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Lehigh Valley Outlawz

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lehigh Valley Outlawz
Established 2006
Folded 2008
Played in Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
League/conference affiliations
Labelle Community Football League (2004–2005)

Great Lakes/Continental Indoor Football League (2006–2008)

  • Atlantic Division (2007)
  • Atlantic Conference (2008)
    • East Division (2008)
Current uniform
Team colorsRed, black, white
     
MascotOutKast
CheerleadersLady Outlawz
Personnel
Owner(s)Jim DePaul
PresidentJim DePaul
General managerJim DePaul
Head coachMike DePaul
Team history
  • Philly Outlawz (2004–2005)
  • Lehigh Valley Outlawz (2006–2008)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (0)
Division championships (0)
Playoff appearances (3)
Home arena(s)

The Lehigh Valley Outlawz were a professional indoor football team based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The team began play as a semi-pro team in the Labelle Community Football League as the Philly Outlawz. The team was later a charter member of the Great Lakes Indoor Football League joining the league in 2006 as an expansion team. The Outlawz and the Reading Express were the first professional indoor football team to be based in Lehigh Valley. The Outlawz were owned by Jim DePaul. They played their home games at the Stabler Arena on the campus of Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Franchise history

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2004–2005

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Prior to joining indoor football, they were a semi-pro team from the Labelle Community Football League known as the Philly Outlawz. They played in the league from 2004 to 2005.

2006: Turning pro

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In 2006, the Outlawz made the jump to professional status when they joined the Great Lakes Indoor Football League. During their inaugural year, the Outlawz hosted the first, and only, GLIFL All-Star Game. They ended their regular season at 5-5 which was good enough to clinch the number 3 playoff spot. In the playoffs, they were eliminated by the second-seeded Rochester Raiders in the semifinals.

Standings

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Team W L T PCT
Port Huron Pirates-y 10 0 0 1.000
Rochester Raiders-x 7 3 0 .700
Lehigh Valley Outlawz-x 5 5 0 .500
Battle Creek Crunch-x 4 6 0 .400
Marion Mayhem 4 6 0 .400
New York/New Jersey Revolution 0 10 0 .000

2007

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In 2007, the Outlawz would finish the season with a 7-5 record which, would again earn them the number 3 seed in the Atlantic Division playoffs. They went on to lose in the semifinal round of the playoffs to the New England Surge.

Schedule

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Date Opponent Home/Away Result
April 7 NY/NJ Revolution Home Won 45-25
April 14 Rochester Raiders Home Lost 25-63
April 21 NY/NJ Revolution Away Won 46-29
April 28 Steubenville Stampede Home Won 64-57
May 5 Chesapeake Tide Away Lost 56-57 (OT)
May 12 New England Surge Away Lost 25-53
May 19 Marion Mayhem Home Won 48-25
May 26 Rochester Raiders Away Lost 49-77
June 2 New England Surge Home Lost 42-70
June 9 Chesapeake Tide Home Won 48-26
June 16 Steubenville Stampede Away Won 54-20
June 23 Muskegon Thunder Away Won 55-54
July 7 New England Surge (Playoffs) Away Lost 34-58

Standings

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Team Overall Division
W L T PCT W L T PCT
Great Lakes Conference
Michigan Pirates-y 12 0 0 1.000 10 0 0 1.000
Kalamazoo Xplosion-x 10 2 0 .833 10 2 0 .833
Chicago Slaughter-x 9 3 0 .750 8 2 0 .800
Marion Mayhem-x 6 6 0 .500 6 5 0 .545
Muskegon Thunder-x 4 8 0 .333 4 7 0 .364
Miami Valley Silverbacks 4 8 0 .333 3 7 0 .300
Summit County Rumble 1 11 0 .083 0 7 0 .000
Springfield Stallions 0 12 0 .000 0 11 0 .000
Atlantic Conference
Rochester Raiders-y 10 2 0 .833 90 0 0 1.000
New England Surge-x 8 4 0 .667 8 3 0 .727
Lehigh Valley Outlawz-x 7 5 0 .583 5 5 0 .500
Chesapeake Tide-x 7 5 0 .583 6 5 0 .545
Steubenville Stampede 5 7 0 .417 2 6 0 .250
NY/NJ Revolution 1 11 0 .083 0 11 0 .000

2008

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The Outlawz would finish the 2008 regular season with a 6-5 record and the #2 seed in the Atlantic Division East. The team would take a big step in winning their first playoff game against the New England Surge before being defeated by the Saginaw Sting in the Atlantic Division Championship.

Schedule

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Date Opponent Home/Away Result
March 22 New Jersey Revolution Home Won 54-32
March 29 Rochester Raiders Away Lost 27-49
April 12 Chesapeake Tide Home Won 62-28
April 20 New England Surge Away Lost 14-35
April 27 Chesapeake Tide Away Won 50-17
May 3 Marion Mayhem Home Won 44-33
May 10 Rochester Raiders Home Lost 26-45
May 16 Marion Mayhem Away Lost 23-36
May 24 Miami Valley Silverbacks Home Won 29-27
May 30 New Jersey Revolution Away Lost 30-31
June 7 New England Surge Away Won 45-42
June 14 New England Surge (Playoffs) Home Won 27-21
June 23 Saginaw Sting (Playoffs) Away Lost 25-59

Standings

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Team Overall Division
W L T PCT W L T PCT
Great Lakes Conference
East Division
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

Demise

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After the 2008 season the Outlawz, along with the New England Surge left the CIFL and planned to start their own league, the United States Indoor Football League. Later three more teams, the Southland (IL) Chill, the Bridgeview Red Devils, and the Pennsylvania Stillers were announced as participants in the newly formed league. The team had stated that the season would start in March, around the same time that its previous seasons had begun. However, the start was then pushed back to April, then May and a final announcement was made that the 2009 schedule would be out June 1. The schedule never came out and the team and league website stopped being updated. The team shut down their Hellertown, Pennsylvania headquarters. The league website stated that it (the USIFL) was based out of Cape Coral, Florida, however, the USIFL decided it was best to not try and start a new league venture with the US economy in its current condition. Rumors of unpaid player and accounts were never confirmed and a lawsuit brought by a former coach was dismissed without merit.

Season-by-season

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Season records
Season W L T Finish Playoff results
Philly Outlawz (LCFL)
2004 9 4 0 2nd D Division Lost Round 1 (Claymont)
2005 9 1 1 1st League Won Round 1 (Eastwick)
Won Semifinal (Claymont)
Lost LaBelle Bowl II (Frankford)
Lehigh Valley Outlawz (GLIFL)
2006 5 5 0 3rd League Lost Semifinals (Rochester)
Lehigh Valley Outlawz (CIFL)
2007 7 5 0 3rd Atlantic Lost AD Semifinal (New England)
2008 6 5 0 2nd Atlantic East Won AD East Finals (New England)
Lost AD Championship (Saginaw)
Lehigh Valley Outlawz (USIFL)
2009 -- -- -- -- --
Totals 37 21 1 (including LCFL, GLIFL, and CIFL playoffs)
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