 to the Mississippi Mudcats. Their first home game was on February 18, 2007 which they lost 35-28 to the Reading Express.

Pittsburgh won its first home game by beating the Danville Demolition 47-21 on March 4, 2007, and then won its first away game by beating Danville a second time, on March 9, 2007, by a score of 34-29.

The team finished their inaugural season at a respectable 7-7 record, good for fourth place in the Northern Conference and a wild-card playoff berth. Unfortunately, the Rats were eliminated in the first round, losing 42-24 to the eventual conference champions Reading Express.

On January 8, 2008 the RiverRats announced they would be leaving the Mon Valley in favor of Erie for the 2008 season, renaming themselves the Erie RiverRats. They replaced the city's previous AIFA team, the Erie Freeze. The RiverRats have several Freeze connections, including many of the Freeze's best players: QB/WR David Dinkins, cornerback Jovon Johnson (himself an Erie native), ace kicker J.R. Cipra, center Jonathon Sitter, and defensive tackle Roosevelt Benjamin. League owner Michael Mink stated that he considers the RiverRats to be a consolidation of the original RiverRats and the Freeze with the team retaining the RiverRats name, franchise and management structure.

The team signed Rod Rutherford, a former NFL backup, as the starting quarterback in the middle of the 2008 season. It is said that Dinkins recommended Rutherford to the team, and Dinkins (who originally was playing quarterback) moved to wide receiver to accommodate his arrival.

At the end of the 2008 season, five RiverRats (QB Rod Rutherford, OL Anthony Peluso, K J. R. Cipra, LB Glenroy Watkins, & LB Roosevelt Benjamin) were named onto the AIFA Eastern Conference All-Star team.[1]

In 2009, Dinkins departed for the Wheeling Wildcats, and as a result, the RiverRats struggled all season to score points and missed the playoffs for the first time, finishing with a 3-11 record under head coach Steven G. Folmar.

On September 8, 2009 the RiverRats announced that Shawn Liotta would return to Erie as the head coach for the 2010 season. In December, it was announced that owner Jeff Hauser had sold a stake in the franchise to a local group that included Jeff Plyler (owner of Plyler Overhead Door of McKean, PA) and Bill Stafford (owner of several Subway restaurant locations in Erie), among others. Hauser will maintain a smaller stake in the team, which immediately dropped the RiverRats name. The team will remain in the AIFA, and the team adopted the corporate name "Erie Professional Football, Inc." in December 2009, in anticipation of a new franchise name to be announced in January 2010.

On January 5, 2010, the team announced the four finalists of the name-the-team contest; Storm, Blizzard, Pulse, and Punishers. On January 14, 2010 the team was officially named the Erie Storm via a press conference, in which the team logo and colors were also released.

Aided by Dinkins's return, the briefly rechristened Storm rebounded to an 8-6 season in 2010, before losing to the Harrisburg Stampede in the playoffs. Dinkins retired at the end of the season.

On May 5, 2010, Lake Erie College based in Painesville, Ohio has asked a court judge to order the Erie Storm not use the Erie Storm name due to similarities with their own name the Lake Erie Storm. As of October 2010, the name "Storm" has been dropped, and the team is once again using the name "Erie Professional Football," which remains the name of the team's corporate entity.

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. The Erie Explosion was also one of 6 AIFA teams which were merged with the SIFL prior to the 2011 season. The Explosion announced the signing of Quarterback, Adam DiMichele, along with former local Erie Strong Vincent star, Maurice Williams, and college star receiver David Ball.

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. 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

Erie was only one of the six charter AIFL markets to have continuously held an AIFL or AIFA team since the AIFL's founding in 2005, counting both the Freeze and the RiverRats/Storm.

On August 25, 2011, the Explosion left the SIFL and joined the Ultimate Indoor Football League. The change reunites Erie with Andrew Haines, who founded the city's previous indoor football team, the Erie Freeze. (The Explosion's departure came two weeks before the SIFL broke up into the Lone Star Football League and the Professional Indoor Football League, neither of which included Pennsylvania in their territories.)

2007 as Pittsburgh RiverRats

2008-2009 as Erie RiverRats

2010 as Erie Storm

2011 as Erie Explosion

Current roster

Erie Explosion 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 Practice Squad Currently vacant Rookies in italics [2] updated August 26, 2011 0 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 PS → More rosters

Season-by-season

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

Season	W	L	T	Finish	Playoff results
Pittsburgh RiverRats (AIFA)
2007	7	7	0	4th Northern	Lost NC Round 1 (Reading)
Erie RiverRats (AIFA)
2008	10	4	0	2nd EC Northern	Lost ECN Round 1 (Reading)
2009	3	11	0	5th Northern	--
Erie Storm (AIFA)
2010	8	6	0	3rd Eastern	Lost EC Round 1 (Harrisburg)
Erie Explosion (SIFL)
2011	9	3	0	1st EC Northeast	Lost EC Round 1 (Albany)
Erie Explosion (UIFL)
2012	--	--	--	--	--
Totals	37	35	0	(including playoffs)

2007 Season Schedule

As the Pittsburgh RiverRats

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
February 3	Mississippi Mudcats	Away	Lost 34-54
February 18	Reading Express	Home	Lost 28-35
February 23	Canton Legends	Away	Lost 11-45
March 4	Danville Demolition	Home	Won 47-21
March 9	Danville Demolition	Away	Won 34-29
March 17	Johnstown Riverhawks	Away	Lost 13-43
March 30	Johnstown Riverhawks	Home	Won 47-42
April 14	Florence Phantoms	Home	Won 66-60
April 21	Huntington Heroes	Away	Lost 34-55
April 28	Canton Legends	Home	Won 62-33
May 6	Reading Express	Away	Lost 40-57
May 12	Erie Freeze	Away	Won 52-45
May 19	Erie Freeze	Home	Won 86-72
May 25	Huntington Heroes	Home	Lost 26-69
June 9	Reading Express (Playoffs)	Away	Lost 24-42

2008 Season Schedule

As the Erie RiverRats

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
March 9	Carolina Speed	Home	Won 42-21
March 15	Canton Legends	Away	Won 38-24
March 22	Columbus Lions	Away	Won 54-48
March 31	Reading Express	Home	Lost 34-44
April 11	Huntington Heroes	Away	Lost 24-54
April 18	Baltimore Mariners	Home	Won 55-40
April 25	Baltimore Mariners	Away	Won 49-17
May 3	Canton Legends	Home	Won 50-48
May 9	Huntington Heroes	Home	Won 47-43
May 17	Huntington Heroes	Away	Won 52-31
May 24	Florence Phantoms	Away	Lost 27-57
May 31	Canton Legends	Home	Won 45-37
June 7	Reading Express	Home	Won 51-32
June 14	Reading Express	Away	Lost 26-66
June 21	Rochester Raiders¶	Away	Lost 6-41
July 3	Reading Express (Playoffs)	Away	Lost 57-67

¶ Exhibition match

2009 Season Schedule

As the Erie RiverRats

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
March 15	Baltimore Mariners	Away	Lost 32-60
March 28	D.C. Armor	Home	Lost 30-34
April 4	Carolina Speed	Away	Lost 12-38
April 11	Reading Express	Away	Lost 13-47
April 18	Harrisburg Stampede	Home	Lost 31-34
April 26	Reading Express	Home	Lost 48-66
May 2	Fayetteville Guard	Away	Lost 28-58
May 10	Baltimore Mariners	Home	Won 53-50
May 23	Harrisburg Stampede	Home	Won 54-44
May 30	Harrisburg Stampede	Away	Lost 29-53
June 6	Carolina Speed	Home	Lost 21-51
June 13	Reading Express	Away	Lost 27-45
June 20	D.C. Armor	Away	Lost 28-47
June 27	Florence Phantoms	Home	Won 60-20

2010 Season Schedule

As the Erie Storm

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
March 7	Reading Express	Home	Won 41-28
March 14	Harrisburg Stampede	Home	Lost 34-41
March 27	Reading Express	Away	Lost 51-53
April 3	Harrisburg Stampede	Away	Lost 19-58
April 16	Richmond Raiders	Home	Won 44-35
April 25	Reading Express	Home	Won 41-34
April 30	Richmond Raiders	Away	Won 53-39
May 8	Harrisburg Stampede	Away	Lost 35-54
May 14	New Jersey Revolution	Home	Won 40-38
May 22	Fayetteville Guard	Home	Won 55-52
May 29	New Jersey Revolution	Away	Won 68-58
June 5	Baltimore Mariners	Away	Lost 51-34
June 13	Baltimore Mariners	Home	Lost 39-37
June 19	Fayetteville Guard	Away	Won 65-58

2011 Season Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
March 20	Harrisburg Stampede	Away	Won 46-25
March 26	Trenton Steel	Away	Won 76-73
April 1	Carolina Speed	Away	Won 39-36
April 9	Trenton Steel	Home	Lost 62-65
April 15	Harrisburg Stampede	Home	Won 89-35
April 23	Richmond Raiders	Home	Won 74-54
April 30	Harrisburg Stampede	Away	Lost 40-41
May 7	Richmond Raiders	Away	Won 65-50
May 13	Trenton Steel	Home	Won 90-79
May 21	Fayetteville Force	Home	Won 138-0
May 26	Trenton Steel	Away	Lost 78-53
June 4	Harrisburg Stampede	Home	Won 71-32
June 18	Albany Panthers (Playoffs)	Away	Lost 43-68

2012 Season

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
March 3	Danville Dragons	Home
March 10	Johnstown Generals	Away
March 17	Canton Cougars	Away
March 24	Canton Cougars	Home
March 31	Johnstown Generals	Home
April 7	Western Pennsylvania Sting	Home
April 14	Johnstown Generals	Away
April 21	Western Pennsylvania Sting	Home
April 28	Northern Kentucky Monsters	Home
May 5	Canton Cougars	Home
May 19	Canton Cougars	Away
May 26	Cincinnati Commandos	Away
June 2	Western Pennsylvania Sting	Away
June 9	Marion Blue Racers	Away
June 16	Danville Dragons	Away

Standings

2012 Northern East Division
	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA	DIV	GB	STK
Canton Cougars	0	0	0	0.000	0	0	0-0	---	--
Erie Explosion	0	0	0	0.000	0	0	0-0	---	--
Johnstown Generals	0	0	0	0.000	0	0	0-0	---	--
Western Pennsylvania Sting	0	0	0	0.000	0	0	0-0	---	--

External links

• Official website
• Explosion's 2011 Stats