2014 Marion Blue Racers season
| 2014 Marion Blue Racers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | LaMonte and Shavonne Coleman |
| General manager | LaMonte Coleman |
| Head coach | Marc Huddleston (fired March 6: 3-1 record) LaMonte Coleman (interim) |
| Home field | Veterans Memorial Coliseum 220 East Fairground Street Marion, OH 43302 |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–2 |
| Division place | 1st |
| Playoff finish | Won South Division Championship (River Monsters) 56-40 Lost CIFL Championship Game (Explosion) 26–38 |
The 2014 Marion Blue Racers season was the fourth season for the Continental Indoor Football League (CIFL) franchise.
In May 2013, the Blue Racers announced that they were leaving the CIFL again, this time to join the Xtreme Indoor Football League.[1] The league was supposed to be run by Blue Racers owner LaMonte Coleman. However, in August 2013, the Blue Racers re-signed with the CIFL to a multi-year contract. Coleman has hired Marc Huddleston as the 2014 Head Coach and Director of Football Operations. After a 5–1 start, the Blue Racers announced that Coleman would be taking over as the team's head coach. The Blue Racers recovered from a down season in 2013, by winning the CIFL's new South Division title, clinching them home-field advantage in the South Division playoffs.[2] The Blue Racers faced off against the Northern Kentucky River Monsters in the South Division title game and won 56–40.[3] With the win over Northern Kentucky, the Blue Racers clinched their second berth in the CIFL Championship Game. After three quarters of play, the Blue Racers were tied at 26 with the Erie Explosion in the 2014 CIFL Championship Game when Aaron Smentanka found Evan Twombly for a score. After Marion turned over the ball on downs, Richard Stokes scored again for the Explosion, which turned out to be the final score of the game, making the score 38–26.[4]
Roster[edit]
| 2014 Marion Blue Racers roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Quarterbacks Offensive backs
Wide receivers
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Kickers
|
Injured reserve
Exempt list
Practice squad
| |||
Schedule[edit]
Regular season[edit]
| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Game site | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final score | Team record | |||||||
| 1 | Bye | |||||||
| 2 | February 9 | 4:00 P.M. EST | Kentucky Xtreme | W 69-13 | 1-0 | Veterans Memorial Coliseum | ||
| 3 | February 16 | 2:00 P.M. EST | at Erie Explosion | L 23-43 | 1-1 | Erie Insurance Arena | ||
| 4 | February 23 | 4:00 P.M. EST | Dayton Sharks | W 50-41 | 2-1 | Veterans Memorial Coliseum | ||
| 5 | March 2 | 4:00 P.M. EST | Northern Kentucky River Monsters | W 27-20 | 3-1 | Veterans Memorial Coliseum | ||
| 6 | March 9 | 4:00 P.M. EST | Erie Explosion | W 22-21 | 4-1 | Veterans Memorial Coliseum | ||
| 7 | Bye | |||||||
| 8 | March 21 | 7:30 p.m. EST | at Bluegrass Warhorses | W 52-28 | 5-1 | Alltech Arena | ||
| 9 | Bye | |||||||
| 10 | April 5 | 7:30 P.M. EST | at Dayton Sharks | W 46-36 | 6-1 | Hara Arena | ||
| 11 | April 12 | 7:30 p.m. EST | at Saginaw Sting | L 25-28 | 6-2 | Dow Event Center | ||
| 12 | April 19 | 4:00 p.m. EST | at Detroit Thunder | W 2-0 (Forfeit) | 7-2 | Fraser Hockeyland | ||
| 13 | April 27 | 4:00 p.m. EST | Columbus War Eagles* | W 61-2 | 8-2 | Veterans Memorial Coliseum | ||
| 14 | Bye | |||||||
*The Columbus War Eagles played a fill in game for the Port Huron Patriots, who forfeited the final 3 games of the season.
Standings[edit]
| Team | Overall | Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | W | L | T | PCT | ||||
| North Division | |||||||||||
| y-Saginaw Sting | 9 | 1 | 0 | .900 | 6 | 1 | 0 | .857 | |||
| x-Erie Explosion | 8 | 2 | 0 | .800 | 5 | 1 | 0 | .833 | |||
| Chicago Blitz | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 4 | 2 | 0 | .667 | |||
| z-Port Huron Patriots | 1 | 8 | 0 | .111 | 1 | 6 | 0 | .143 | |||
| z-Detroit Thunder | 0 | 8 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 6 | 0 | .000 | |||
| South Division | |||||||||||
| y-Marion Blue Racers | 8 | 2 | 0 | .800 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | |||
| x-Northern Kentucky River Monsters | 7 | 3 | 0 | .700 | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | |||
| Dayton Sharks | 6 | 4 | 0 | .600 | 4 | 3 | 0 | .571 | |||
| z-Bluegrass Warhorses | 1 | 7 | 0 | .125 | 1 | 5 | 0 | .167 | |||
| z-Kentucky Xtreme | 0 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 4 | 0 | .000 | |||
- y - clinched division title
- x - clinched playoff spot
- z - ceased operations during season
Postseason[edit]
| Week | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Game site | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final score | Team record | |||||
| South Division Championship | May 10 | 7:30 P.M. EST | Northern Kentucky River Monsters | W 56-40 | 1-0 | Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
| 2014 CIFL Championship Game | May 18 | 4:00 P.M. EST | Erie Explosion | L 26-38 | 1-1 | Veterans Memorial Coliseum |
Coaching staff[edit]
| 2014 Marion Blue Racers staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Head coach
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
| |||||
References[edit]
- ^ "Blue Racers, Three Other Teams Join Newly Formed XIFL". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. May 28, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
- ^ "Blue Racers Are CIFL South Champs, Ready for Port Huron". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. April 21, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
- ^ Danny McPherson (May 10, 2014). "Solid physical effort leads Blue Racers to title game". www.marionstar.com. Marion Star. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
- ^ Danny McPherson (May 19, 2014). "Blue Racers fall to Erie Explosion in Continental Indoor Football League championship game". www.marionstar.com. Marion Star. Archived from the original on May 19, 2014. Retrieved May 19, 2014.