Chicago Knights

Chicago Knights
Founded	2010
League	CIFL (2011-present)
Team history	Milwaukee Bonecrushers (2008-2009) Chicago Cardinals (2010) Chicago Knights (2011-future)
Arena	Victory Sports Complex
Based in	Loves Park, Illinois
Team colors	Black, Blue, Silver, White
Head coach	John Burns
Championships	0
Division titles	0

The Chicago Knights are a Professional Indoor Football team based in Loves Park, Illinois. The Knights were founded in 2010 and will continue play in 2011 as a member of the Continental Indoor Football League, playing their home games at the Victory Sports Complex.

The Knights are currently the third Indoor Football Team based in Northern Illinois. The Chicago Rush of the new Arena Football League are based in Rosemont, and the Chicago Slaughter of the Indoor Football League are based in Hoffman Estates. The Knights replaced the Cardinals as the Illinois-based CIFL team, which replaced the Slaughter after they left for the Indoor Football League after a dispute with CIFL management.

2011 Season

The Knights started the season with a painful 7-53 loss to the defending champions, the Cincinnati Commandos. After almost a complete month off, the Knights were back in action on April 2 against the Port Huron Predators, and came away with a 45-29 win. The Knights were led by Brandon Wogoman, the reigning CIFL All-Purpose Player of the Year, who had a rushing touchdown, a passing touchdown and a kick-return touchdown to lead the Knights to their first win since the franchise moved to their present location in 2010.^[1] After a conflict with the Odeum Expo Center, the Knights played, what was supposed to be a home game, in Indianapolis against the Indianapolis Enforcers. Then on April 7, 2011 it was announced that the Knights would play the rest of their games in Loves Park, Illinois in the Victory Sports Complex.^[2]

2011 season schedule^[3]

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
March 5	Cincinnati Commandos	Away	Lost 7-53
April 2	Port Huron Predators	Away	Won 45-29
April 8	Indianapolis Enforcers	Away	Won 42-14
April 17	Indianapolis Enforcers	Home	Won 52-6
April 23	Dayton Silverbacks	Home	Lost 21-24
April 30	Marion Blue Racers	Away	Lost 3-31
May 8	Cincinnati Commandos	Home	Lost 41-48
May 13	Dayton Silverbacks	Away	Lost 20-37
May 21	Marion Blue Racers	Home	Lost 24-53
June 4	Port Huron Predators	Home	Won 2-0 (Forfeit)

2011 Standings

2011 Continental Indoor Football Leagueview · Cincinnati Commandos-y												10	0	0	1.000	484	158	53.77	17.55	W10	Details
Marion Blue Racers-x	8	2	0	.800	455	218	45.5	21.8	L1	Details
Dayton Silverbacks-x	5	5	0	.500	288	265	32	39.4	W3	Details
Chicago Knights-x	4	6	0	.400	255	295	28.33	32.77	L5	Details
Port Huron Predators	2	8	0	.200	238	226	39.6	37.6	L7	Details
Indianapolis Enforcers	1	9	0	.100	71	621	7.88	69	L3	Details

y - clinched regular-season title

x - clinched playoff spot

Current roster

Chicago Knights Rosterview · Brandon Jewett 13 Ron Ricciardi Offensive backs 24 Michael Hayden Receivers  1 Willie Tolon  2 Brandon Wogoman 45 Shawn McKeown 86 Tyler Damien 90 Zontavius Johnson Kickers  3 Julie Harshbarger								Offensive Linemen 26 Dante Washington 88 Daryl McNeil 92 Josh Coyle 93 Evan Page 94 Lawrence Ancahas Defensive Linemen 14 Gemayel Cowser Linebackers  9 Ty Meyers 25 James Cichon 26 Kurt James 55 Jasen Wright 94 Zac Pederson		Defensive backs  5 Mike Keeton 12 Brett Barnes 21 Harvey Allen 22 Darnell King 27 Martel Taylor Inactive  6 Shonn Bell DL 12 Rick Lahrman WR 24 Ryan Robinson RB 26 Tony Smidl K 86 Rafu Armour WR 87 Neal Wilcox WR 88 Simon Chandler OL 90 Jeremy Shedrick DL -- Alex Nunez QB -- Foster Chambers RB -- Justin Miles WR -- Brian Tait WR -- Mike Brockman OL/DL -- Ricky Soto OL/DL -- Jason Mitchell OL/DL -- Tyler Honeck LB -- Mathew Odigie DB -- Dino Cardone DB Injured Reserve Updated 2011-04-26[4] Rookies in italics 25 Active, 18 Inactive → More rosters

Chicago Cardinals

Chicago Cardinals Logo

The Cardinals replaced the Slaughter in the CIFL, after the Slaughter left that league for the IFL due to a dispute with CIFL management. The Cardinals were formerly known as the Milwaukee Bonecrushers, also of the CIFL, and relocated to Villa Park in 2010.^[5] The Cardinals use their name with permission from the original National Football League team, now known as the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals only season was one of utter disappointment. After starting 0-2, they signed Kicker Julie Harshbarger, the 2nd female Kicker in the CIFL history. (The other being Katie Hnida of the Fort Wayne Firehawks) After a successful soccer career at Benedictine University and Rockford College, where she was named to several all-conference teams. Well Harshbarger was not the first woman to score a point in a indoor football game, but she was the first woman ever to score a field goal in an indoor football game.^[6] After a 20-58 loss on May 22, and seeing their record drop to 0-8, the Cardinals let several of their best players, including the All-Purpose Player of the Year (Brandon Wogoman), leave the team for the nearby, and contending, Wisconsin Wolfpack.

2010 Season Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
April 2	Marion Mayhem	Away	Lost 20-60
April 10	Marion Mayhem	Home	Lost 14-19
April 17	Miami Valley Silverbacks	Home	Lost 29-46
April 24	Fort Wayne Firehawks	Away	Lost 45-69
May 1	Cincinnati Commandos	Home	Lost 22-62
May 8	Wisconsin Wolfpack	Home	Lost 18-44
May 15	Cincinnati Commandos	Away	Lost 13-61
May 22	Wisconsin Wolfpack	Away	Lost 20-58
May 29	Miami Valley Silverbacks	Home	Lost 24-58
June 5	Fort Wayne Firehawks	Home	Lost 0-48

2010 CIFL Standings

2010 Continental Indoor Football Leagueview · Cincinnati Commandos-y												9	1	0	.900	493	294	49.3	29.4	L1	Details
Wisconsin Wolfpack-x	8	2	0	.800	345	213	34.5	21.3	W3	Details
Fort Wayne Firehawks-x	6	4	0	.600	294	267	36.75	33.375	W2	Details
Miami Valley Silverbacks-x	4	6	0	.400	309	354	34.33	39.33	W1	Details
Marion Mayhem	3	7	0	.300	202	193	33.67	32.16	L5	Details
Chicago Cardinals	0	10	0	.000	205	525	20.5	52.5	L10	Details

2010 CIFL Awards

All-Purpose Player of the Year - Brandon Wogoman (Ended the season playing for the Wisconsin Wolfpack)

1st Team All-CIFL
OL Matt Rohn (Ended the season playing for the Wisconsin Wolfpack)
AP Brandon Wogoman

2nd Team All-CIFL
DL Adrian Herry
DB Ricky Emery
KR Brandon Wogoman

Milwaukee Bonecrushers

Milwaukee Bonecrushers Logo

The Milwaukee Bonecrushers were a team in the Continental Indoor Football League. They played their home games at the U.S. Cellular Arena. The Bonecrushers were Milwaukee's second indoor football franchise, following the Milwaukee Mustangs of the Arena Football League.

The franchise made an immediate splash in Milwaukee when it announced former Green Bay Packer Gilbert Brown signed a three-year contract to be the team's first head coach.^[7] However, the optimism quickly faded when Brown announced he was resigning from the position after just three games on April 8, 2008. Much of the team's staff and many of the team's players also left at the same time, raising eyebrows among the Milwaukee media and fans. The Bonecrushers finished 2008 with a hodgepodge of players and coaches, winning just one game, a 51-46 road contest against the Muskegon Thunder featuring a 26-yard touchdown run by Bonecrushers' quarterback Brian Ryczkowski on the final play of the game.

The rumored reasoning behind the exodus of many of the original members of the franchise was the team's inability to pay its bills or personnel. This was confirmed when a judgment was entered against the Bonecrushers in favor of Challenger Industries, the company that sold the team its game field AstroTurf, in the amount of $29,539.29 on October 15, 2008. Challenger resolved its claim against John Burns, one of the owners of the Milwaukee Bonecrushers, prior to the matter going to trial.^[8]

The Bonecrushers returned to action in 2009 with renewed optimism after signing LeRoy McFadden, brother of NFL player Darren McFadden, as its new head coach, as well as the previous year's CIFL Offensive Player of the Year, Randy Bell. However, McFadden also chose to resign after just three games,^[9] leaving assistant coach, John Burns, to take over as head coach. While the Bonecrushers survived the 2009 season in Milwaukee, attendance dwindled to nearly nothing and the team finished with a record of 3-8.

Prior to the 2010 season, the Bonecrushers management reorganized and the team elected to cease operations in Milwaukee. Many of the individuals involved with the Bonecrushers, including Burns, moved onto be part of the new Chicago Cardinals franchise based in Villa Park, Ill.^[10]

While the Bonecrushers franchise is generally regarded as having failed in the eyes of Milwaukeeans, their existence did help create two other CIFL franchises: The Cardinals and the Wisconsin Wolfpack. Plans had already been in place for the Wolfpack to field its first outdoor team in the summer of 2008 when Brown left the Bonecrushers. Eventually, many members of the Wolfpack's staff were brought in to help the Bonecrushers complete the indoor season. In 2009, the Wolfpack fielded a CIFL team of its own in Madison, Wisconsin. The Bonecrushers would play the Wolfpack twice in their final season in Milwaukee, losing both times.

2008 Season Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
March 21	Chicago Slaughter	Home	Lost 41-64
March 29	Muskegon Thunder	Home	Lost 35-60
April 6	Flint Phantoms	Home	Lost 53-62
April 12	Marion Mayhem	Away	Lost 19-43
April 19	Chicago Slaughter	Away	Lost 18-56
April 27	Miami Valley Silverbacks	Home	Lost 42-43
April 30	Saginaw Sting	Away	Lost 28-51
May 9	New Jersey Revolution	Away	Lost 32-56
May 17	Muskegon Thunder	Away	Won 51-46
May 23	Rock River Raptors	Home	Lost 3-56
May 31	Saginaw Sting	Home	Lost 28-54
June 7	Rock River Raptors	Away	Lost 29-53

2008 CIFL Standings

2008 Continental Indoor Football Leagueview · Kalamazoo Xplosion-y												11	1	0	.917	5	1	0	.833
Muskegon Thunder-x	5	7	0	.417	2	2	0	.500
Fort Wayne Freedom	5	7	0	.417	2	4	0	.333
Miami Valley Silverbacks	3	9	0	.250	1	2	0	.333
West Division
Chicago Slaughter-y	8	4	0	.667	3	1	0	.750
Rock River Raptors-x	7	5	0	.583	3	1	0	.750
Milwaukee Bonecrushers	1	11	0	.083	0	4	0	.000
Atlantic Conference
East Division
New England Surge-y	8	3	0	.727	5	1	0	.833
Lehigh Valley Outlawz-x	7	5	0	.583	4	2	0	.667
New Jersey Revolution	3	9	0	.250	2	5	0	.286
Chesapeake Tide	2	10	0	.583	0	2	0	.000
West Division
Rochester Raiders-z	12	0	0	1.000	4	0	0	1.000
Saginaw Sting-y	10	2	0	.833	3	1	0	.750
Marion Mayhem-x	7	5	0	.583	0	2	0	.000
Flint Phantoms	1	11	0	.083	0	4	0	.000

2009 Season Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
March 6	Chicago Slaughter	Away	Lost 24-84
March 20	Rock River Raptors	Away	Won 53 - 40
March 28	Wisconsin Wolfpack	Home	Lost 20 - 36
April 4	Miami Valley Silverbacks	TBD	PPD
April 11	Wheeling Wildcats	Home	Won 35-32
April 18	Rock River Raptors	Home	Lost 31-41
April 25	Chicago Slaughter	Away	Lost 25-78
May 2	Wisconsin Wolfpack	Away	Lost 26-69
May 9	Fort Wayne Freedom	Home	Lost 33-51
May 16	Rock River Raptors	Away	Lost 12-32
May 22	Chicago Slaughter	Home	Lost 50-70
May 30	Miami Valley Silverbacks	Home	Won 40-32

2009 CIFL Standings

2009 Continental Indoor Football Leagueview · Marion Mayhem-y												9	3	0	.750	8	1	0	.889
Fort Wayne Freedom-x	6	5	0	.545	5	2	0	.294
Wheeling Wildcats	2	10	0	.167	2	5	0	.286
Miami Valley Silverbacks	0	10	0	.000	0	7	0	.000
West Division
Chicago Slaughter-y	12	0	0	1.000	8	0	0	1.000
Wisconsin Wolfpack-x	7	5	0	.583	4	4	0	.500
Rock River Raptors	7	5	0	.583	3	5	0	.167
Milwaukee Bonecrushers	3	8	0	.273	1	7	0	.167

Season-by-season

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties

Season	W	L	T	Finish	Playoff results
Milwaukee Bonecrushers (CIFL)
2008	1	11	0	4th Great Lakes West	--
2009	3	8	0	4th West	--
Chicago Cardinals (CIFL)
2010	0	10	0	6th	--
Chicago Knights (CIFL)
2011*	4	6	0	4th	Lost in CIFL Semifinals to Cincinnati
Totals	8	36	0	(including playoffs)

* = Current Standing

References

1. ^ http://www.thetimesherald.com/article/20110403/SPORTS/104030326/Football-Predators-fall-Chicago
2. ^ http://mystateline.com/fulltext-sports?nxd_id=244687
3. ^ "Home of the Continental Indoor Football League". CIFLFootball.com. http://ciflfootball.com/ciflwebsite/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=76. Retrieved 2011-03-18. 
4. ^ "Chicago Knights Professional Indoor Football". Chicagoknightsfootball.com. http://www.chicagoknightsfootball.com/. Retrieved 2011-05-05. 
5. ^ http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/business/70461402.html
6. ^ http://www.rrstar.com/carousel/x370835817/Hononegah-grad-Harshbarger-makes-indoor-football-history
7. ^ JS Online: Graphic
8. ^ Milwaukee County Courthouse, Case No.: 2008-CV-008105
9. ^ More Turmoil for Bonecrushers
10. ^ Where are the Bonecrushers?

External links

• Chicago Knights Official Website
• Continental Indoor Football League Official Website