Season Preview: Rock River Raptors
Published on March 20, 2007 under United Indoor Football Association (UIF) News Release
Last year the Rock River (Rockford, IL) Raptors captured the United Indoor Football Central Division title. That's when the league was divided into three divisions. This year, UIF is split into two conferences. The Raptors are in the Eastern Conference with the Bloomington (IL) Extreme, Evansville BlueCats, RiverCity (St. Charles, MO) Rage, Ohio Valley (Wheeling, WV) Greyhounds and Lexington Horsemen. While repeating as division champs can't happen, capturing the Eastern Conference title won't be an easy task. Yet it's a task the organization looks to accomplish. Lowe Entertainment and Raptors President, Tom Crow feels the team ended strong last year and will start strong this year.
The Raptors have been judicious in getting their roster ready for Saturday's opener against the two-time defending UIF champion Sioux Falls Storm. By 11:59 p.m. CDT Thursday they need to be down to the league mandated 30-man roster; 21 will dress for the game. Mike DeDocker of the Rockford Register Star quoted Raptors Head Coach, Rik Richards, on some of the moves. "We cut (Orlando) Doc Gooden, who is obviously qualified as a guy who was all-conference in college twice with over 100 tackles, but he just couldn't play down in the dirt," Raptors coach Rick Richards said. "In college, he did not play in a 3-4 where the linebackers walked up and played down, so we kept Maurice (Simpkins) because he can play down and up."
Defensively Rock River has Gene Janke and former Peoria Rough Riders linebacker Blue Aldridge have solidified roster spots. Offensively, Richards likens the next few days to college. "We have to put in everything but the kitchen sink in the next few days," he told the Register Star. "It's a cram session just like you're in college again trying to prepare for a test. This is all the study time now, so we can be ready for whatever they throw at us."
Speaking of college, the Raptors borrowed a page from the NCAA basketball playbook. They opened training camp with Midnight Madness. Crow says they received "great press" from the event with television news stations doing live reports and keeping cameras on-site throughout the practice. It also played well to loyal Raptors fans.
Two former local high school football standouts were signed by Rock River after a second tryout. Ronnie Brown and Brandon Wogomon had participated in November tryouts, but weren't signed until after the January tryouts. University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse quarterback Shane Adler was signed following the November camp.
Other Raptors signings include defensive lineman Floyd Wright and wide receiver Jeremiah Thompson. Wright played the final two years of his collegiate career at Marshall University. Thompson returns to the Raptors for his second season. He finished last season with a team-high 68 receptions, good for 568 yards and 14 touchdowns. Versatile wide receiver Stafford Owens looks to be a welcome addition. The Ohio University product caught 42 balls in his college career for 507 yards and five touchdowns. He also rushed for 969 yards and seven touchdowns. Additionally, he accumulated 713 yards on 64 returns, three for touchdowns. "I look forward to having Stafford around on a more consistent basis, and with his versatility I hope to help him move to the next level of his football career," Richards said.
Audio preview: http://unitedindoorfootball.com.ismmedia.com/ISM2//MultimediaManager/1947.mp3
Tomorrow's preview: Lexington Horsemen, 2006 UIF Runner-up
United Indoor Football Association Stories from March 20, 2007
- Season Preview: Rock River Raptors - UIF
- Extreme signs three to roster - Bloomington Extreme
- "Kurtiss Riggs Show" to Debut Wednesday Night - Sioux Falls Storm
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