2012 Marion Blue Racers season

2012 Marion Blue Racers season
Head coach Lorenzo Styles and Marc Huddleston
Home field Veterans Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record 7-5
Division place 3rd
Playoff finish Lost UIFL Semi-Finals 47-56 (Explosion)
Timeline
Previous season Next season
2011 2013

The 2012 Marion Blue Racers season was the 2nd season for the American United Indoor Football League franchise.

On July 5, 2011, the Blue Racers announced they were leaving the CIFL to join the Ultimate Indoor Football League.[1] The Blue Racers were added as a member of the Northern Conference, re-uniting with, their arch-rivals, the Cincinnati Commandos. On August 17, 2011, Lorenzo Styles was named the 3rd head coach in franchise history.[2] In February, team CEO and General Manager, LaMonte Coleman, took a coaching position with the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League.[3] The following day, Ryan Sawyer was named the team's interim general manager while Coleman was coaching in Pittsburgh.[4] On March 30, 2012, Styles resigned as the head coach of the Blue Racers after compiling a 3-1 record, citing personal reason as the reason for his resignation.[5] Offensive Coordinator Marc Huddleston, took over as the team's head coach.[6] The team remained a strong pipeline for the Pittsburgh Power, as both the team's kickers, Trey Kramer and Seth Burkholder, signed with the team.[7][8] The Blue Racers finished the season with a 7-4 record, earning the 3rd seed in the UIFL North playoff. The team traveled to play the second seeeded Erie Explosion, where the game was played at a high school field, where the team had built walls for the playing field. It is the first time an indoor football game, has been played outdoors. The Explosion went on to defeat the Blue Racers 56-47, after the Blue Racers had led 22-0 early in the game.[9]

Standings

2012 United Indoor Football League
Team Conference Overall
W L PCT W L PCT PF PA
Northern Conference
Cincinnati Commandos-y 8 2 .800 10 2 .833 709 465
Erie Explosion-x 8 3 .727 8 4 .667 788 423
Marion Blue Racers-x 6 4 .600 7 4 .636 602 467
Johnstown Generals 2 6 .250 2 6 .250 231 434
Western Pennsylvania Sting 0 5 .000 0 6 .000 125 464
Southern Conference
Florida Tarpons-y 11 0 1.000 12 1 .923 791 377
Eastern Kentucky Drillers 5 4 .556 6 4 .600 613 361
Lakeland Raiders-x 5 6 .455 6 6 .500 668 442
Rome Rampage 1 6 .143 1 6 .143 100 462
Mississippi Hound Dogs 1 8 .111 1 8 .111 243 471

y - clinched regular-season title x - clinched playoff spot

Schedule

Date Opponent Home/Away Result
March 3 Eastern Kentucky Drillers Home W 54-47
March 10 Western Pennsylvania Sting Home W 68-27
March 18 Eastern Kentucky Drillers Away L 47-61
March 24 Johnstown Generals Home W 56-23
April 7 Johnstown Generals Away W 56-23
April 21 Huntington Hammer Home W 98-6
April 28 Cincinnati Commandos Away L 38-58
May 5 Cincinnati Commandos Home L 53-61
May 19 Cincinnati Commandos Home W 51-49
June 2 Cincinnati Commandos Away L 24-30
June 9 Erie Explosion (Playoffs) at Erie Prep High School L 65-64 OT

Final Roster

Marion Blue Racers Roster

Quarterbacks

  •  8 Boo Jackson

Offensive backs

  •  7 Victor Tolbert

Receivers

  •  3 Brandon Williams
  •  9 Abrielle Taylor
  • 15 Travis Lewis
  • 25 Ricky Crawford
  • 27 Melvin Bryant
 

Offensive Linemen

  • 50 J.T. Haynes
  • 75 Robert Price
  • 77 Kris Stafford

Defensive Linemen

Linebackers

  • 10 Lambert Budzinski
  • 32 Gaines Burnett
  • 33 Raymond Saunders
 

Defensive backs

  •  1 Marcus Dorsey
  •  4 Dontrellius Burrows
  • 21 Bryceson Lawrence
  • 24 Johnnie Taylor III

Kickers

Injured Reserve

Exempt List

Practice Squad

  • Currently vacant

Rookies in italics
updated May 7, 2012
23 Active, 2 Inactive, 0 PS

→ More rosters

References

  1. "Marion Blue Racers join UIFL". TheUIFL.com. UIFL. Retrieved 2011.
  2. "Lorenzo Styles to Coach Blue Racers". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. August 18, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  3. "Coleman Signs with AFL's Power". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. February 15, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  4. "Sawyer Promoted". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. February 16, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  5. "Lorenzo Styles resigns as Blue Racers coach". Marion Star. March 30, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  6. Shawn Curtis (April 6, 2012). "Generals looking to stay unbeaten at War Memorial". The Tribune-Democrat. Retrieved July 27, 2012.
  7. "Trey Kramer Moves Up". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. May 3, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  8. "A Second Blue Racer Kicker Moves On". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. May 11, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2012.
  9. Bob Jarzomski (June 17, 2012). "Explosion erupt in 4th to top Blue Racers in UIFL playoff game". Erie Times-News. Retrieved July 17, 2012.