Lehigh Valley Steelhawks

Lehigh Valley Steelhawks
Current season
Established 2010
Play in Allentown, Pennsylvania
at the PPL Center
LVSteelhawks.com
Logo
League/conference affiliations

Indoor Football League (2011–2012)

  • United Conference (2011–2012)
    • Atlantic Division (2011)

Professional Indoor Football League (2013–2015)

  • National Conference (2014)

American Indoor Football (2016)

  • Northern Division (2016)

National Arena League (2017–present)

Team colors Black, Vegas Gold, White
              
Mascot Talon
Personnel
Owner(s) Glenn Clark
President Glenn Clark
General manager Michael Clark
Head coach Chris Thompson
Team history
  • Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (2011–present)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (1)
PIFL: 2014
NAL: 0
Division championships (0)
Playoff appearances (6)
IFL: 2012
PIFL: 2013, 2014, 2015
AIFA: 2016
NAL: 2017
Home arena(s)

The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks are a professional indoor football team based in Allentown, Pennsylvania and are members of the National Arena League (NAL). The Steelhawks began play as an expansion team in the Indoor Football League (IFL) in 2011. The Steelhawks moved to the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) in 2013, where they made their only championship game appearance to date, losing PIFL Cup III to the Nashville Venom. The team joined American Indoor Football for the 2016 season after the PIFL folded. The Steelhawks are the Lehigh Valley's second indoor football team, following the defunct Lehigh Valley Outlawz of the Continental Indoor Football League (2005–2008). Both teams played their home games at Stabler Arena. The owner of the Steelhawks is Glenn Clark. The Steelhawks play their home games at the PPL Center.

History

2011

In July, 2010, the Indoor Football League (IFL) announced that there would be an expansion franchise placed in Lehigh Valley for the 2011 season.[1] It was also announced that the team would be owned by Glenn W. Clark, a Wilmington, Delaware businessman.[1] Later in July the team announced that they had named Dan Kuhn as the team's general manager and would be holding a "Name The Team" contest was held to choose a name for the organization. Over 700 names were submitted and the top five were chosen by management.[2] These names were Vipers, Ironmen, Blast, Gamblers, and Steelhawks.[2] Fans were then asked to vote on the name they thought would be best for the team with over 70% of the votes being cast for Steelhawks.[3] Brooke Trautwein, the fan who submitted the Steelhawks name, was given a prize package that included season tickets and Steelhawks' merchandise.[3]

2012

2013

In August 2013, Clark announced that the Steelhawks would be leaving the IFL for the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL).[4]

2014

The Steelhawks finished the season with a 6-6 record, good enough to finish 2nd in the National Conference. The Steelhawks defeated the Trenton Freedom by a score of 49-38 in the National Conference Championship Game to advance to PIFL Cup III.[5] The Steelhawks were defeated 43-64 by the Nashville Venom in PIFL Cup III.[6]

2015

In 2015, the Steelhawks announced that they would be moving to the newly constructed PPL Center.[7]

2016

Triangle Torch (black jerseys with and red and yellow accents) vs. Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (gold jerseys with black accents) during a game at Dorton Arena, March 25, 2016

With the PIFL not having enough teams to remain viable, the Steelhawks moved to American Indoor Football (AIF) for the 2016 season.[8] The Steelhawks would finish third in the North Division and would make it to the division championship game before losing to the West Michigan Ironmen. After the season ended, the team announced it would not be returning to the AIF for the 2017 season.[9]

2017

On July 19, 2016, the Steelhawks announced they had joined the Arena Developmental League (which became the National Arena League) as a charter member of the new league.[10] Service Electric Cablevision's TV 2 Sports began carrying Steelhawk home games Sunday, March 19, 2017, and they are also streamed on the NAL's YouTube channel.

Season-by-season results

League Champions Conference Champions Division Champions Wild Card Berth League Leader
Season Team League Conference Division Regular season Postseason results
Finish Wins Losses Ties
2011 2011 IFL United Atlantic 2nd 4 10 0
2012 2012 IFL United 4th 6 8 0 Lost United Conference Semi-final 21–79 vs. Sioux Falls
2013 2013 PIFL 2nd 7 5 0 Lost PIFL Semi-final 40–44 vs. Richmond
2014 2014 PIFL National 2nd 6 6 0 Won National Conference Championship 49–38 vs. Trenton
Lost PIFL Cup III 43–64 vs. Nashville
2015 2015 PIFL 4th 6 5 0 Lost PIFL Semifinal 41–69 vs. Columbus
2016 2016 AIF Northern 3rd 6 2 0 Won Northern Semifinal 54–52 vs. River City
Lost Northern Championship 35–42 vs. West Michigan
2017 2017 NAL 2nd 9 1 0 Lost Semifinal 50–52 vs. Columbus
Totals 44 37 0 All-time regular season record (2011–2017)
2 6 — All-time postseason record (2011–2017)
46 43 0 All-time regular season and postseason record (2011–2017)

*– Season currently in progress

Current roster

Lehigh Valley Steelhawks roster
Quarterbacks

Fullbacks

  • 22 Wyeaz Bradley

Wide receivers

  •  1 Brandon Renford
  •  3 Warren Oliver
  •  4 Darius Prince
  •  5 Matt Tralli
Offensive linemen
  • -- Orlando Colon
  • -- Andrew Edouard
  • 75 Curtis Nealer
  • 72 Bret Piekarski

Defensive linemen

  • 92 Joshua Bradley
  • 58 Thomas Dover
  • 33 Dante Holmes
  • 15 Tim Hume
  • 99 Shawn Lockett
  • 97 Edmon McClam
Linebackers
  • 12 Chris Alvarez
  • 54 Joe Koonce

Defensive backs

  • -- Derek Brim
  • 24 Rodney Hall Jr.
  • 21 Dom Joseph
  •  2 Eddy Umeh

Special teams

  • 10 Spencer Hotaling
Reserve lists
  • -- Eric Ducksworth DL (Did Not Report)
  • -- Dashawn Johnson OL (Exempt.)
  • 33 Rustin Mayorga FB (IR)
  • -- Reggie McMillan DB (Susp.)
  • -- Lenroy Neysmith DB/LB (Did Not Report)
  • -- David Osei OL (Exempt.)
  • -- Jakeem Polk WR/DB (Did Not Report)
  • 11 Franklin Williams WR (Susp.)
  •  7 Jerrell Young WR (Did Not Report)

Rookies in italics
Roster updated March 13, 2017
24 Active, 9 Inactive

→ More rosters

Awards and honors

The following is a list of all Steelhawks players who have won league awards:

References

  1. 1 2 "Indoor Football League set to introduce a Lehigh Valley-based franchise". www.lehighvalleylive.com. PennLive LLC. July 7, 2010. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Keith Groller (July 22, 2010). "New team tabs 'Dynamite' as its GM, but still needs nickname". www.mcall.com. The Morning Call. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  3. 1 2 Alyssa Young (August 26, 2010). "Lehigh Valley Steelhawks is name of new Indoor Football League team". www.lehighvalleylive.com. PennLive LLC. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Steelhawks moving for 2013 season". www.mcall.com. The Morning Call. August 8, 2012. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  5. ↑ Josh Folck (July 5, 2014). "Lehigh Valley Steelhawks advance to Pro Indoor Football League championship game". www.lehighvalleylive.com. PennLive LLC. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
  6. ↑ Josh Folck (July 12, 2014). "Lehigh Valley Steelhawks lose to Nashville Venom in Pro Indoor Football League championship game". www.lehighvalleylive.com. PennLive LLC. Retrieved July 14, 2014.
  7. ↑ Greg Joyce (August 21, 2014). "Lehigh Valley Steelhawks announce three-year deal to play at PPL Center in Allentown". www.lehighvalleylive.com. Lehigh Valley Live. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  8. ↑ Keith Groller (September 14, 2015). "Steelhawks moving to a new indoor football league for 2016". www.mcall.com. The Morning Call. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  9. ↑ "The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks Indoor Football Team Will Not be Returning to the AIF in 2017...". OurSports Central. July 13, 2016.
  10. ↑ "Steelhawks announce new league affiliation for 2017". www.mcall.com. The Morning Call. July 19, 2016. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
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