Cedar Rapids River Kings Explained

Cedar Rapids River Kings
Helmet:Cedar Rapids River Kings Helmet 2019.png
Founded:2011
City:Alliant Energy PowerHouse
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Misc:CedarRapidsRiverKings.com
Colors:Navy blue, light blue, gray
Owner:Dominic Montero
President:Drake Roach
Assistant General Manager:Megan Clark
Dance Team Coach:Jen Marks
League:
Team History:
  • Cedar Rapids Titans (2012–2018)
  • Cedar Rapids River Kings (2019–2020, 2024-present)
No League Champs:0
No Conf Champs:0
No Div Champs:0
Playoff Appearances:
No Playoff Appearances:4
Arena Years:

The Cedar Rapids River Kings are a professional indoor football team based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. They were previously members of American Indoor Football and play their homes at the Alliant Energy PowerHouse.

The River Kings joined the Indoor Football League (IFL) as an expansion team in 2011 known as the Cedar Rapids Titans and first took the field for the 2012 season.

Since 2014, the Titans/River Kings franchise has played its home games at the newly renovated Alliant Energy PowerHouse, after having played their first two seasons at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

The Titans were the first indoor team to be based in Cedar Rapids. The Titans have appeared in two United Conference championship games (2013, 2014), losing to the Sioux Falls Storm both times.

During the 2018 season, the Titans were sold to new ownership and announced that they would rebrand for 2019 with a name-the-team contest,[1] eventually taking on the Cedar Rapids River Kings name.[2]

Due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the River Kings went dormant for at least the 2021 season.[3] The team website was deactivated in 2020[4] and the team was not included as a 2022 league member.

The River Kings would return in 2024, initially as members of the revived AIF. However, their membership was terminated after a couple of games into the season. The team is currently seeking a new league, but plan to play in 2025 and beyond.

Franchise history

2012 – Titans

See main article: 2012 Cedar Rapids Titans season. In August 2011, it was announced that the Cedar Rapids Titans would become an expansion team of the Indoor Football League for the 2012 season owned by Chris Kokalis, Bob Sullivan and Kenneth Moninski.[5] Titans' general manager, Chris Kolalis stated, "We believe that Cedar Rapids is a fantastic market to bring a team into. We hope to promote economic development and be a part of the growth of the community by being active and giving back to the fans." The team also announced that they would play their home games at the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena, with the intentions to play in the newly renovated, U.S. Cellular Center in 2013. On November 18, 2011, the Titans hired former NFL player, Kyle Moore-Brown, as the first coach in franchise history.[6] They won their inaugural game on March 3, 2012, with a 32–13 win over Lehigh Valley Steelhawks.[7]

2013

See main article: 2013 Cedar Rapids Titans season. The Titans lost their pre-season warm-up against Green Bay but began the 2013 regular season with three straight wins in a home-and-home series with Chicago and hosting the new Texas Revolution franchise out of Allen.[8] After a two-week bye, the team lost its next three games. The Titans recovered from this stumble and finished the season second in the United Conference with a 9 - 5 record. They made the post-season but lost to the Sioux Falls Storm in the United Conference Championship.[9] The team fared much better at home than on the road with 5 of its 6 losses coming when it was away from the Cedar Rapids Ice Arena.

2014

See main article: 2014 Cedar Rapids Titans season. The Titans were one of eight returning teams plus one expansion team for the 2014 Indoor Football League season. After a 38–47 loss to open the 2014 season, the Titans went on to win their next 8 games in a row. The Titans entered Week 12, with a chance to claim first place in the United Conference, but fell 36–48 to the undefeated Storm. The Titans avenged the loss during the final game of the season, defeating the Storm 49–37. The victory placed the Titans in second place in the United Conference, and ended the Storm's undefeated season. The Titans' 2nd-place finish meant a road playoff game against the Storm in the United Conference Finals, where they were defeated 36–73.

2015

See main article: 2015 Cedar Rapids Titans season. The Titans were tasked with replacing 2014 starting quarterback Spencer Ohm, while also losing the IFL's leading rusher, LaRon Council. The team signed Sam Durley, from the defunct Wyoming Cavalry, to be their new starting quarterback. Durley got the Titans off to a 6–3 start, good enough for second place in the United Conference, but he was released on May 4, 2015, to sign with the New Orleans VooDoo.[10] However, just two weeks prior to Durley's release, the Titans had traded for the 2014 IFL MVP, Willie Copeland.[11] Jeremiah Price was named the Defensive Player of the Year.

2016

See main article: 2016 Cedar Rapids Titans season. The Titans were yet again looking for a quarterback heading into 2016. The team selected Dylan Favre (quarterback for the national team from the 2015 Football World Cup and the nephew of Brett Favre) to lead the team. Favre finished 6th in the league in passing touchdowns and 5 in passing yards as the Titans finished the season 12–4, clinching the 2 seed in the United Conference. The Titans won their first playoff game in team history with a 66–36 victory over the Wichita Falls Nighthawks,[12] but were once again defeated by the Sioux Falls Storm 48–41 in the United Conference Championship. Price repeated as the Defensive Player of the Year.

2017

See main article: 2017 Cedar Rapids Titans season. The Titans hired former Iowa Hawkeyes wide receiver, Marvin McNutt as the third coach in team history.[13]

2018

See main article: 2018 Cedar Rapids Titans season. After the 2017 season, head coach McNutt took over as general manager and hired Billy Back, the 2016 IFL coach of the year with the Wichita Falls Nighthawks, as the new head coach.[14] However, coach Back would leave the team a couple of months after his hiring to coach the expansion Carolina Cobras of the National Arena League for the 2018 season. The Titans then hired former NFL linebacker Marvin Jones as his replacement.[15]

On January 30, 2018, the Titans' ownership announced the team was for sale with hopes of selling to new local ownership.[16] In June, it was announced that the Titans had been sold to Roy Choi, a California-based businessman, with the intentions of keeping the team Cedar Rapids.[17]

River Kings

In a letter to fans posted on the team's website on August 17, 2018, new general manager Ryan Eucker announced that the Titans' name and identity would be replaced as part of a rebranding process after the ownership change.[1] On August 20, 2018, Eucker announced a name-the-team contest to select a new team name and identity with submissions due by September 5.[18] On September 22, the team announced their new name as the Cedar Rapids River Kings with a new logo and color scheme to be unveiled by mid-October.[2] On September 25, 2018, general manager Ryan Eucker announced that Mark Stoute had returned as the head coach of the River Kings. He coached the Titans from 2013 to 2016.[19] A few games into the season, general manager Eucker was sent by the new owner to his other IFL team, the San Diego Strike Force, to take over as general manager. Reggie Harris was promoted to the River Kings' general manager.

The River Kings finished with a 1–13 record and head coach Stoute was fired after the season.[20] Victor Mann was brought in as head coach after his previous team, the Texas Revolution, had folded the previous season.[21]

The River Kings participated in one of the two league games that were completed in the 2020 season before the entire league's season was curtailed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The team also withdrew from the league's 2021 season.[22]

2024

In 2024, the River Kings were revived as a member of American Indoor Football. The River Kings lost both of its league games and were later removed from the league in a dispute with owner Dominic Montero.[23] They would play an independent schedule against some outdoor teams and more established indoor teams from the National Arena League and the Arena Football League to complete their season. They have a team shared with owner Dominic Montero, the Coralville Chaos.

Players

Current roster

Cedar Rapids River Kings roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists
  • Currently vacant

All-IFL players

The following Titans/River Kings players have been named to All-IFL Teams:

  • RB LaRon Council (2)
  • WR Carl Sims, Bryan Pray (2), Damond Powell
  • OL Maurice Robinson, Albert Erni Jr., A. J. Harmon
  • DL Xzavie Jackson (4), Kyle Jenkins, Jeremiah Price (2)
  • LB Nikolas Sierra
  • DB T. J. Simmons, Ricky Johnson
  • K Rockne Belmonte (2), Nicholas Belcher
  • KR Robert Brown, Demetruce McNeal

Individual awards

The following is a list of all Titans/River Kings players who have won league awards

Special Teams Player of the Year
SeasonPlayerPosition
Rockne BelmonteK
Defensive Player of the Year
SeasonPlayerPosition
Jeremiah PriceDL
Jeremiah PriceDL

Statistics and records

Season-by-season results

League championsConference championsPlayoff berthLeague leader
SeasonTeamLeagueConferenceRegular seasonPostseason results
Finish Wins Losses
2012United7th 4 10
2013IFL Unitedbgcolor=#96cdcd 2nd 9 5 Lost United Conference Championship (Sioux Falls) 20–44
2014IFL Unitedbgcolor=#96cdcd 2nd 11 3 Lost United Conference Championship (Sioux Falls) 36–73
2015IFL Unitedbgcolor=#96cdcd 2nd 9 5 Lost United Conference Championship (Sioux Falls) 12–34
2016IFL Unitedbgcolor=#96cdcd 2nd 12 4 Won United Conference Wild Card (Wichita Falls) 66–36
Lost United Conference Championship (Sioux Falls) 24–58
2017IFL United5th 1 15
2018IFL 5th 3 11
20192019IFL 9th 1 13
20202020IFL 0 1 Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021Dormant year
2022Dormant year
2023Dormant year
202420245th0 2
Totals50 69 All-time regular season record
1 4 All-time postseason record
51 73 All-time regular season and postseason record

Head coach records

Note: Statistics are correct through the 2024 American Indoor Football season.

NameTenureRegular seasonPlayoffsAwards
WLWin%WL
Kyle Moore-Brown201241000
Mark Stoute2013–2016, 20194230142013 IFL Coach of the Year
Marvin McNutt201711500
Marvin Jones201831100
Victor Mann20200100
Daron Clark2024–present2300

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: LETTER TO FANS FROM GM RYAN EUCKER . Ryan Eucker . CedarRapidsTitans.com . August 17, 2018.
  2. Web site: Cedar Rapids IFL Announces New Team Name . Ryan Eucker . CedarRapidsTitans.com . September 22, 2018.
  3. Web site: 2021 IFL SCHEDULE RELEASED . IFL . November 17, 2020.
  4. Web site: Wayback Machine archives for goriverkings.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20200808093940/https://www.goriverkings.com/ . 8 August 2020 . October 22, 2021 .
  5. Web site: Professional Football Coming to Cedar Rapids . https://archive.today/20130127020029/http://www.kcrg.com/news/local/Professional-Football-Coming-to-Cedar-Rapids-128645688.html . dead . January 27, 2013 . August 29, 2011 . ABC . www.kcrg.com . September 20, 2012 .
  6. News: Titans hire Moore-Brown as head coach . November 18, 2011 . Jeff Johnson . The Gazette . September 20, 2012.
  7. News: Titans trounce Lehigh Valley, 32-13, in first game for Cedar Rapids IFL franchise . March 3, 2012 . Mike Condon . The Gazette . September 20, 2012.
  8. News: Michael . Bonner . Scott . Saville . . . Titans Steamroll Texas To Stay Perfect . March 2, 2013 . March 4, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150930152003/http://www.kcrg.com/sports/local/Titans-Steamroll-Texas-To-Stay-Perfect-194517231.html . September 30, 2015 .
  9. Web site: Titans fall to Storm in conference championship . June 22, 2013 . The Gazette . thegazette.com . March 31, 2014.
  10. Web site: Durley leaving Titans for AFL's New Orleans VooDoo . Douglas Miles . May 3, 2015 . The Cedar Rapids Gazette . www.thegazette.com . May 5, 2015.
  11. Web site: C.R. Titans trade for reigning IFL MVP . Douglas Miles . April 13, 2015 . The Cedar Rapids Gazette . www.thegazette.com . May 5, 2015.
  12. Web site: Dylan Favre totals 7 TDs for Cedar Rapids Titans in 66-36 playoff rout . Douglas Miles . July 9, 2016 . The Cedar Rapids Gazette . www.thegazette.com . July 11, 2016.
  13. Web site: Former Iowa Hawkeyes receiver Marvin McNutt named Cedar Rapids Titans head coach . Douglas Miles . October 11, 2016 . The Gazette . www.thegazette.com . March 21, 2017.
  14. Web site: FORMER COACH OF THE YEAR JOINS TITANS; MCNUTT PROMOTED TO GM . CR Titans . October 30, 2017.
  15. Web site: FORMER ALL PRO NFL LINEBACKER NAMED TITANS HEAD COACH . Cedar Rapids Titans . January 3, 2018.
  16. Web site: Cedar Rapids Titans up for sale . . January 30, 2018.
  17. Web site: Cedar Rapids Titans Announce New Ownership . OurSportsCentral.com . June 19, 2018.
  18. Web site: NAME THE TEAM CONTEST . Ryan Eucker . CedarRapidsTitans.com . August 20, 2018 . August 21, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180822014654/http://www.cedarrapidstitans.com/news/name-the-team-contest . August 22, 2018 . dead .
  19. Web site: Cedar Rapids MARK STOUTE RETURNS AS HEAD COACH . Ryan Eucker . GoRiverKings.com . September 25, 2018.
  20. Web site: RIVER KINGS BEGIN SEARCH FOR NEW HEAD COACH . River Kings . July 20, 2019.
  21. Web site: Victor Mann Agrees to Lead River Kings . OurSports Central . September 5, 2019.
  22. Web site: Current Teams - Indoor Football League . Indoor Football League . October 22, 2021.
  23. Web site: Glover . Maury . 2024-05-06 . Arena Football League questions arise after Iowa team leaves league . 2024-05-09 . FOX 9 . en-US.