Season Preview: RiverCity Rage
Published on March 13, 2007 under United Indoor Football Association (UIF) News Release
As the RiverCity Rage was in the midst of joining the United Indoor Football Association following a 14-2 season in another league, they found themselves without a head coach. In early December, Mike Wyatt resigned his position with the Rage to accept the head coaching job at Oklahoma Panhandle State University. Wyatt's overall record with the Rage was 33-13 and has a 222-77-2 record at all levels of play.
Team President, Tye Elliott, knew the task at hand. "We are committed to maintaining excellence in this franchise and we will do everything to find the best person to lead us into the future." A week later, the Rage hired from within as they promoted last year's Defensive Coordinator, Jim Cox, to Head Coach. Besides working with the Rage, Cox had been a head coach at high school and college levels including Missouri Valley College where he coached current Rage superstar Moses Regular.
"This is not a position that I took lightly, due to the amount of success we have had over the last few years," said Cox. "I look forward to working with our management and our coaching staff to put the best possible team out on the field for our fans."
Elliott says they wanted to promote within the ranks. "Coach Cox has show that he not only has the knowledge needed to be a head coach, but has also shown he knows how to deal with diverse groups of players."
General Manager, Matt Jones, says Cox knows the team inside and out--something very important to the Rage in evaluating the candidates.
The Rage enter their first UIF season with a roster filled with talent and experience. They averaged 70.6 points per game last season. Quarterback Anthony Fischer went 7-0 as an injury replacement last season. Fischer looks to continue that success by throwing to two returning starters, Regular and Hurtis Chin. "Both (receivers) are exciting playmakers," said Cox. "Moses spent time in the NFL with both the Jets and Jaguars."
Regular is far from the lone Rage player with NFL expertise. Returning linebacker Terrell Washington was a member of the Houston Texans. Two newcomers in the defensive secondary, Milton Proctor (Buffalo Bills) and Taurus Ferguson (Oakland Raiders) also bring NFL experience.
The Rage recently lost their starting running back to the NFL Europa draft. However, Cox is looking to newcomer Muhammad Addulqaadir to pick up where Sha'ron Edwards left off. Abdulqaadir was a two-time Walter Payton Award finalist while at Southern Illinois University.
The lines on both side of the ball will be loaded with returning players as well. Barry Bruggeman will anchor the offensive line while Mike Matranga will do likewise on defense.
The Rage play an exhibition game against the Northeast Missouri Wildcats Saturday night at Family Arena in St. Charles, MO. They open the regular season on the road at the Evansville BlueCats March 24 at 7:35 p.m. The Rage's home opener is March 31st at Family Arena against the Lexington Horsemen; kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Audio Preview: http://unitedindoorfootball.com.ismmedia.com/ISM2//MultimediaManager/1920.mp3
United Indoor Football Association Stories from March 13, 2007
- Raptors to Hold Scrimmage Tomorrow Night - Rock River Raptors
- Season Preview: RiverCity Rage - UIF
- With Training Camp Underway, Storm Continue to Add Talent - Sioux Falls Storm
- BlueCats Scrimmage Open to the Public - Evansville BlueCats
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