Lehigh Valley Steelhawks Down, But Not Out

As the upcoming 2018 season rapidly approaches, the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks will be playing without the aid of several key aspects. The Steelhawks have lost two wide receivers in Warren Oliver Jr and Darius Prince and defensive back Eddie Davis III this off-season.

The losses of those three players will affect the strength and aggressiveness of the Steelhawks moving toward the season’s beginning. Veteran Quarterback Warren Smith Jr. will be affected the most out of any player.

Smith lost two of his best wide receivers, who combined for a total of 1,270 receiving yards last season. The combined receiving yards of Oliver and Prince, made up 65 percent of Smith’s 1,953 passing yards in 2017.

As for the future careers of the three players, Oliver Jr. signed with the Duke City Gladiators of the Champions Indoor Football (CIF), Eddie Davis III signed with the Jacksonville Sharks, and Darius Prince told Inside the Arena back in  September that he will play with the Philadelphia Soul for 2018. 

“The future is with the Soul or higher,” he told Stephen Ur. “Lehigh [Valley] is a great organization, but it was a platform to get to a higher level such as the Soul or CFL/NFL.”

Warren Oliver Jr.

Warren Oliver Jr. will move on from the Steelhawks to continue his career with the Duke City Gladiators, members of the Champions Indoor Football league. He will leave the Steelhawks after having a solid 2017 campaign, appearing in all 10 of the team’s games last season.

He had a total of 552 receiving yards. He averaged 55.2 receiving yards per game and scored a total of 15 touchdowns.

Darius Prince

Prince left the Steelhawks to become a member of the Philadelphia Soul prior to ArenaBowl XXX. Prince had an incredible 2017 season with the Steelhawks, as he tacked on a total of 718 receiving yards. He compiled an average of 71.8 receiving yards per game, and had a season total of 20 touchdowns.

He also scored two touchdowns in ArenaBowl XXX for the Soul back on Aug. 26. Philadelphia won their second consecutive title and Prince was named the game’s MVP.

Eddie Davis III

Davis will move on to playing with the NAL’s Jacksonville Sharks, after only playing in four games for the Steelhawks in the 2017 season. Davis III compiled an impressive total of seven interceptions in four games with the team.

Where does the roster and team stand at now?

With the loss of Oliver, Prince, and Davis, the Steelhawks have some off-season work to complete. Even though they just lost three players, the team still has Warren Smith Jr., Brandon Renford, Tommy Dover, Rodney Hall and Undra Hendrix II.

Hendrix was signed this off-season, after he spent the  2017 season with the High Country Grizzlies, former NAL members. Hendrix played in all 10 games compiling an average of 29.8 yards a game. He also scored a total of 12 touchdowns.

Renford remains as the only star wide receiver on the Steelhawks team. He compiled a total of 552 receiving yards and a total of 14 touchdowns on the season. He averaged 55.4 receiving yards per game.

Smith will return to the team, as their veteran quarterback. Smith played in all 10 games, with 169 completed passing yards in 256 passing attempts. He had a total of eight interceptions within the 256 passing attempts. He passed for 1,953 yards, and compiled 56 touchdowns, and a bold average of 195.3 passing yards per game.

Dover and  Hall will both return to defense for the 2018 season. Hall  had seven interceptions,  two of which were returned for touchdowns, as he played all 10 games last season. Dover had eight sacks last season, and he also played in all 10 games, as well.

The Future of the Steelhawks

Even with the loss of significant leaders, including  head coach Chris Thompson, the Steelhawks could still manage to be successful. New head coach Bob Kohler has already began the search for new players to fill in the empty roster voids.

If the right signings are made, the team could get back on the path of success. The impact Davis, Prince, and Oliver made was huge, but the team will have to overcome the painful loss of those players.

Kohler will use his 40 plus years of coaching to bring in new and experienced players, and will also rely Smith Jr. to “fly” the Steelhawks to success.

The league schedule has yet to be released, but according to multiple sources, the season will begin in April and end in August. This is a different look from last season, when the season ran from March to July.

Lehigh Valley Steelhawks Name Defensive Coordinator Bob Kohler Head Coach

The Lehigh Valley Steelhawks have announced their third head coach in the team’s history. The new head coach will be former Steelhawks defensive coordinator and current Director of Player Personnel, Bob Kohler. Kohler will fill in the head coaching void, as he will be the successor of Chris Thompson, the former coach of the team who is now with the AFL Albany franchise.

The upcoming season will be Kohler’s fourth season with the Steelhawks, but he has coached in the Lehigh Valley for more than 40 years. Kohler has spent three years at the high school level and 38 at the college level. Not only has Kohler coached outdoor teams, his knowledge of the arena football business is plentiful. Kohler has compiled a total of six years of coaching in arena football.

He has coached for the Lehigh Valley Outlawz, New Jersey Revolution, and Trenton Freedom where he was the defensive coordinator. Kohler will have a lot of expectations put towards him, as he is going to be filling in the shoes of a very successful former coach, Chris Thompson. Kohler will use his 40+ years of experience coaching to help Lehigh Valley make a run at the 2018 NAL Championship.

Massachusetts Pirates Sign Six Players

The Massachusetts Pirates announced six big signings for the team on Monday The Pirates have added offensive lineman Thomas Claiborne, linebackers Nick Haag and Shawn Loiseau, defensive backs Troy Sanders and John Hardy Tuliau, and wide receiver Ja-Mes Logan. Five of the six players have NFL experience, and five of the six also have played arena football before.

Thomas Claiborne (OL)

Offensive Lineman Thomas Claiborne is a native of Wellesley, MA. Claiborne has played for the Boston College Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and even for numerous arena football teams including the former AFL Milwaukee Mustangs and the Jacksonville Sharks.

A return to the sport for Claiborne has came, as he will come out of retirement full time now. A short re-appearance of Claiborne was seen when he played several games for the Can-Am Indoor Football League in 2017. Recently, he has been coaching as an assistant coach for both the middle and high school football teams in Wellesley.

Nick Haag (LB)

Haag is a native of Worcester, MA, the home city of the Pirates. Hagg has numerous years of NFL experience with the Indianapolis Colts and the New York Giants. He also is a Indoor Football League veteran, as he spent almost two seasons with the now defunct Spokane Empire. In the 2016 IFL season, Hagg had 102 tackles, 13 for loss, and forced two fumbles while earning second-team All-IFL honors.

Shawn Loiseau (LB)

Loiseau is a native of  Shrewsbury, MA, a city 15 minutes to Worcester. Most recently, Loiseau played for the Nebraska Danger of the Indoor Football League in 2017. Loiseau is one of the most decorated student-athletes in Merrimack College history, and became the first Merrimack Warrior ever to sign a NFL deal.

He played college football at Merrimack College. Loiseau finished his career with three hundred and eighty two tackles, including three hundred and seventy seven in his final three seasons, ranking him first all-time in school history. He broke the school record for tackles in a season with 133 in 2010 and was named second team All-American.

Loiseau was twice named Northeast-10 Conference Defensive Player of the Year, marking the first time a Merrimack player earned that award on two occasions. He has played for two NFL teams, the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans. Loiseau is also an arena football veteran, as he has played for the LA Kiss, Sioux Falls Storm, and most recently the Nebraska Danger.

John Hardy Tuliau (DB)

Hardy Tuliau is a native of Whittier, CA. Hardy is a former All-Conference Mountain West athlete from the University of Hawaii. He started forty four games for the Rainbow Warriors.

In the 2014-15 season, Hardy spent time with the AFL’s LA KISS and the CFL’s B.C. Lions. Most recently, he was an 2017 All-IFL defensive back with the now defunct Spokane Empire.

Ja-Mes Logan (WR)

Logan, a native of Houston, TX, is a top 10 receiver in Ole Miss History. Logan went to Ole Miss in 2009 out of Westfield High School in Houston.

He played in twelve games his freshman season and started five, while finishing third on the team with three hundred and eighty seven receiving yards and twenty nine receptions with two touchdowns. He finished his Ole Miss career tied for seventh in school history for career receptions with 136 and 12th in receiving yards with 1,787 yards.

Logan has played in the National Football League for the New England Patriots and in the Canadian Football League for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.

Troy Sanders (DB)

Sanders is former Atlanta Falcons defensive back. Sanders played college football at Appalachian State and was a standout player. He also has IFL experience with the defunct Tri-City Fever and most recently played for the High Country Grizzlies during the 2017 season of the NAL.

Sanders was one of three former App State football players on the Grizzlies’ roster, and all three scored a touchdown during the team’s NAL debut.

National Arena League Adds Three Expansion Teams for 2018 Season

The National Arena League announced on Wednesday of the addition of three new expansion teams for the fast approaching 2018 season. After having losing numerous teams this off-season, the NAL has regained strength with the addition of the Massachusetts (Worcester) Pirates,  Greensboro, NC and Portland, ME.

The three franchises will join the Jersey Flight with a list of three franchises returning from the past season, which includes the Jacksonville Sharks, Columbus Lions and Lehigh Valley Steelhawks.

“In only our second year, the NAL is poised for a breakout season” commissioner Chris Siegfried stated. “Our returning teams, coupled with these additional new markets will continue to build upon the firm foundation of the sports premier arena league. April can’t come soon enough to showcase what we have accomplished this offseason.”

The Massachusetts Pirates will play their home games at the 12,239 seat DCU Center in downtown Worcester. They will be owned by a father/son duo of Jawad Yatim and Hassan Yatim. As for information on Portland, ME, and Greensboro, NC, future press conferences are set to scheduled later in the month for formal announcements.