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Second season in the NIFL
In 2004 the Fort Wayne Freedom returned to the NIFL under owner and founder Richard Coffey. After posting a respectable
8-6 record in his head coaching debut, Rich Huff returned as well, bringing back more than half of the original starters.
With a solid core group and some new talent, Fort Wayne got off to a fast start with impressive wins over Show-Me (Believers)
and Evansville (BlueCats). After back to back losses against division foe Lexington, Fort Wayne scored a home win over
Atlantic City before dropping back to .500 with a loss at Evansville. Sitting at 3-3 and facing the mighty Ohio
Valley Greyhounds, the Fort Wayne Freedom scored its biggest victory in their young history by upsetting Ohio Valley 43-35.
The victory ended a Greyhounds win streak that spanned 27 games and two National Titles. After that victory, Fort Wayne
struggled going 3-3 over their next six games before closing out the season at home versus Carolina. An indoor football attendance
record crowd of 10,225 was on hand to see a dominating performance over the Stingrays. With the 48-3 victory, Fort Wayne finished
8-6 and qualified for the post season for the first time. ShowMe traveled to Fort Wayne for an opening round loss to the Freedom.
The following week Fort Wayne was the road victim, suffering a semi-final loss to the Greyhounds.
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| Brain White under center vs. Evansville. |
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Attendance
The Fort Wayne Freedom set a single game high in attendance with 10,225 in it's final home game of the regular season,
as well as leading the league with 8,056 fans per contest.
| Date |
Opponent |
Result |
Record |
| Mar 14, 04 |
vs. SM Believers |
W 66-37 |
(1-0) |
| Mar 20, 04 |
vs. E-ville BluCats |
W 80-41 |
(2-0) |
| Apr 03, 04 |
at Lex. Horsemen |
L 21-49 |
(2-1) |
| Apr 10, 04 |
vs. Lex. Horsemen |
L 48-51 |
(2-2) |
| Apr 24, 04 |
vs. AC CardSharks |
W 63-54 |
(3-2) |
| May 01, 04 |
at E-ville BlueCats |
L 68-71 |
(3-3) |
| May 08, 04 |
vs. OV Greyhounds |
W 43-35 |
(4-3) |
| May 15, 04 |
at SI Xtreme |
L 41-42 |
(4-4) |
| May 21, 04 |
vs. SI Xtreme |
W 56-07 |
(5-4) |
| May 28, 04 |
at SM Believers |
W 49-35 |
(6-4) |
| Jun 05, 04 |
at OV Greyhounds |
L 23-52 |
(6-5) |
| Jun 12, 04 |
at AC CardSharks |
L 27-41 |
(6-6) |
| Jun 19, 04 |
at Tup. Fire Ants |
W 61-40 |
(7-6) |
| Jun 26, 04 |
vs. Car. Stingrays * |
W 48-03 |
(8-6) |
* set single game indoor football attendance record with 10,225 fans.
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| Head Coach Rich Huff. |
Coach Huff
Following the Freedom's second consecutive season finishing 8-6, and despite qualifing for the playoffs
(1-1) for the first time, head coach Rich Huff was unexpectedly let go. Huff's overall regular season
record was 16-12 with an impressive home record of 12-2. For everything that went right at home, they paid for it on
the road. Fort Wayne managed only four road victories during the first two years. Assistant coach Matt
Land was later named head coach for 2005.
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| Shots ring out after a Freedom touchdown. |
Top Players
Quarterbacks - Antoine Taylor returned to lead the Freedom in 2004. Taylor played in 11 games
with a passer rating 98.47 while connecting on 132 of 270 pass attempts for 1482 yards and 37 TD's.
Taylor was also the Freedom's second leading rusher compiling 325 yards on 57carries. Brian White managed playing time in eight
contests, completing 72 of his 127 passes and 14 TD's against seven interceptions. White also rushed for a TD.
Running Backs - Rocky Harvey finished third in rushing during 2003 and continued his dominance
in the NIFL during 2004. Playing in just 11 games and rushing for a team high 897yards on 220 carries, Rocky led the
team with 35 rushing touchdowns, while also grabbing seven TDs through the air. He finished 2004 with 42 total
touchdowns and 256 total points. Rocky scored a season high six touchdowns vs. Evansville on March 20, 2004.
Recievers - With Jeremy Dutcher moving up to the Arena Football League (AFL), Adrian
Reese grabbed the spotlight by hauling in 75 catches for 752 yards. His 27 touchdowns ranked second
only to Havey's 42. Three of those touchdowns came by way of kickoff returns where Reese piled up 1436 yards on 74 returns.
Add in missed field goal returns and Adrian accounted for an impressive average of a 169.9 yards per game.
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| Scott Heighland from Sherwood, OH |
2004 NIFL Season
For complete stats and paticipation for the 2004 season please click
here.
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