Category Archives: Steelhawks Head Coach

The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks will take on the Reading Express in this weekend’s home matchup; the first of four games against the cross-town rivals. The Steelhawks will be looking to get back on the right track by picking up a win this weekend.

The Steelhawks (1-2) will face a tough Reading Express (0-2) defense, led by linebacker Michael Thompson (12 tackles, 1 sack) and defensive lineman Mike Dell (6 tackles, 3 sacks). With a recent release of A.J. McKenna, the offense will be led by Bo Thompson or newly acquired quarterback Tim Bailey who will be suiting up for the game.

Reading will be up against an equally tough Steelhawk defense that leads the league in the least amount of rushing yards per game given up (31.7 yds) and is tied for 4th in the league in points given up (39). IFL’s Defensive Player of the Week in Week One, DB Marvin Johnson leads the defense with 23 tackles and 2 interceptions. Offensively the Steelhawks will be led by newcomer Bryan Randall, who made his debut last week. As always, look for Ryan Leafy (120 yds, 2 tds, 5.7 ypca) to pick up yards out of the backfield.

This Steelhawk home game is presented by the McCann School of Business and will feature a half-time quarterback competition between local high school quarterbacks. Before the game, fans are invited to come out and tailgate with live music as the Birds of Prey will be performing. Doors will open at 6:00pm.

Kickoff is lined up for 7:05 p.m. (EST)

The Booster club will be there again selling horns, bell, beads and holding a raffle where you can win a Team Autographed Game Used Football!

See you there and be ready to Bring the Noise!!

The Steelhawk’s home opener is soon upon us!

This Sunday, March 11th at 4:00pm the Steelhawks will kick off their home season in style! Coming off of a tough loss, the Hawks now sport a .500 record at 1-1!

While more details of the team are to come… I want to give you a sneak preview of what the Noise Nation and Steelhawk’s Booster Club have planned.

First, the Steelhawk’s love noise. Lot’s of Noise. We proved the home field advantage noise last season with crowd noise causing 12 opposing team false starts in one game alone! (There were 3 in a row at one point)

So in that thinking, the Booster club will have Horns, Bells and Beads for sale for the dedicated Steelhawk’s fans. All proceeds go to support the players!

Another great thing is the Booster club raffle! The Booster Club has obtained an official, authentic (It’s a real one) Lehigh Valley Steelhawks helmet that will be autographed by the entire 2012 team!

It’s going to be a good time! The Steelhawk’s encourage you to get there early and tailgate. Come out and support our team!

Bethlehem, PA: The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks (1-1) suffered their first loss on the young 2012 IFL season Saturday night in front of a sold out crowd in Cedar Rapids, Iowa falling 32-13 at the hands of the Titans. With a defensive battle for most of the first half, the Steelhawks offense was able to move the ball up and down the field however was unable to punch it into the endzone for those much needed points.

The Titans (1-0), playing their first regular season game in franchise history, were able to take the momentum of a raucous pregame celebration and turn that into points. A failed onsides kick to start the game gave Cedar Rapids excellent field position, and Runningback Travis Rhone was able to march in from three yards out for the games first score.

The Steelhawks first points came on their next possession as Virginia Tech product Chris Hazley, playing in his first indoor game, booted a 31 yard field goal, however the Titans answered back with yet another touchdown on a long 45 yard strike from Quarterback Willie Copeland to Everett Roberts.

In the second quarter the Steelhawks were able to cut the lead to 13-10 when Quarterback Dixie Wooten was able to elude the rush and find Wide Receiver Jeff Willis in the back of the endzone for a spralling touchdown catch.

A second scoring strike from Copeland to James Terry followed by another Hazley field goal had the score 19-13 with five seconds left in the half when things got interesting. The Steelhawks lined up for another Hazley field goal to end the half, which was blocked by a Titans defender. The ball was then scooped up and fallen on by Cedar Rapids. The Steelhawks field goal unit believed that multiple players touched him down to end the half, however the Titans player got up and ran into the endzone resulting in a touchdown, and the Titans were up 26-13 in the blink of an eye.

Neither teams offense came out strong in the second half with only a Copeland to Johnny Gray touchdown recorded for points making the final score 32-13.

“It wasn’t our best performance,” stated Head Coach Chris Thompson. “We have to sure up some things on offense because 13 points is not going to win you many football games in this league. We are going to rebound after this, and the best part is we have two straight games in front of our home crowd to get things back on track. The season is very early, and we are confident in our team.”

Defensive Back Records 6 total tackles, One INT, One Fumble Recovery, and a Defensive TD

Bethlehem, PA: In release made today, the league office of the Indoor Football League announced that Lehigh Valley Steelhawks Defensive Back Marvin Johnson was selected as the Week One VidSwap.com Defensive Player of the Week for his efforts in the team’s opening week 30-28 victory over the Chicago Slaughter.

Johnson becomes the first Steelhawks player this season to be awarded for his on field performance. . The former Oregon Duck was all over the field in his very first professional game. In the opening quarter, Johnson recovered a blocked field goal and raced 25 yards into the endzone for the teams first score of 2012. Later in the game, he intercepted a key Perry Patterson pass in his own endzone which turned the momentum of the contest. On top of all that, he also recorded another fumble recovery and six tackles on the night. Look for Johnson to once again be a force in the secondary as the Steelhawks take on the Cedar Rapids Titans in Iowa. Fans interested in watching the game can log onto http://www.b2livetv.com and stream the game live. Game time is scheduled for 8:05 p.m. EST.

The league also announced that Sioux Falls Storm Quarterback Chris Dixon and Allen Wranglers Kick Returner Frankie Solomon Jr. were selected as the Offensive and Special Teams Players of the Week respectively.