The Abilene Bombers were a professional indoor football team. The Bombers played their home games at the Taylor County Expo Center, in

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan statis ...

Team history

The Bombers began play as the Katy Ruff Riders, a 2007 expansion team of the

Intense Football League The Intense Football League (IFL) was a professional indoor football minor league that began operations in 2004. Its focus was in Texas, but it was notable for being the first professional football league to place a franchise in Alaska. History ...

. They originally played their home games at the

Leonard E. Merrell Center The Leonard E. Merrell Center (commonly known as the Merrell Center) is a 7,200-seat multi-purpose arena in Katy, Texas. It was built in 2005 and was the former home of the Katy Copperheads (National Indoor Football League) and the Katy Ruff Rider ...

Katy, Texas Katy is a city in the U.S. state of Texas within the Greater Katy area, itself forming the western part of the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Homes and businesses may have Katy postal addresses without being in the City of Katy. The city of ...

. The Bombers relocated to

at the conclusion of their 2008

season. From then on they were known as the Abilene Ruff Riders. On February 4, 2010, the Ruff Riders were purchased by a local ownership group. After the conclusion of their 2010 season, the team joined the

Southern Indoor Football League The Southern Indoor Football League (SIFL) was an indoor football league based in the Southern and Eastern United States. The most recent incarnation of the league was a consolidation of an earlier league of the same name that was formed by Thom H ...

. After the conclusion of their 2011 season, the team joined the

Lone Star Football League The Lone Star Football League (LSFL) was a regional professional indoor football minor league that played three seasons from 2012 to 2014. All of the LSFL's charter teams were based in the state of Texas, with five teams coming from the Southern ...

. On April 17, 2012, the team changed its name and logo to the Abilene Bombers. They were later owned by BCPSA, LLC. In 2012, they joined the

. They barely clinched a playoff spot with a 6–7 record, only to fall to the Amarillo Venom in the playoffs 70–40.

Final roster

2008 season schedule

2009 season schedule

Season-by-season

, - , colspan="6" align="center" , Katy Ruff Riders (Intense) , - , 2007 , , 7 , , 7 , , 0 , , 5th League , , – , - , 2008 , , 5 , , 9 , , 0 , , 7th League , , – , - , colspan="6" align="center" , Abilene Ruff Riders (IFL) , - , 2009 , , 9 , , 5 , , 0 , , 2nd Intense Lone Star , , Lost Round 1 (

San Angelo San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...

) , - , 2010 , , 2 , , 12 , , 0 , , 3rd Intense Lone Star , , – , - , colspan="6" align="center" , Abilene Ruff Riders (SIFL) , - , 2011 , , 4 , , 8 , , 0 , , 4th WC Southwest , , – , - , colspan="6" align="center" , Abilene Ruff Riders (LSFL) , - , 2012 , , 4 , , 8 , , 0 , , 7th LSFL , , – , - , 2013 , , 6 , , 6 , , 0 , , 4th LSFL , , Lost LSFL Semifinals (

Amarillo Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat, seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County. It is the List of cities in Texas by population, 14th-most populous city in Texas and th ...

) , - !Totals , , 37 , , 57 , , 0 , colspan="2", (including playoffs)

References

External links

Abilene Bombers official website

Taylor County Expo Center website

Ruff Riders' 2007 stats

Ruff Riders' 2008 stats

Ruff Riders' 2011 stats
{{SIFL 2007 establishments in Texas 2013 disestablishments in Texas