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indoor-football · 5 years ago

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Team Preview - Cedar Rapids River Kings

In 2019, the Cedar Rapids River Kings finished 9th overall with a 1-13 record and will be hosting the Quad City Steamwheelers on the opening day of the 2020 IFL season. The River Kings have had a busy offseason rebuilding their offense and will be aiming to finish with a more favourable record in the upcoming season and hopefully making their first playoff appearance since their 2016 United Conference appearance.

Team Biography

The Cedar Rapids River Kings were established in 2011 as the Cedar Rapids Titans and first competed in the 2012 edition of the Indoor Football League. They were the first indoor football team to be based in Cedar Rapids and played 6 seasons as the Titans before the team was purchased by Roy Choi and Matt Stone who held a naming competition to rename the team in the 2018 offseason. The River Rapids won the contest and a lion logo was selected as the teams official logo to celebrate the cities Czech and Slovak immigrant communities that set up shop in the city in the 1850's. The city is home to a 126,326 population (according to data from 2010) and the National Czech and Slovak Museum.

For their first two seasons, the club played their home games at the Cedar Rapids Ice Centre before moving to their current home at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After finishing the 2012 season with a 4-10 record the Titans proceeded to follow this season up with 4 straight appearances in the United Conference Championship where they lost to the Sioux City Storm on all four occasions. The team haven't been to the playoffs since the 2016 United Conference championship game and will be aiming to make a push in 2020 based on their offseason acquisitions.

2019 Season

The River Rapids didn't have a lot to celebrate in 2019 as they finished with a 1-13 with their only victory coming against the San Diego Strike Force in a 65-48 thriller at the U.S. Cellular Center in week 3 of the 2019 season. The River Rapids had the worst offense in the IFL in 2019 and this resulted in the team finishing 9th overall ahead of the aforementioned Strike Force and a win behind the Bismarck Bucks and 5 wins behind the Quad City Steamwheelers.

Player to Watch - Michael Dyer (RB)

Michael Dyer moved to the Cedar Rapids River Kings in the offseason after three seasons with the Texas Revolution of the CIF (Champions Indoor Football) from 2017 to 2019. In Texas, Dyer won the 2017 rookie of the year award on the way to the Revolutions 2017 CIF title. He has been an explosive back in the CIF and it will be interesting to see whether he can emulate his success in Cedar Rapids

Dyer is probably better known for his exploits in college. Dyer played college football for Auburn between 2009 and 2012 and was a key member of the Tigers 2011 BCS National Championship victory where he rushed for 143 yards and won the games MVP ahead of team mate Cam Newton. He was well on his way to making it to the NFL but his career took a downward spiral when he got suspended indefinitely by the Tigers for taking synthetic marijuana and owning a weapon used in an armed robbery.

In 2012, Dyer made a transfer request and moved to Arkansas State and whilst sitting a year out (under NCAA rules) was caught with a gun and Marijuana after getting stopped for speeding in January of that year. A video then emerged of the incident in July of that year which resulted in Arkansas State kicking Dyer out of the team on the 28th July 2012.

After the incident Dyer attended Arkansas Baptist College before enrolling at Louisville in 2013 where he played the remainder of his college football career.

Hopefully Dyer will be able to keep on the straight and narrow at Cedar Rapids and help lead the team to a playoff birth this time round.

2020 Schedule

7th March - vs Quad City Steamwheelers

14th March - @ San Diego Strike Force

19th March - vs Tucson Sugar Skulls

4th April - vs Sioux Falls Storm

10th April - vs Green Bay Blizzard

18th April - @ Bismarck Bucks

26th April - vs Frisco Fighters

9th May - vs Green Bay Blizzard

16th May - @ Iowa Barnstormers

30th May - vs Iowa Barnstormers

6th June - @ Frisco Fighter

13th June - @ Duke City Gladiators

20th June - @ Quad City Steamwheelers

27th June - vs Green Bay Blizzard

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