NEWS

Diaz, a Saratoga native, finished with four touchdowns and 159 yards rushing. Gina Burrows, Nikia Speed (Edison Tech), Courtney Romeiser (Red Jacket) and Jessica Dunn (Webster Schroeder) each added touchdowns in the win.

Kicker Mary Palaimo finished a perfect 8-for-8 on extra points and 1-for-1 on field goals.

The Roar led 10-0 after the first quarter and 31-0 at halftime. They continued where they left off in the second half with a Diaz score less than two minutes in.

Jen Dawson (Port Byron), a center and fifth-year veteran of the Roar, said the team can do better, even after the shutout performance.

"There's still a lot we can work on," she said. "We need to block better. Everybody has a role and if we do it right, we'll be able to do a lot more running downfield."

Romeiser, who is in her first year playing football, said she liked what she saw.

"It was a good start," she said. "We ran some basic plays, broke some great runs, the defense was stifling and special teams was great. That being said, it's only the first game."

Of her first football game, Romeiser said: "It was definitely exciting. Even just being on the sidelines, it was exciting to be a part of something so big. You do come away with some bumps and bruises, but it's fun."

Roar head coach John Evans was pleased with what he saw.

"I liked the pace of the game. We just wore them down," he said. "I think we could have rolled up some more points, but it was a great game to grade everyone because we got everybody in."

The Roar's next game is Saturday in Schenectady against the New Jersey Titans. It returns to East Rochester on Sept. 1 against the Kentucky Valkyries.

CKANALLE@DemocratandChronicle.com

By Ron Wilson
Messenger Post
Wed Aug 15, 2007, 12:04 PM EDT

Clifton Springs, NY -

Officials of the Empire State Roar have methodically been building a successful program since the team's inception in 2005.

The Roar is the only professional women's football team in Western New York and was formed by owner Sandra Rogers in an attempt to keep the sport afloat in New York. She combined two teams that were on the verge of folding — the Rochester Raptors of the National Women's Football Association and the Syracuse Sting of the Women's Professional Football League — to form the Roar.

Rogers, of Honeoye, figured that with so many talented female football players looking for a place to play in upstate and western New York that Rochester would be perfect.

The Roar spent its inaugural season playing exhibition games in the WPFL and followed that up with a successful 2006 season in which they went 5-3 and just missed the playoffs by one win. With the 2007 regular season kicking off Saturday, the team's expectations are high entering season No. 3.

"We are shooting for a championship," head coach John Evans said boldly at a recent split-squad practice at Fabrizi Park in Clifton Springs.

"Our goal is to get to that 11th game," he added, referring to the WPFL's championship game on Dec. 1. "We have the talent assembled, and we will be a real powerhouse in our division. We will need that when it comes time to play teams like Houston, Dallas and Southern California. Those are the three premier teams in the league, and we will need to go through one or even all three to get to our goal."

Evans' football roots run deep. He was a defensive back and place kicker for four years at the University of South Dakota and played professionally for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings for two. He also coached at the University of South Dakota for four years and at St. John Fisher College for the last seven. This is in his second season with the Roar.

And while history has been dotted with numerous player-coaches, count Rogers as one of only a few "player-owners" in pro sports.

"Our players come from all over the Northeast," she said, dressed in her practice uniform. "They are either full- or part-time students or they work a full-time job and train to be professional athletes. There are teachers, nurses, bank executives, chemists and social workers on this team. There are all sorts of different backgrounds out there."

Rogers, who plays on the offensive and defensive lines, says that owning a team can be financially draining, but she felt she needed to keep women's pro football going in the area.

"Something needed to be done, and I figured I'd step up and do it. Somebody had to," she said.

The Roar plays its home games on the artificial turf at East Rochester High School and has a mix of players who were athletes at big-time colleges such as Marquette, Hartwick, Siena, Syracuse, Tennessee and Providence and local athletes from Rochester, Clifton Springs, Rushville, Honeoye, Shortsville, Henrietta, Red Creek, Middlesex and Sodus.

When asked about his team's strengths, Evans quickly pointed out All-Pro running back and linebacker Nikia Speed.

"Nikia is the most feared running back in the league," he said, noting that she is one of a number of All-Pro players on the squad.

"Our defense, which was ranked No. 1 in the league last year, is anchored by All-Pros Melissa Messmer from Albany, Jennifer Dawson from Red Creek, Shannon Lamie from Elba and Mary Palaimo from Buffalo," Evans added. "I really think that this defensive group, if it is possible, is better than last year's."

Alana Graziano from Bloomfield, Jessica Dunn from Webster and Naomi Lee from Rochester are other returning All-Pros.

The Roar have another thing going — a healthy little thing called competition. They have two capable quarterbacks in Nicole Cotugno from Siena and former Red Jacket star Courtney Romeiser, who currently lives in Cicero and graduated from Marquette.

In a unique situation because team members are strung out all over New York, Evans has had a chance to work both his QBs equally in practice. Romeiser was the QB at the Clifton Springs practice with half the squad while Cotugno QB'd the other half at practice in Albany.

"It's hard to get these girls all in the same place at the same time when it comes to practice," Evans said. "They are all so spread out. So this situation, as far as the girls getting work, works well. But the same situation makes it tough to judge each one against the other."

Evans hasn't decided on a permanent QB, but in the team's opener Saturday against the Connecticut Cyclones at ER, the veteran Cotugno will start at QB with Romeiser at wide receiver. Romeiser will move to the QB slot in the second quarter with decisions as to who plays where in the second half based on first-half performances.
While the players have a common goal of a championship this season, they gave varied answers as to why they decided to try pro football.

"Nothing compares to football," Speed said. "Football is the most addicting, adrenaline rush I have ever experienced while playing organized sports." She is the oldest of five children and is a business analyst for Info Directions Inc. in Victor.

Graziano, a first-grade teacher at Honeoye, loves the closeness of the team. "I love playing on the offensive line," she said. "There is such a camaraderie between the offensive linewomen."

The Roar plays an eight-game regular season with their first three games at home. The regular season concludes Oct. 20 followed by playoffs and the league title game on Dec. 1.

As an added bonus, all Roar home games this season will be seen on Finger Lakes TV Channel 12. Dates and times for the broadcasts have yet to be announced so check www.empirestateroar.com for the schedule and additional information.

Ron Wilson can be reached at (585) 394-0770, Ext. 271, or at rwilson@mpnewspapers.com.

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Photo by Vasiliy Baziuk
Courtney Romeiser of Shortsville, QB for the Empire Roar, a women's football team during practice at Fabrizi Park, in Clifton Springs on 8/8/07

Coaches for this years Rochester JPD Clinic for the Buffalo Bills at St. John Fisher College were:


Knealing: Nikia Speed (Empire State Roar Player), John Evans (SJFC, Head Coach Empire State Roar), Tim McBride (Wayne HS), Dave Marean (HEad Coach Wayne HS), Dave Parks (O-Coord. SJFC), Marvin Englert (Geneseo HS), Todd Bruckhuerer ( Pal Mac HS), Chris Wagner (Lyons Youth League), Chris (Rochester Youth League), Julia Augustus (Empire State Roar Intern), Blaise Faggiano (D-Coord. SJFC)


Standing: Johnny Brown (Beden Street Youth), Mike Ierlen (Head Coach Fairport HS), James McCowley (Camp Good Days), Frank Stoke (Beden Street Youth), Marcus (Greece Youth League), Al Belcaen (Wayne HS), Doug Corey (Wayne HS), Tony Jordan (NFL), Don Bates (Hilton HS), Sean Reiss (Clyde Youth League), Mike Fox (SJFC), Nate Mack (Empire State Roar Offensive Coord.), William Day (Assistant Head Coach Empire State Roar), Mike Insacha (SJFC), Jen Dawson (Empire State Roar Player), Shawn Stauber (Empire State Roar Coach), Chris Weinbeck (Empire State Roar Coach), Mickey Record (Head of College Officials)

Women 'Roar' Onto Gridiron
by Casey Bortnick
photo by Casey Bortnick
Published Sep 01, 2007 

Watch Video: http://www.rnews.com/story_2004.cfm?story_type=2&rnews_story_type=18&id=52864

It's everything you would expect on a Saturday evening in September: a large crowd, a busy concession stand, and great football. There is one difference, the players are women. The Empire State Roar is now in action for a new season.

During the week, Jen Dawson is a special education teacher at Charlotte High School. During the weekend, she's a hard-nosed center in the Women's Professional Football League.

"It's a lot of stress relief. You can come out here and leave everything off the field and have fun and be with a great group of girls and hit people, " says Dawson.

Heather Allard is a wide-receiver and a radiology technologist at Albany Medical Center. "I'm not very big, so they're like, 'you can't play football'.

I'm like, 'yeah, I do.' They're like, 'powder puff, flag?' I'm like, 'no, full contact.'" Allard says that's how people react when they find out she is a football player.

The Women's Professional Football League has been around for about ten years. It has struggled financially. Teams from Albany, Syracuse, and Rochester had to merge to continue playing. Players have to spend 750 dollars of their own money to play.

"It would be nice to have some sponsorship. All of our games are televised on Finger Lakes Television Channel 12 and I believe Channel 15 here in Rochester, so it's a great way to get some free advertising," says Roar Coach John Evans.

Evans spent most of his life around football. Drafted by the MInnesota Vikings in the 1970s, he had a long career coaching men before joining the WPFL.

"A lot of it is just the fact that it's fun. These girls are really eager to learn, whereas (with) the guys, it's hard to correct a lot of the bad habits. The girls are just really eager to learn," says Evans.

Evans is hoping for a major sponsor. The players just want to continue doing what they love. "If people know about it and come out and watch a game, if you come out and watch a game, you will be hooked. You'll just want to watch," says Dawson.

Unbeaten Roar blanks Indiana
Staff reports

(September 2, 2007) — Three weeks into their season, the Empire State Roar of the Women's Professional Football League can now take a well-deserved break.

The Roar blanked the Indiana Speed 28-0 Saturday at East Rochester High School. It enters its bye week with a 3-0 record and will have a chance to rest before facing powerhouse Southern Cal on Sept. 15 in San Diego.

In its crossover game against the National Conference Speed, the American Conference Roar used near flawless defense to earn the win. It held Indiana to less than 100 total yards.

"Defensively, we rose to the occasion," Roar head coach John Evans said. "We were sloppy the first few weeks, but the defense played errorless football today. This was a pretty good team too, but we shut them right down."

Its offense wasn't as potent as it has been in recent weeks, but the 28 points was enough. Standouts Tiomara Diaz and Nikia Speed each had a touchdown, while Kate Slack had two catches for 50 yards to lead the team receiving.

"We're a little below average offensively," Evans said. "But we're making up for that on defense. So far this year, we're allowing under three points a game on average."

The defense forced a safety early in the game and blocked two punts. It also had an interception and recovered a fumble.

After its bye week, the Roar is looking forward to playing the Southern Cal Scorpions.

"It's going to be a premier game for us," Evans said. "They're undefeated, they're the top team in their division and we're the top team in our division. It's going to be a great showdown.

"They have some great athletes, and some Olympians from what I've heard, so they're going to be pretty good."

Rochester Democrate & Chronicle

VS

Roar rolls in season opener

Diaz runs for 159 yards, scores four TDs

Craig Kanalley
Staff writer

(August 19, 2007) — EAST ROCHESTER — The season could not have started any sweeter for the Empire State Roar.

The Roar steamrolled to a 61-0 win over the Connecticut Cyclones in its Women's Professional Football League season opener Saturday at East Rochester High School.

The Roar wasted no time building a lead. It forced Connecticut to a three-and-out on the first possession of the game, then scored on its first offensive play. Xiomara Diaz ran 25 yards for the touchdown five minutes into the first quarter.

"You open like that, it shows the other team, 'Whoa, this is for real,'" said Diaz, who is in her first year with the Roar. "It increases our morale and decreases theirs. Being the team to bite first is crucial."