Raiders will try to take down Pirates for CIFL title

by Josh Stein
Published on July 18, 2007 under Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL)

When fans think of the Continental Indoor Football League, they think of two things: One, the CIFL packages up all of the excitement of 50-yard indoor football while providing a package that fans can watch and understand. Two, Rochester and Port Huron. Despite the fact that Port Huron holds a 5-0 record against Rochester (and 21-0 against everyone else), the Pirates-Raiders rivalry is one of the biggest in all of indoor football. And CIFL fans get to see a sixth meeting that just might best them all.

So, how did we get to this point? How did the Pirates-Raiders rivalry become the by-far best in the CIFL?

The two franchises were formed on the field in very different ways. The Pirates brought in a group of established veterans (QB Shane Franzer, RB Rayshawn Askew, DE Eddie Bynes, DB Ernie Smith, and S Shawn Hackett) to work around a number of former star collegiate players to create one of the best teams in indoor football history on paper. Rochester, on the other hand, put together a group of local players that had a lot of talent and heart to challenge that. Immediately, you have two sets of players that simply do not like one-another. The "silver spoon" Pirates against the "blue collar" Raiders.

GAME ONE - APRIL 22, 2006 - ROCHESTER @ PORT HURON

The first two passes of 2006 GLIFL MVP Matt Cottengim's professional career almost led the Raiders to an upset win at Port Huron. Cottengim, forced into action because of the broken jaw of Raiders season-opening starter Omar Baker, completed the two passes for 34 yards (both to Noah Fehrenbach). Unfortunately, he needed 35 yards to win. On the second one, Fehrenbach lateraled the ball to a Raiders lineman who almost got into the end zone before being tackled by Shawn Hackett to end the game. The Raiders were a yard away from winning, despite getting only 6 rushing yards from GLIFL #2 rusher Reggie Cox. Frustrated, they vowed revenge.

And almost got it.

GAME TWO - JUNE 10, 2006 - PORT HURON @ ROCHESTER

Until a shocking upset loss at Marion, the Rochester Raiders under Cottengim were torching teams through the air. Cottengim finished 2006 with 44 touchdown passes, almost 5 per game he played. But again loomed the Port Huron Pirates, but this time in Rochester in front of a packed house at the ESL Sports Centre. The Raiders forced a dismal passing day out of Port Huron QB Shane Franzer, forcing two interceptions, and they had a chance to win it in the last seconds of the fourth quarter. After a Noah Fehrenbach fumble that gave Port Huron the ball with under a minute left in the fourth quarter, Jason Coley intercepted Franzer to give Rochester a chance at midfield. Tied at 35, Raiders kicker Will Bean was called upon to kick a short 24-yard field goal, but he missed it wide left, and the Pirates were given another chance in overtime. After Rochester went four-and-out in their overtime possession, Will Bean kicked the kickoff out of bounds to give the Pirates the ball at midfield. Franzer's fourth touchdown pass found its way to Jermaine Jackson, who went over the end zone dasherboards to catch it, and the Pirates moved to 2-0.

GAME THREE - JULY 22, 2006 - GREAT LAKES BOWL I, ROCHESTER @ PORT HURON

The Pirates, already 2-0 against rival Rochester, entered Great Lakes Bowl I with the goal of making it 3-0. They did it the same way they won their other 25 games, by using timely offense with timely defense. GLIFL MVP Matt Cottengim threw four touchdowns to only one interception in the game, but he was constantly hurried and was never able to string together a group of completed passes. Eddie Bynes (2006 GLIFL Defensive Player of the Year) recorded a safety to go with his 5.5 tackles and a sack, and was the constant point of pressure, as he had been twice before. Shane Franzer only completed 7 of 11 passes for 123 yards, and he threw an interception, but he saved the game with a fumble recovery after Rochester cut the lead to 32-27. Rayshawn Askew's second fumble of the game very nearly gave Rochester an opportunity to take the lead and cripple the Pirates' title hopes, but Franzer dove onto the ball to keep it, eventually allowing Askew to score a 16-yard touchdown run that sealed the game. Port Huron went on to win the inaugural Great Lakes Bowl Game 40-34, completing a three-game sweep over rival Rochester.

Would 2007 be any different? Yes, but not quite in the way Raiders fans would have hoped.

GAME FOUR - MARCH 17, 2007 - CIFL KICKOFF CLASSIC - PORT HURON @ ROCHESTER

The Raiders and their fans vowed this would be the day things changed. The Raiders would become the dominant force in the CIFL, and the Pirates would be relegated to second best. Port Huron, after all, was now without GLIFL leading rusher Rayshawn Askew, and that was going to cripple the team's chances to beat a balanced Rochester team with the defending league MVP.

Oops.

The Pirates defense was just as good as it always is, and the offense simply let Shane Franzer be amazing, as he has all of 2007. Franzer threw six touchdown passes, and four runners combined to gain 71 yards on the ground, as the Pirate defense did what it always does (hassle opposing quarterbacks into submission) in a 64-30 Port Huron win to kick off the new season. The team's performance was so poor that Cottengim never started another game in Rochester (which might have worked, considering backup Mike Mikolaichik has had a great season). The next game, though, would be different, the Raiders promised.

GAME FIVE - MARCH 30, 2007 - ROCHESTER @ PORT HURON

This was the low point. New RB Jamil Porter ran for 65 yards on 13 carries, but the rest of the Raiders gained 34 yards. Even on a 50-yard field, a 99-yard offensive output is terrible. Noah Fehrenbach, who caught 6 balls for 111 yards and two scores in the teams' first meeting of 2007, had zero catches in this one. Mikolaichik was a paltry 5/18 for 31 yards with two interceptions. The Pirates set a CIFL record that is not likely to be broken by rushing for 9 yards per carry on only 15 carries all game. Also, Shane Franzer completed 13 of 19 passes for 154 yards and three scores. This game was never in doubt, as Port Huron did everything right in their 60-13 conquest where they outscored Rochester 34-0 in the second half.

Rochester, 1-2 at this point, has not lost since. Port Huron simply hasn't ever lost. Are the Pirates just that much better than everyone else that no one has a chance to compete? The answer was a definitive "yes" until just last weekend, when the Pirates had to get very lucky to pull out a 37-29 conference championship win over Kalamazoo. If Rochester is in fact the second-best team in the CIFL, then they certainly have a shot to beat the Pirates after what Kalamazoo was almost able to do. Mikolaichik is an upgrade from Bill Skelton, and the Raiders receiving corps is far better than what Kalamazoo had (especially with an injured Herb Haygood). But Port Huron still recorded interceptions and sacks, so that was not the issue. Can Rochester's defense do what the Xplosion were able to, and force Franzer and the Pirate offense into another terrible game? With the CIFL Championship Game in front of a rowdy Blue Cross Arena crowd in Rochester, the Raiders think this is their time. On July 28, we will all watch, and we will all find out.

If you have any questions about anything I wrote in here, or want to add something for next time, do it! Email me at exit322@indoorfootballfan.com.

Continental Indoor Football League Stories from July 18, 2007

• Raiders will try to take down Pirates for CIFL title - OSC Original by Josh Stein

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