2012 Marion Blue Racers season

2012 Marion Blue Racers season
Head coach	Lorenzo Styles (resigned March 30: 3-1 record) Marc Huddleston (interim)
General manager	LaMonte Coleman
Owner	LaMonte and Shavonne Coleman
Home field	Veterans Memorial Coliseum 220 East Fairground Street Marion, OH 43302
Results
Record	7-5
Conference place	3rd
Playoff finish	Lost Semifinals 47-56 (Explosion)

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]

Schedule

Key:       Win       Tie       Loss       Bye

Regular season

Week	Day	Date	Opponent	Results		Location
				Score	Record
1	Saturday	March 3	Eastern Kentucky Drillers	W 48-34[10]	1-0	Veterans Memorial Coliseum
2	Saturday	March 10	Western Pennsylvania Sting	W 68-27	2-0	Veterans Memorial Coliseum
3	Sunday	March 18	at Eastern Kentucky Drillers	L 47-61[11]	2-1	Eastern Kentucky Expo Center
4	Saturday	March 24	Johnstown Generals	W 41-19	3-1	Veterans Memorial Coliseum
5	BYE
6	Saturday	April 7	at Johnstown Generals	W 56-23	4-1	Cambria County War Memorial Arena
7	BYE
8	Saturday	April 21	Huntington Wildcatz	W 98-6	5-1	Veterans Memorial Coliseum
9	Saturday	April 28	at Cincinnati Commandos	L 38-58	5-2	Cincinnati Gardens
10	Saturday	May 5	Cincinnati Commandos	L 53-61	5-3	Veterans Memorial Coliseum
11	BYE
12	Saturday	May 19	Cincinnati Commandos	W 51-49	6-3	Veterans Memorial Coliseum
13	BYE
14	Saturday	June 2	at Cincinnati Commandos	L 24-30	6-4	Cincinnati Gardens
15	Saturday	June 9	Erie Explosion	L 64-65 (OT)	6-5	Veterans Memorial Coliseum

Postseason

Round	Day	Date	Opponent	Results		Location
				Score	Record
Northern Semifinals	Saturday	June 16	at Erie Explosion	L 47-56[12]	0-1	Cathedral Preparatory School

Standings

2012 United Indoor Football League
Team	Conference			Overall
	W	L	PCT	W	L	PCT	PF	PA
Northern Conference
Cincinnati Commandos-y	7	2	.778	8	2	.800	594	373
Erie Explosion-x	7	3	.700	8	3	.727	748	362
Marion Blue Racers-x	5	4	.556	6	5	.636	602	467
Johnstown Generals	3	6	.333	3	6	.333	264	441
Western Pennsylvania Sting	0	6	.000	0	7	.000	132	497
Southern Conference
Florida Tarpons-y	11	0	1.000	11	0	1.000	687	287
Eastern Kentucky Drillers	5	4	.556	6	4	.600	613	361
Lakeland Raiders-x	5	5	.500	6	5	.545	639	379
Rome Rampage	1	6	.143	1	6	.143	100	462
Mississippi Hound Dogs	1	9	.100	1	9	.100	281	559

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

Final Roster

2012 Marion Blue Racers roster
Quarterbacks  8 Boo Jackson Offensive backs  7 Victor Tolbert Receivers 27 Melvin Bryant 25 Ricky Crawford 15 Travis Lewis  9 Abrielle Taylor  3 Brandon Williams		Offensive Linemen 50 J.T. Haynes 75 Robert Price 77 Kris Stafford Defensive Linemen 92 Robert Lewis 95 Curtis McGhee 11 Thomas McKenzie		Linebackers 10 Lambert Budzinski 32 Gaines Burnett 33 Raymond Saunders Defensive backs  4 Dontrellius Burrows  1 Marcus Dorsey 21 Bryceson Lawrence 24 Johnnie Taylor III Kickers 14 Trey Kramer		Injured Reserve  5 Josh Harris QB Exempt List -- Seth Burkholder K Practice Squad Currently vacant Rookies in italics Roster 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.
10. Bob Putman (March 4, 2012). "Blue Racers win UIFL opener". www.marionstar.com. The Marion Star. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
11. "Blue Racers suffer first loss". www.marionstar.com. The Marion Star. March 19, 2012. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
12. Bob Jarzomski (June 17, 2012). "Explosion erupt in 4th to top Blue Racers in UIFL playoff game". www.goerie.com. Cyberlink and Erie Times-News. Retrieved December 27, 2013.