7/2/08
By Brian Rippey
Reading Eagle


With the birth of a son only months behind him and a home awaiting him in Cape Cod, Mark Stout's life is nearly complete.

To make it totally fulfilled, Stout would like to earn one more championship ring before he retires from football.

Stout and the Reading Express are three home wins from earning the American Indoor Football Association title.

By Brian Rippey
Reading Eagle

Reading, PA - What's wrong with the Reading Express?

That question was whispered around the Sovereign Center nearly four months ago when the Express struggled to a nine-point win over the Baltimore Mariners in its season opener.

Att. ALL Members,

This coming Thursday (July 3rd), when the Reading Express host the Erie Riverrats, the Reading Express Booster Club will be offering discounts on merchandise to everyone who took the bus trip down to Baltimore last Monday, (June 23rd) & to the general membership. Our REBC shirts which normally sell for $8 per will sell for $6 ea. Shirts come in sizes L, XL and XXL. In addition, our football spirit beads which normally sell for $1 per will be available for $.50 ea. Supplies are limited so hurry to get your shirts & beads now!

This offer is only available for those of you who signed up for the bus trip & members of the club & for this one game only.

The REBC THANKS YOU for your support this season!

~Gene

Gene McCombs
REBC Pres.
http://www.expressfans.com
Email: expressfans@dejazzd.com
Cell: 1.484.477.2315
Join Today & Support Your Team!

Tickets for the 2008 AIFA Playoffs are on sale now! Tickets can be purchased in a 3-game package for all of the playoff games, or on a single game basis. The playoff dates for the Express are as follows (all games to be played on Procak Associates Field in the Sovereign Center):

Thursday, July 3- vs. Erie 7 p.m.
Saturday, July 12- vs. TBD 7 p.m.
AIFA Championship Game- Thursday, July 24- vs. TBD 7 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased by calling the Express office at 610-372-PASS. You can also purchase tickets in person at the Sovereign Center Box Office (700 Penn Street in Reading 610-898-7201).
http://www.expressindoorfootball.com

I wanna Thank ALL our fans who made the Baltimore Bus Trip a success. This being the 1st bus trip the Booster Club has successfully put together i would say it went off without any issues. Our presence down there surely helped our team win & to secure the Division Title and homefield thruout the playoffs. We have the BEST fans in the AIFA!

See you ALL on Thursday, July 3rd!

Thank You
~Gene

Gene McCombs
REBC Pres.
http://www.expressfans.com
Email: expressfans@dejazzd.com
Join Today & Support Your Team!

From our news staff
6/24/2008

Rob Flowers ran for two touchdowns, including the go-ahead score with 3:37 left, as the Reading Express defeated the Baltimore Mariners 47-38 in a physical, penalty flag-filled American Indoor Football Association contest Monday night at 1st Mariner Arena.

Trent Jones then made an interception to set up Flowers' game-clinching TD pass to Carmelo Ocasio as the Express (10-4) clinched the AIFA Northern Division title and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs, which are tentatively scheduled to open against Erie July 3.

Reading, which won its third straight division crown, is undefeated at the Sovereign Center.

In a see-saw affair that saw eight lead changes, Baltimore had taken a 38-34 lead on Mike Orihel's touchdown pass to Gary Briggs and Eugene Goodman's two-point conversion run early in the fourth quarter.

The Mariners (4-10) then returned Erik Rockhold's missed field goal attempt inside the Reading 10, but Central Catholic grad Matt Sola forced a fumble that teammate Eddie Robinson recovered to set up the game-winning drive, highlighted by a clutch one-handed grab by Shawn Foxworth.

Flowers, a Muhlenberg grad, threw four TD passes - three to Reading High grad Ocasio and one to Foxworth.

Reading's defense forced four turnovers in the game, three coming in the fourth quarter.

6/23/2008
By Brian Rippey
Reading Eagle


On paper, it appears there's no way the Reading Express should lose.

But the game won't be played on paper nor even in the Sovereign Center, where the Express is unbeaten this season, including two wins over the Baltimore Mariners.

After The First Two Series it looked like it was going to be a defensive Struggle between the Erie Riverrats and the Reading Express.This is where the game changes.Led by Corry Gipe,Mike Schwebel, and Brett Kolk.The Linebackers of Eddie Robinson,Matt Sola,Micheal Baldwin started to Harrass Erie QB Rutherford in to hurries and off balance Throws and sacks Each player either had a part of a sack or a full sack.This led to Rutherford either putting the ball on the ground which he did four times and he was intercepted four times twice by Trent Jones and Robert Smith.which helped Robert Flowers put up numbers of 22for35 for242 yards and another five rushes for 69 yards.including throwing for 5 Touchdowns and running for four others also including a spectacular run of 43 yards for a score Flowers offensive line did an outstanding job of blocking for him giving him time to throw the ball and being able to stand in the pocket and pick apart the Erie Secondary Two of Flowers Touchdown Tosses went to Yardon Brantley and two to Carmelo Ocassio one to Shawn Foxworth.Flowers also ran for 5 scores.All in All Complete Domination on Both sides of the ball.This was more a confidance Booster for the team as Matt Sola put it.This Team had lost two in a row and another loss would mean another trip to Erie to play the Riverrats.Now with this win and a Win in Baltimore Monday Night June 23rd the Riverrats will have to come here and after total domination on Sarurday Night this is something the Riverrats might not want to face again but lets foucus on Baltimore First and take care of business there first then we can worry about Erie.The Coaching staff will have to sell the players on the idea that a win by Baltimore makes their season.The Coaching Staff needs to remind the players that the job isn't done yet that it is only just begining.We need that Third Division Title and after that the goal of winning in the playoffs and then the championship.But First Things First the Division Title.That is Step one.Then the other two steps. Jim

By Brian Rippey
6/15/2008
Reading Eagle

The Reading Express evidently took last week’s loss to Erie personally.

From the first snap Saturday night in the Sovereign Center, the Express harassed RiverRats quarterback Rob Rutherford and didn’t let up until the final horn sounded.

By then, the victory was well in hand during Reading’s 66-26 thrashing of the first-place RiverRats in a key American Indoor Football Association game that could go a long way in determining home-field advantage in the playoffs.