The Raleigh area welcomed its newest professional franchise on Sunday, as the Triangle Torch played its inaugural game in J.S. Dorton Arena. The Torch, an expansion franchise in American Indoor Football, defeated the Winston Wildcats 53-33 in front of a small but lively home crowd.
While the team will undoubtedly never reach the same recognition level as local college teams or the Carolina Panthers, it still delivers a decent product behind rosters that boast former NFL, CFL, AFL and even X-League (a top level Japanese football league) players. Almost all of the players come from local area schools, including UNC-Chapel Hill, Wake Forest, Shaw and Saint Augustine’s.
On the field, the product looks very similar to the Arena Football League. The rules of American Indoor Football are similar as well, with minor differences coming on kickoffs (you can score two points by kicking it through the uprights), roster requirements (one player must be from within 120 miles of the team’s headquarters) and pre-snap motion (two players can be in motion before the snap). The game moves along quickly, with the clock running after incompletions and penalties.
Oh, and another thing: the players seem to be legitimately trying to kill each other.
A brawl at midfield commemorated the first ever play in Torch history. The players freely pummel each other into the walls that surround the arena and there are no flags for unnecessary roughness or targeting (at least that I’ve seen).
The product is swift, violent and definitely not for the faint of heart. However, that seems to be the product that the team and league openly endorse. The refs make no attempt to control the violence of the game and the players celebrate with vivacity after each hit and score, egging on their teammates, the crowd and the other team at the same time.
So what of the Torch? Are they worth two hours of your time and do they have what it takes to stick in Raleigh?
Although the team deprived me of basic amenities, namely Wi-Fi, press passes or even interviews, I still enjoyed watching the game (and the ensuing brawl) being played in front of me.
The roster has talent, beginning with 6-foot-4, 220-pound UNC-Pembroke alum quarterback Garrett Sutphen, who displayed good accuracy and arm strength despite constant pressure in his face. He has several tall and athletic wide receivers to throw to and he made good use of them, firing touchdown pass after touchdown pass against a helpless Winston defense.
The defense is led by cornerback Stephan Virgil, a former NFL veteran, who patrols the secondary with swagger. The Wildcats chose not to attack him for most of the game, instead focusing on cornerback Malik Cromartie, who was burned for a couple touchdowns.
The real MVP was the Torch kicker T.C. Stevens, who blasted two kickoffs through the uprights and was perfect on PAT attempts.
Of course, the roster won’t be what draws you to J.S. Dorton Arena.
It will be for the cheap entertainment value and the fact that football is still football, no matter what level it’s being played at. Tickets start at $12, which is a bargain for the amount of fun that you’ll have watching the game.
The crowd is loud and the chants are engaging, with chants of “T-O-R-C-H, Torch, Torch, Torch!” being heard after every big hit, fourth down stop or touchdown with the cheering section in the endzone directing the interaction.
For another thing, J.S. Dorton Arena is beautifully set up to support arena football. The seating puts you right next to the action and the intricate design of the arena matched with the jerseys, field and advertisements means the game looks great aesthetically (besides the Torch’s midfield logo).
Overall, the experience was impressive for a minor professional football franchise, but in a town filled with entertainment options, the team might get torched before you ever get to see it.
