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The Katy Ruff Riders play the indoor professional football game (eight (8) players on each team playing on a field 50 yards long by 28 yards wide). The Katy Ruff Riders play all home games (March-June) at the Leonard E. Merrell Center – www.merrellcenter.org - in Katy, Texas.
Team owners are Albert and Brandon Smith. The Smiths are a father and son duo who own Allegiance HR Solutions, a professional employer organization with offices in Houston, El Paso and Odessa. They formed Allegiance Pro Sports, Inc. and purchased from the IFL (Intense Football League) the Katy franchise for play in 2007-2008, and a franchise in El Paso, Texas for the 2009 season. Supported by the Katy Chamber of Commerce as well as the Katy and Houston area business community, the Ruff Riders are excited and encouraged about the upcoming campaign.
The Katy Ruff Riders finished their inaugural 2007 campaign with a 7-7 mark and were in playoff contention until the final weeks of the season. The team began the season 5-1 before losing five games down the stretch by a total of seven points or less. Offensively, there were many positives. The team ranked near the top of all major IFL passing categories, thanks to the steady play of veteran quarterback Albert Higgs. The 38-year old QB remained healthy for all of the team’s 14 games and led the IFL in passing yards with 3,118. His 61 touchdowns were good for second in the league.
The IFL was founded in 2003 and now consists of nine indoor professional teams, three of which are located outside of Texas, the Louisiana Swashbucklers of Lake Charles, Louisiana, the Alaska Wild of Anchorage, Alaska and the Fairbanks Grizzlies of Fairbanks, Alaska. Texas teams include the Katy Ruff Riders, CenTex Barracudas of Belton, Corpus Christi Hammerheads, Frisco Thunder, Odessa Roughnecks, and San Angelo Stampede Express. For more information on the IFL, please visit www.intensefootballleague.net
