READING EXPRESS

'Reading Express'
Express.PNG
'Founded'	2006
'Arena'	Sovereign Center
'Based in'	Reading, Pennsylvania
'Colors'	blue, silver
'League'	American Indoor Football Association
'Head coach'	Ollie Guidry
'President of Football Operations'	Bernie Nowotarski
'Official Dance Team'	Smokin' Hot Steam Team
'Mascot'	Loco

The 'Reading Express' are a professional arena football team based out of Reading, Pennsylvania. They are a 2006 expansion team from the American Indoor Football Association. They play their home games at Sovereign Center.
On Sunday, March 26, 2006, the Express won the AIFL's very first overtime game 41-38 against the Johnstown Riverhawks on the road, as kicker Erik Rockhold booted the game-winning 45-yard field goal.
On Friday, May 12, 2006, the Express managed to knock the Erie Freeze out of the #1 spot in the conference by getting revenge 59-48.
At the end of their inaugural year, the Express held the highest record in the AIFL's Northern Conference, at 12-2. This, however, was padded by two games against amateur outdoor franchises-- the Cumberland Cardinals and a team known as the Philadelphia Scorpions, both of which were blowouts.
In the opening round of the 2006 AIFL Playoffs, the Express managed to knockout the fourth-seeded Huntington Heroes with a 56-23 victory. In the Northern Conference championship game, they faced the second-seeded Canton Legends for the Northern Conference title and a chance to participate in the American Bowl. Unfortunately, the Express got derailed as they got shutout in the second half and fell 44-24. Even though they fell one game shy of the league championship, it wasn't a total loss. WR Carmelo Ocasio was named the 2006 Northern Conference Offensive MVP.[1].
In the 2007 season, the Express built on their success in the previous season, finishing a league-best 14-2 in the regular season, defeating the Pittsburgh RiverRats 42-24 in the first round, and defeating the Canton Legends 66-51 to claim the Northern Conference Championship and earn a trip to AIFA Championship Bowl I at the Florence Civic Center. Unfortunately, the Express got derailed yet again, losing to the Lakeland Thunderbolts 54-49.

Contents

Season-By-Season

2007 Season Schedule

External links

Season-By-Season

|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | 'Reading Express (AIFL)'
|-
|2006 || 12 || 2 || 0 || 1st Northern || Lost NC Championship (Canton)
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | 'Reading Express (AIFA)'
|-
|2007 || 14 || 2 || 0 || 1st Northern || Lost Championship Bowl I (Lakeland)
|-
!Totals || 29 || 6 || 0
|colspan="2"| (including playoffs)

2007 Season Schedule

Date	Opponent	Home/Away	Result
February 18	Pittsburgh RiverRats	Away	35-28
February 25	Erie Freeze	Home	46-38
March 3	Tallahassee Titans	Away	37-47
March 10	Baltimore Blackbirds	Home	78-6
March 16	Erie Freeze	Away	50-35
March 23	Canton Legends	Away	50-19
March 31	Huntington Heroes	Home	48-18
April 7	Johnstown Riverhawks	Away	55-33
April 14	Canton Legends	Home	63-56
April 21	Danville Demolition	Away	56-42
April 28	Montgomery Bears	Home	73-57
May 6	Pittsburgh RiverRats	Home	57-40
May 12	Johnstown Riverhawks	Home	76-16
May 19	Huntington Heroes	Away	29-42
May 21	Baltimore Blackbirds	Away	58-32
June 2	Danville Demolition	Home	83-41
June 9	Pittsburgh RiverRats (Playoffs)	Home	42-24
June 16	Canton Legends (Playoffs)	Home	66-51
June 23	Lakeland Thunderbolts (Championship Bowl I)	Neutral (Florence)	49-54

External links

★ Official Site of the Reading Express

★ Express' 2006 Season & Results

★ Official Site of the Reading Express Smokin' Hot Steam Team

★ Express's 2007 Season