ThunderHawks open season with new home, new players and new attitude toward contending
ThunderHawks open season with new home, new players, and new attitude toward contending!
By Jeff Chaney | The Grand Rapids Press
February 24, 2010, 10:25AM
Buddy Rivera started the final four games of the Muskegon Thunder's season in 2009.The West Michigan ThunderHawks hope change is good.
Last year as the Muskegon Thunder of the Indoor Football League, the team struggled through a 1-13 season.
In the offseason, the organization changed its name, moved to Grand Rapids -- where it will play its home game at The DeltaPlex -- changed coaches and reworked its entire roster in an attempt to make Michigan’s only indoor football team exciting and competitive.
The ThunderHawks open their season 7 p.m. Friday with a home game against the Maryland Maniacs.
“I’m excited for the season,” West Michigan coach Terry Foster said. “As far as looking at film, this team has a little more talent than last year’s team. We have players from last year’s team, but also have some players from other teams in the IFL, players from the Arena Football League and af2.
"It will take time to mesh all the players, but I think with this roster we will be able to compete for a league title.”
Among the players from last year’s team is quarterback Buddy Rivera.
The 2004 Grandville and 2007 Northern Michigan University graduate is in a heated quarterback battle with former area quarterbacks Brad Iciek of Grandville and Grand Valley State and Danny Richard of Rockford and Ferris State.
Rivera came to the Thunder late last year, starting at quarterback the final four games, all losses, but sees much more talent and competition on this year’s team.
“There is a lot of competition taking place at every position at this year’s camp,” Rivera said. “We have so much talent on this roster that everybody has to compete for a job, and that’s good.”
Rivera said that is a lot different than what he saw at the end of last year when the team was in Muskegon.
“The big thing is that we are deeper this year,” Rivera said “By the time I got to the team last year, we had guys playing both ways, guys were quitting and the team wasn’t practicing. This year, it is a lot smoother and run better.”
Terry FosterMore professionalism is what Foster, the Thunder’s defensive coordinator in its inaugural season in 2006-07 but not with the team the past two years, wanted this year.
“What you can expect to see from this team is us competing,” said Foster, who played defensive back for Grand Valley State in the early 2000s. “You can expect to see some blue-collar performances on and off the field.”
He said the team’s offense is particularly deep.
“Right now, we are probably most experienced at wide receiver and the offensive line,” Foster said. “It is still going to take time to mesh, but I like what I see.”
Anchoring the offensive line is former Grand Rapids Rampage player T.J. Watkins. Former Grand Valley State star Terry Mitchell has impressed at wide receiver.
“You never know what you have until that first game,” Rivera said. “You don’t know how players will do because this is a different game, but there is talent here.”
Here's the ThunderHawks' roster heading into Friday's season opener:
- Adams, Anthony -- LB/DL, 6-2 234, Grand Valley State
- Biggs, Rondell -- DL, 6-3 270, Michigan
- Boone, Amp -- DB, 5-10 195, Arkansas Pine-Bluff
- Brown, Robert -- DL, 6-6 282
- Burden, Vernon -- OL/DL, 6-0 275, Findlay
- Emery, Doug -- LB, 6-2 230, Ferris State
- Fricke, Nathan -- WR/DB, 5-8 190, Ferris State
- Goffron, Rick -- DB, 5-9 187, Ferris State
- Grinvalds, Nicholas LB 6-1 211 Harper
- Height III, Robert -- RB/WR, 5-8 210, Northwood
- Hendrix, David -- K, 5-8 175, Grand Valley State
- Hines, Eddie -- DL, 6-0 250, Grand Rapids CC
- Iciek, Brad -- QB, 6-1 205, Grand Valley State
- Jones, Jahan -- WR/KR, 6-0 187, Grand Valley State
- Marko, Michael -- OL, 6-6 293, Northwood
- Marshall, Greg -- DL, 6-0 242, Western Michigan
- McBeth, Treyvon -- DB, 5-11 183, Saginaw Valley State
- Mitchell, Terry -- WR, 6-2 217, Grand Valley State
- Morris, Aric -- DB, 5-11 225, Michigan State
- Newsome, Richard -- DB, 6-1 217, Michigan State
- Pray, Bryan -- WR, 5-8 174, Pittsburgh State
- Ras, Neuby -- WR, 6-0 193, St. Cloud State
- Richard, Dan -- QB, 6-3 215, Ferris State
- Rivera, Buddy -- QB, 6-1 195, Northern Michigan
- Skodak, James -- DB, 6-0 211, Ferris State
- Smith, Terrel -- DL, 6-3 288, Arkansas Pine-Bluff
- Spann, Emmanuel -- WR/KR, 6-0 189, Marshall
- Stevens, Sean -- OL, 6-4 287, Grand Valley State
- Watkins, T.J. -- OL, 6-4 330, Clemson
- Young, Antwon -- OL/DL, 6-2 277, Michigan Tech
COACHING STAFF
- Terrence Foster, head coach, defensive coordinator, director of player personnel
- Mike Wilford, assistant head coach, line coordinator
- Curt Anes, co-offensive coordinator, quarterbacks coach
- Richard Gills, co-offensive coordinator, receivers coach
- Drew Burton, offensive line coach
- Chris Bouwens, quality control, film coordinator
