Bandits top 10 (part 1)

In honor of the defending AIFL champion Richmond Bandits announcing their 2006 schedule, I have put together my top 10 moments of the inaugural season.

#10 Indoor Football returns to Richmond

On April 16, 2005, the Richmond Bandits played their inaugural game. After receiving the opening kickoff, it took them just two plays to score and the rout was on. It didn’t matter that the opponent was the hapless Ghostriders, or that the Bandits forced seven turnovers, or that the game ended in a 66-13 blowout – in fact, all that added up to make the fans even more excited about the game. And that was the point. Indoor football was back, Richmond had a good looking team, and the games were fun.

#9 Robbie Jenkins’ first start

After filling in as the backup quarterback for the first half of the season, Robbie Jenkins got his chance to start against the Raleigh Rebels. Having brought the team back to win the previous week (see #2), and played the second half against Erie, he was a known quantity and could have started for most if not every other team in the league. And all he did in this game was go 15 for 19 passing for 150 yards and five touchdowns. More importantly, after Will Burch got a couple of series in the second half that ended in disaster (two interceptions), Robbie got the team back on track after the game was tied at the end of the third quarter, and led them to a 47-39 win.

#8 Not going down to the wire

The third meeting between the Bandits and Legends, though close on the scoreboard (72-69), was a laugher compared to the teams’ first two meetings. Robbie Jenkins threw for eight touchdowns and ran for another, and the Bandits scored PATs on all 10 of their touchdowns compared to just seven for the Legends. Jenkins was actually able to kneel the ball to end the game!

Chris Segaar kicked two rouges, solidifying the kicking game that had been frustrating coach Rik Richards all year.

#7 Regular season champs

On a Monday night, the Bandits played their home regular season finale with no consequences – they would get the second playoff seed win or lose. But with a win they could still claim a share of the regular season championship, which was a huge goal for coach Richards. In a defensive struggle, the Bandits shut out the Rebels in the second half and finished the season 9-1.

#6 This one hurts

In week two, the Bandits traveled to Erie to face the consensus “other best team” in the league. The Freeze didn’t disappoint, matching the Bandits score for score behind the frustratingly dazzling play of David Dinkins. This game turned late in the first half, when Will Burch was hit hard by the Freeze defense and separated his left shoulder. Unable to return, Burch watched Robbie Jenkins play capably, but not well enough, and the Freeze were able to get a timely turnover and win the game by 10. After the game, the Bandits circled the regular season finale on their calendars, a home rematch with Erie. Unfortunately, Erie would never come to Richmond as the league office canceled the last two weeks of the season. That meant that this win locked up home field advantage in the playoffs for the Freeze, as the top two teams would not face off head to head again. A bright spot for Richmond was the play of Bobby Phillips, who ran for a TD and three 2-point conversions, sparking a run during the middle part of the season when Phillips was virtually unstoppable running it in for two.

Click here for the top five.