Lexington Horsemen

Af2 team
title = Lexington Horsemen

founded = 2003 (NIFL)
owner = Lennie and Vickie House
coach = Mike Harmon
arena = Rupp Arena
city = Lexington, Kentucky
conference = American
division = Midwest
championships = None
inchamps = 2004 (NIFL)
conf_titles = 2004 (NIFL);
2007(UIF)
div_titles = 2004 (NIFL);
2005, 2006, 2007 (UIF)
playoffs = 2003, 2004 (NIFL);
2005, 2006, 2007 (UIF);
2008 (af2)The Lexington Horsemen are an af2 team based in Lexington, Kentucky. They play their home games at Rupp Arena. They began as a 2003 expansion member of the National Indoor Football League, where they were successful. After defeating the Sioux Falls Storm to win Indoor Bowl IV, the Horsemen decided to join the new United Indoor Football (UIF) as a charter member, where they made the playoffs, yet ironically lost to the Sioux Falls Storm (the team they beat in their last year in the NIFL). They made the playoffs again in 2006 and made it all the way to United Bowl II; but they, again, lost to the Sioux Falls Storm.

During the 2007 season the Horsemen finished with an 8-7 regular season record and then advance through the playoffs to United Bowl III where they faced none other than their longtime playoff foe the undefeated Sioux Falls Storm they lost the game 62-59 after Collin Barber missed the potential game tying field goal as time expired. The game was Head Coach Mike Zuckerman's final game.

The team's official mascot is Spike, a hero-like horseman.

The End, But Then A New Beginning

On August 22, 2007 Horsemen owner Lenny House announced that the Horsemen had played their final game. They weren't averaging fans like they were once and simply lost too much money. They would join other Eastern Conference UIF teams that financially struggled during the 2007 season.

However, on October 16, 2007, House announced he had changed his mind and the Horsemen would be playing the 2008 season in arenafootball2, where they would have an in-state rivalry ("The War on I-64") with the Louisville Fire. With the move the Horsemen would get new jerseys and change the shade of blue. [cite news |first=Ben |last=Roberts |title=Horsemen going up in class |url=http://www.kentucky.com/298/story/203996.html
work=Lexington Herald-Leader |date=2007-10-16 |accessdate=2007-10-16]

Season-By-Season

-
colspan="6" align="center" | Lexington Horsemen (NIFL)
-
2003 || 9 || 6 || 0 || 2nd Atlantic Eastern || Lost Round 1 (Ohio Valley)
-
2004 || 10 || 4 || 0 || 1st Atlantic North || Won Round 1 (Atlantic City)
Won Atlantic Semi-Final (Houma)
Won Atlantic Conference Championship (Ohio Valley)
Won Indoor Bowl IV (Sioux Falls)
-
colspan="6" align="center" | Lexington Horsemen (UIF)
-
2005 || 11 || 4 || 0 || 1st South || Won Round 1 (Evansville)
Lost Semifinals (Sioux Falls)
-
2006 || 13 || 2 || 0 || 1st East || Won Semifinals (Rock River)
Lost United Bowl II (Sioux Falls)
-
2007 || 8 || 7 || 0 || 3rd East || Won Round 1 (River City)
Won Eastern Championship (Bloomington)
Lost United Bowl III (Sioux Falls)
-
colspan="6" align="center" | Lexington Horsemen (af2)
-
2008 || 9 || 7 || 0 || 2nd AC Midwest || Lost AC Round 1 (Green Bay)
-!Totals || 68 || 35 || 0
colspan="2"| (including NIFL & UIF playoffs)
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Horsemen Highlights

First Game

* On March 29 2003, the Horsemen played their first game in front of a crowd of 10,004 in Rupp Arena. They lost to the Lake Charles Land Sharks 41-50.

Indoor Bowl IV

* In their second season( 2004), the Horsemen beat the Sioux Falls Storm in Sioux Falls 59-38 to win the Indoor Bowl Championship.

United Bowl II

* Under first year QB Eddie Eviston, the Horsemen lost to the undefeated Sioux Falls Storm 64-72 in United Bowl II. The Storm still retain that streak as of July 22, 2007

Road to United Bowl III

* After leaving the team to play for the Cincinnati Jungle Kats of the af2 quarterback, Eddie Eviston returned to play in a July, 22 2007 playoff game against the River City Rage. They won the game 48-33 and advanced to the Eastern Conference championship with home field advantage.

* In the same game, running back Rayshawn Askew tied Hall of Fame NFL wide receiver Jerry Rice for most touchdowns by a professional football player with 208. The following week in the eastern conference championship Askew broke the record on a touchdown catch from Eddie Eviston. The Horsemen won and advanced to the United Bowl.

Current Roster

Coaches and Staff

Former Head Coaches

*2003 - Tony Franklin
*2004-2005 - Bob Sphire
*2006-2007 - Mike Zuckerman
*2008-present - Mike Harmon

Notable Players, Past and Present

* Rayshawn Askew-RB
* Dusty Bonner-QB
* Eddie Eviston - QB
* Antonio Hall-OL/DL
* Derek Homer-RB
* Dennis Johnson-OL/DL
* Anthony "Champ" Kelly-WR/DB
* J.T. Haskins - DB
* Craig Yeast - WR/DB

References

External links

* [http://www.lexingtonhorsemen.com Official website]
* [http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/sports/football/nifl/lexington_horsemen/ Horsemen on Kentucky.com]
* [http://www.arenafan.com/teams/Lexington_Horsemen-132/ Horsemen on ArenaFan.com]
* [http://www.oursportscentral.com/sports/?t_id=1119 Horsemen on OurSports Central]
* [http://www.qkstats.net/nifl/2003/lex.htm Horsemen's 2003 Stats]
* [http://niflfootball.com/04%20stats/Lexington.htm Horsemen's 2004 Stats]
* [http://www.qkstats.net/UIF/2005stats/LEX.HTM Horsemen's 2005 Stats]
* [http://www.qkstats.net/UIF/2006stats/LEX.HTM Horsemen's 2006 Stats]
* [http://www.qkstats.net/UIF/2007/lex.htm Horsemen's 2007 Stats]