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| - The Reading Express are a professional indoor football team based out of Reading, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the Indoor Football League, having begun play as a member of the American Indoor Football League 2006. They play their home games at the Sovereign Center. 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. For 2011, the Express have left the AIFA and are moving to the Indoor Football League.
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| abstract
| - The Reading Express are a professional indoor football team based out of Reading, Pennsylvania. They are a member of the Indoor Football League, having begun play as a member of the American Indoor Football League 2006. They play their home games at the Sovereign Center. The team was originally going to be named the Reading RiverRats, but passed on that name in favor of the "Reading Express." The RiverRats name and logo was moved to an AIFA team in Pittsburgh in 2007. 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 knock out 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 shut out 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, now part of the AIFL's reorganized form (the American Indoor Football Association), 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. In the 2009 season, the Express had another fantastic season, finishing the regular season 11-3, defeating the Baltimore Mariners 50-20 in the first round, and defeating the Columbus Lions 60-51 in the conference championship game to earn another berth in the AIFA Championship Bowl III in Casper, Wyoming. This time in the title game, the Express were overpowering and they defeated the Wyoming Calvary 65-42 to win their first AIFA championship. For 2011, the Express have left the AIFA and are moving to the Indoor Football League.
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