Port Huron Pirates

The Port Huron Pirates were a professional indoor football team based in Port Huron, Michigan. The team was a charter member of the Great Lakes Indoor Football League (GLIFL) joining the league in 2006 as an expansion team. The Pirates were the first professional indoor football team to be based in Port Huron. They played their home games at McMorran Arena in Port Huron, Michigan.

Port Huron Pirates
Established 2005
Folded 2007
Played in McMorran Arena in Flint, Michigan
League/conference affiliations
Great Lakes/Continental Indoor Football League (2006–2007)
  • Great Lakes Conference (2007)
Current uniform
Team colorsBlack, Blue, White
     
CheerleadersPort Huron Pirates Dance Team
Personnel
Owner(s)Peter Norager
PresidentJosh Reasoner
Head coachBrian Hug (2006)
Karl Featherstone (2007)
Team history
  • Port Huron Pirates (2006–2007)
  • Michigan Pirates (2007)
Championships
League championships (1)
Conference championships (1)
Division championships (0)
Playoff appearances (2)
Home arena(s)

The Pirates are the only team to never lose a regular season game in the history of the Continental Indoor Football League, going 22–0 for the only two years that the team existed.

Franchise history

2006

In their inaugural season, Pirates owner hired Brian Hug to be the head coach.[1] the Pirates went undefeated (10–0), defeated the Battle Creek Crunch in the semifinals, and won the inaugural Great Lakes Bowl I 40–34 over the Rochester Raiders, with RB Rayshawn Askew winning the game's MVP title. Over 2,500 fans witnessed the game, marking one of the biggest crowds to watch a sporting event at McMorran Place. Adding some more great news was the fact that QB Shane Franzer was named the inaugural GLIFL MVP of the All-Star game and Rayshawn Askew was named the inaugural GLIFL Running Back of the Year.

Standings

Team W L T PCT
Port Huron Pirates-y10001.000
Rochester Raiders-x730.700
Lehigh Valley Outlawz-x550.500
Battle Creek Crunch-x460.400
Marion Mayhem460.400
New York/New Jersey Revolution0100.000

2007

After the season, head coach Brian Hug left the Pirates to become head coach of the Pahrump Valley High School football team. The Pirates went on to promote assistant Karl Featherstone as their new head coach. In March 2007, Hug was hired by the Las Vegas Gladiators as an assistant offensive/defensive line coach.[2] Featherstone got the team off to a fast start as they defeated the Miami Valley Silverbacks, 54–7,[3] en route to another perfect regular season.

Unfortunately, at halftime of the May 26 game against Marion, in front of an announced crowd of 1,216 fans, the team announced this would be their final season in Port Huron, as they could no longer pay the bills with such lackluster attendance. Speculated relocation cities included Binghamton, New York, Flint, Michigan, and one other Michigan city.[4]

Afterwards, the team announced they would be playing their playoff games at the Perani Arena and Event Center in Flint, Michigan.[5] They were using the playoffs as a test of the arena and the city of Flint for potential relocation. They then renamed themselves The Michigan Pirates for the rest of the season. [6]

After winning their first 26 games, the team finally met their Waterloo in the 2007 CIFL Indoor Championship Game, losing to long-time rival Rochester Raiders by a score of 37–27 at Rochester's Blue Cross Arena.

After an offseason of uncertainty regarding whether the team would return, the CIFL moved the Port Huron Pirates from the "Active Teams" section of their message board to the "Defunct Teams" section of their message board, indicating the team has left the league. It was later confirmed by league officials that The Pirates were no more, as Peter Norager sold the team to the owner of Perani Arena and the team was renamed the Flint Phantoms.

Schedule

Date Opponent Home/Away Result
March 17 Rochester Raiders Away Won 62–30
March 24 Miami Valley Silverbacks Home Won 54–7
March 30 Rochester Raiders Home Won 60–13
April 14 Springfield Stallions Away Won 54–6
April 21 Muskegon Thunder Away Won 47–13
April 28 Summit County Rumble Home Won 70–34
May 4 Miami Valley Silverbacks Away Won 78–19
May 12 Muskegon Thunder Home Won 76–37
May 19 Summit County Rumble Away Won 63–0
May 26 Marion Mayhem Home Won 56–9
June 8 Kalamazoo Xplosion Home Won 55–20
June 16 Chicago Slaughter Away Won 46–12
July 7 Marion Mayhem (Playoffs) Home (Flint) Won 70-20
July 13 Kalamazoo Xplosion (Playoffs) Home (Flint) Won 37–29
July 28 Rochester Raiders (CIFL Indoor Championship Game) Away Lost 27–37

Standings

Team Overall Division
W L T PCT W L T PCT
Great Lakes Conference
Michigan Pirates-y12001.00010001.000
Kalamazoo Xplosion-x1020.8331020.833
Chicago Slaughter-x930.750820.800
Marion Mayhem-x660.500650.545
Muskegon Thunder-x480.333470.364
Miami Valley Silverbacks480.333370.300
Summit County Rumble1110.083070.000
Springfield Stallions0120.0000110.000
Atlantic Conference
Rochester Raiders-y1020.83390001.000
New England Surge-x840.667830.727
Lehigh Valley Outlawz-x750.583550.500
Chesapeake Tide-x750.583650.545
Steubenville Stampede570.417260.250
NY/NJ Revolution1110.0830110.000

Logos and uniforms

The logo featured a fierce pirate, symbolic of the surrounding Great Lake Huron. In the background is a depiction of the Fort Gratiot Lighthouse.

Players of note

Roster

Michigan Pirates roster
Quarterbacks
  • 32 Damon Dowdell
  •  7 Shane Franzer

Running backs

  •  4 Robert Height
  • 34 Felix Joyner

Wide receivers

  • -- Josh Collier
  • 11 Reggie Eubanks
  •  1 Darryl Frager
  • 12 Jim Roth
Offensive linemen
  • 25 Andre Bell
  • 90 Steve Flemming
  • 51 Wael Jarbou
  • 44 Eric Knott

Defensive linemen

  • 55 Eddie Bynes
  •  3 Jeff Dembowske
  • -- Doug Warren

Linebackers

  •  9 Ruben Gay
  • 10 Shawn
Defensive backs
  •  5 Robert Boyer
  • 23 Cory Gonzalez
  •  2 Ernie Smith

Special teams

  •  6 Anthony Gallagher
Injured reserve
  • Currently vacant

Exempt list

  • Currently vacant

Practice squad

  • Currently vacant

Rookies in italics
updated April 23, 2012
21 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 PS

Awards and honors

The following is a list of all Port Huron/Michigan Pirates players who won GLIFL/CIFL Awards.

SeasonAwardPlayerPosition
2006Running Back of the YearRayshawn AskewRB
2006Defensive Player of the YearEddie BynesDE
2006Great Lakes Bowl I MVPRayshawn AskewRB
2006GLIFL All-Star Game MVPShane FranzerQB
2007Most Valuable PlayerRobert HeightRB
2007Offensive Player of the YearRobert HeightRB
2007Defensive Player of the YearEddie BynesDE

Head coaches

Name Term Regular season Playoffs Awards
W L T Win% W L
Brian Hug 2006 10 0 0 1.000 2 0 Coach of the Year
Karl Featherstone 2007 12 0 0 1.000 2 1 Coach of the Year

Season-by-season results

League Champions Conference Champions Division Champions Wild Card Berth League Leader
Season Team League Conference Division Regular season Postseason results
Finish Wins Losses Ties
2006 2006 GLIFL 1st 10 0 0 Won GLIFL semifinals (Crunch) 74-3
Won Great Lakes Bowl I (Raiders) 40-34
2007 2007 CIFL Great Lakes 1st 12 0 0 Won Division Semifinals (Mayhem) 70-20
Won Division Championships (Xplosion) 37-29
Lost 2007 CIFL Championship Game (Raiders) 27-37
Totals 22 0 0 All-time regular season record (2006-2007)
4 1 - All-time postseason record (2006-2007)
26 1 0 All-time regular season and postseason record (2006-2007)

References

  1. "Port Huron Pirates Season Preview". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. April 4, 2006. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  2. "Port Huron Pirates". www.continentalindoorfootball.com. Continental Indoor Football League.
  3. "Pirates rout Miami Valley in CIFL home opener". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. March 26, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  4. "Pirates will leave Port Huron after 2007". The Times Herald.
  5. "Port Huron Pirates to Play Post-Season Games in Flint". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. June 19, 2007. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  6. "Pirates leaving Port Huron". www.porthuronpirates.com. Port Huron Pirates.
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