Erie Storm Returns Home To Host Richmond Raiders

Published on April 15, 2010 under American Indoor Football Association (AIFA)
Erie Explosion News Release


ERIE, PA (April 15, 2010) - After a month of road trips and bye weeks, the Erie Storm of the American Indoor Football Association finally returns home to the Tullio Arena tomorrow night when they will host the Richmond Raiders for the first time with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 PM. Tickets are available at the Tullio Arena box office and at all Ticketmaster outlets.

Erie (1-3) began its season in exciting fashion with a convincing 41-28 home victory over the defending league champion Reading Express. However, the Storm have dropped three straight games as a result of falling behind early in two of those defeats, a 53-51 loss at Reading and a 41-34 home loss against Harrisburg, and a rash of injuries on both sides of the ball that saw five starters sit out their last game, a blowout loss, at Harrisburg two weeks ago. Erie took advantage of a bye last week to fine tune its offense in practice and to get healthy. As a result, the Storm expects to have all its usual starters available tomorrow against Richmond (2-3).

"There wasn't much we could take out of our last game with so many guys out. We started the game in Harrisburg well enough, we had a brief lead in the third quarter, but we just couldn't sustain it due to some bad breaks and our lack of experience with some of our backups. But we're much healthier now and we had a very productive week of practice, so I expect that we'll get back to Erie Storm football this weekend. As I've said before, we still need to concentrate on limiting our turnovers, that doesn't change, but I would also like to see us get out of the blocks quicker. The game at Reading and home against Harrisburg came down to the last few plays of the game, but we had to come from behind both times. It shows we have character, but it takes a lot of energy." according to Erie Storm head coach Shawn Liotta.

Erie's offense is led by quarterback Rod Rutherford who has been responsible for 16 touchdowns in four games, 12 passing and four rushing. Wide receiver Eugene Baker, who missed Erie's last game but is expected back this weekend, is among the league leaders in pass receptions with 25 for 313 yards and five touchdowns in three games. Darmel Whitfield leads the Storm with seven touchdown catches among his 20 receptions. DB Trent Jones, who also missed Erie's last game, leads the Storm defense with three interceptions and is among the league leaders in total tackles and passes defended. Troy Blackwell (3 sacks) and Phil Tillman (2.5 sacks) return to anchor Erie's defensive line. Linebacker Roosevelt Benjamin has missed the last two games, but is expected to return this weekend.

Richmond is in its first year in the AIFA and is coached by ex-Oakland Raiders receiver Mike Siani. Quarterback Robbie Jenkins has gotten off to a fast start with the Raiders, completing 55% of his passes for 1,056 yards and 21 touchdowns against just four interceptions. His favorite target is Jay Jackson, who has caught 28 passes including ten for touchdowns. Last week at Reading, Richmond took a five-point lead with under a minute to go, but couldn't hold it, allowing a 44-yard drive in the last minute, eventually falling by the final score of 49-46.

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American Indoor Football Association Stories from April 15, 2010


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