Raiders Face First Test of 2008 Monday Night
March 2, 2008 - Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL)
Rochester Raiders News Release
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (March 2, 2008)- The Rochester Raiders will play their first game tomorrow night as the defending CIFL Champions when they travel to Rockford, IL to play a preseason game against the Rock River Raptors. The Raptors, a new addition to the CIFL this year, which has previously played in the United Indoor Football (UIF) have won their division in the UIF in both of their previous two seasons (2006, 2007).
"This is going to be a great test," commented Raiders co-owner Dave McCarthy, "Not only to gauge where we are at as a team but where the CIFL matches up against the other leagues in the country. I have heard great things about Rock River and they have been successful in the UIF. Monday night is going to be a lot of fun and our guys can't wait to get out there and start playing football again."
Rockford will be the farthest trip west for the Raiders during the 2008 regular season and provide for an extremely competitive pre-season game. Both the Raptors and Raiders are returning a good majority of their rosters from last season and both have some high quality free agent signings thus far in the off season. Rock River will play its inaugural season in the CIFL in the Great Lakes Conference's West Division where as the Raiders will play in the Atlantic Conference's West Division.
The Rock River franchise was established in 2000 as the Tennessee Valley Vipers, a charter member of af2. The franchise was based at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville, Alabama. In 2005, the franchise moved to United Indoor Football as the Tennessee Valley Raptors. To accommodate the Vipers' af2 return to Huntsville, team owner Art Clarkson announced in August 2005 that the franchise would relocate to Rockford, Illinois. Coincidentally, Rockford was the site of the first-ever Arena Football game in 1986.
The Raiders will kick off their 2008 season March 21 when they visit the Chesapeake Tide and will have their home opener at the Blue Cross Arena the following week March 29 against the Lehigh Valley Outlawz at 2:00pm. Season Tickets are currently on sale at the Blue Cross Arena and through Ticketmaster at a cost of $60 for the entire season, individual tickets are also available at the Blue Cross Arena and Ticketmaster for $15 for adults and $10 for kids 12 and under.
Continental Indoor Football League Stories from March 2, 2008
- Raiders Face First Test of 2008 Monday Night - Rochester Raiders
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