The Atlanta Xplosion, known as the Atlanta Ravens for the year of 2011, was a football team in the

Independent Women's Football League The Independent Women's Football League (IWFL) was the first Women's American football league established by women players for women players. The league was founded in 2000, began play in 2001, and played its last season in 2018. Members of the ...

. Based in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, the Xplosion played their home games in nearby

Smyrna, Georgia Smyrna is a city in Cobb County, Georgia, United States. It is located northwest of Atlanta, and is in the Interstate 285 (Georgia), inner ring of the Atlanta Metropolitan Area. It is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs–Alpharetta MSA, which i ...

at Campbell High School.

History

2003

The Xplosion was formed in 2003 as an IWFL exhibition team ("X-Team") from the players and staff of the defunct Atlanta Leopards team which played the NWFA. The Beniamino family was involved in all aspects of the team; in addition to the breadwinner

Phil Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root te ...

owning the team, his wife Denise played for the Xplosion (she played her husband's typical position of linebacker and wore his #33 uniform number). Even their daughter Kylie had her own unique role, as she was the one who first thought up the Xplosion name. Coached by Phil, Marcus Dawson, Craig Couchoud and

John Singleton John Daniel Singleton (January 6, 1968 April 28, 2019) was an American director, screenwriter, and producer. He made his feature film debut writing and directing ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

and playing on the campus of

Clark Atlanta University Clark Atlanta University (CAU or Clark Atlanta) is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Found ...

, the Xplosion had a successful exhibition season, finishing with a 9–1 record.

2004

2004 was the Xplosion's first year as a fully licensed IWFL team. Adding Zeric Foster and Adrian "ACE" Carney to the coaching staff, the Xplosion finished 5–3, good for second place in the South Atlantic Division and a playoff spot. Their playoff run would end soon after it began with a 21-8 divisional playoff loss to their South Atlantic divisional rivals the

Tampa Bay Terminators Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough Count ...

, who had beaten the Xplosion twice in the regular season but would go on to lose to the eventual IWFL Champion

New York Sharks The New York Sharks were a women's American football team that was based in New York City. Their final season in 2018 was played as a member team of the Women's Football Alliance (WFA). They were the longest running and most winning team in women ...

in the Eastern Conference Finals.

2005

2005 was a year of many changes for the Xplosion. In addition to moving to Campbell High School in nearby

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

, the Xplosion moved on without past coaches Marcus Dawson and John Singleton, hiring Charlene Vance,

Craig Couchoud __NOTOC__ Craig may refer to: Geology *Craig (landform), a rocky hill or mountain often having large casims or sharp intentations. People (and fictional characters) *Craig (surname) *Craig (given name) Places Scotland *Craig, Angus, aka Barony of ...

, and offensive line (who would later be head) coach Mario D'Ella. On the field, the Xplosion did even better than they had done in '04, finishing the regular season at a perfect 10–0, winning their first division title (Eastern Conference, South Central), and clinching a first-round playoff home game. Their playoff run also saw success, winning the Eastern Conference Semifinal over the

Jacksonville Dixie Blues The Jacksonville Dixie Blues are a women's American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. Founded in 2001, they are currently members of the Women's Football Alliance (WFA), playing their home games on the campus of University Christian S ...

by a score of 26-12 and later dethroning the reigning IWFL Champion New York Sharks 3-0 for the Eastern Conference Championship and the right to advance to the IWFL Championship Game in

Manchester, New Hampshire Manchester is a city in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the most populous city in New Hampshire. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 115,644. Manchester is, along with Nashua, one of two seats of New Hamp ...

(hosted by the

Manchester Freedom The Manchester Freedom is a football team in the Independent Women's Football League based in Manchester, New Hampshire. Home games are played at West Memorial Field on the campus of Manchester High School West. Season-by-season , - , colspa ...

). Unfortunately, the title game was not as successful, as the Xplosion lost to the

Sacramento Sirens The Sacramento Sirens are a women's semi-professional American football team, located in Sacramento, California. The team has compiled one of the most successful records in women's full tackle football. History In 2001, their first year of exi ...

, 9–6.

2006

In 2006, Phil Beniamino sold the Xplosion to Takela Corbitt, who herself had played running back and fullback for the team for three years. Beniamino and his staff would remain as coaches, leading the Xplosion to a season even better than the one before it. Not only did they finish the regular season 7–1, win another division title (South Atlantic), and win the Eastern Conference Semifinals (over the

Bay State Warriors A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

, 41–0) and Finals (over the

, 35–14), but they also made history in the following IWFL Championship in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

(hosted by the

Long Beach Aftershock The Women's Professional American Football League (WPFL) was a women's professional American football league in the United States. With teams across the United States, the WPFL had its first game in 1999 with just two original teams: the Lake Mic ...

). Their opponent, the

Detroit Demolition The Detroit Demolition was a women's American football team based in the Detroit, Michigan area. During their most recent season, home games were played at Franklin High School in Livonia. They joined the National Women's Football Association ...

, had won 42 consecutive games dating back to their inaugural season of 2002, and had won four straight NWFA championships before joining the IWFL. Needless to say, the Xplosion put that streak to a quick end, defeating the Demolition 21-14 and becoming 2006 IWFL World Champions.

2007

2007, like the seasons before it, was a year of change. Moving into Roswell High School, the Xplosion promoted offensive line coach Mario D'Ella to head coach, leading to a revamping of the coaching staff; gone were Beniamino, Vance, and Couchoud, leaving only Zeric Foster from the previous coaching staff and adding

Charmaine Chin Charmaine may refer to: *Charmaine, a character in '' What Price Glory?'' * "Charmaine" (song), the theme song for the 1926 adaptation of ''What Price Glory'' * "Charmaine" (rap song), a 2006 song by Plan B *Charmaine (musician), a Christian pop sin ...

Ronald Rankin Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'', Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English '' Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised form of ...

, Jody Kerse and Marco McInness. Otherwise, not much had changed from prior seasons; again finishing 8–0, winning the South Atlantic Division title, and breezing through the Eastern Conference Semifinals (defeating the

D.C. Divas The D.C. Divas are a football team in the Women's Football Alliance. Based in the Washington Metropolitan Area, the Divas play their home games at The St. James Sports Complex in Springfield VA. Formerly, the Divas played at Eastern High School ...

) and Championship (for the third straight year, defeating the

) to advance to the IWFL Championship Game which this time they were hosting against their opponent from the year before, the

. Though it was the highest-attended title game in IWFL history, the Xplosion were not as successful this time around, losing 17–7 to the Demolition (who avenged their defeat in the previous year's game).

2008

2008 was a disappointing year by Xplosion standards; despite finishing with a solid 6–2 record, for the first time since 2005, the Xplosion failed to win the conference title, for the first time since 2004, failed to win the division title, and for the first time since becoming a fully licensed team, failed to make the playoffs.

2009

For 2009, the Xplosion moved to their new home of James R. Hallford Stadium in Clarkston and their new head coach Maurice Tyler. Once again, despite a strong 7–1 record, the Xplosion failed to make the playoffs once again because of a lower Team Rating than the wild-card winners

Pittsburgh Passion The Pittsburgh Passion is a women's American football team based in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area. The franchise was formed in March 2002 and is currently owned by Teresa Conn, Anthony Misitano, and the estate of Franco Harris. The team is a ...

2010

Once again, the Xplosion finished at 7–1, which was the best record in the division. However, because of the IWFL's Team Ratings system, the 5-3 D.C. Divas won the Southeast Division title. The two teams will play in the first round of the playoffs on June 12.

2011

In March 2011, the team announced that the name of the team was changed from the Atlanta Xplosion to the Atlanta Ravens. The Ravens were undefeated the entire year to win a world championship.

2012

2012 was a rebuilding year for the Xplosion. With a strong rookie class, a few dedicated veterans, and the addition of coach Vinson Brown (Defensive Line Coach), the team went 5–2 on the season, winning their division and making the first round of the playoffs.

2013

The upcoming season is very promising for this young Xplosion team. Coach Zeric Foster has returned and the coaching staff has also been enriched with the addition of Gerald "Boo" Mitchell as offensive coordinator, and the return coach Vinson Brown.

Season-by-season

, - , 2003 , , 9 , , 1 , , 0 , , ''X-Team'' , , -- , - , 2004 , , 5 , , 4 , , 0 , , 2nd Eastern Conference South Atlantic , , Lost Eastern Conference Semifinal (

Tampa Bay Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...

) , - , 2005 , , 12 , , 1 , , 0 , , 1st Eastern Conference Southern Central , , Won Eastern Conference Semifinal (

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

)
Won Eastern Conference Championship (

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

)
Lost IWFL Championship (

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

) , - , 2006 , , 10 , , 1 , , 0 , , 1st Eastern Conference South Atlantic , , Won Eastern Conference Semifinal ( Bay State)
Won Eastern Conference Championship (

)
Won IWFL Championship (

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

) , - , 2007 , , 10 , , 1 , , 0 , , 1st Eastern Conference South Atlantic , , Won Eastern Conference Semifinal ( D.C.)
Won Eastern Conference Championship (

)
Lost IWFL Championship (

) , - , 2008 , , 6 , , 2 , , 0 , , 2nd Eastern Conference South Atlantic , , -- , - , 2009 , , 7 , , 1 , , 0 , , 2nd Eastern Conference South Atlantic , , -- , - , 2010 , , 7 , , 2 , , 0 , , 2nd Eastern Conference Southeast , , Lost Eastern Conference Semifinal ( D.C.) , - , 2011 , , 11 , , 0 , , 0 , , 1st Eastern Conference Mid South , , Won Eastern Conference Semifinal (

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)
Won Eastern Conference Championship ( Carolina)
Won IWFL Championship (

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

) , - , 2012 , , 5 , , 2 , , 0 , , 1st Eastern Conference Mid South , , Lost Eastern Conference Semifinal (

) , - , 2013 , , 3 , , 1 , , 0 , , 2nd Eastern Conference Southeast , , -- , - !Totals , , 85 , , 16 , , 0 , , , ,

Season schedules

2009

2010

** Won by forfeit

References

External links

Atlanta Xplosion
{{Georgia Sports Independent Women's Football League American football teams in Georgia (U.S. state) DeKalb County, Georgia Sports teams in Atlanta American football teams established in 2003 2003 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Women's sports in Georgia (U.S. state)