Here come the Barnstormers

CEDAR RAPIDS - It's the franchise that launched the professional football career of former Cedar Rapids Regis and UNI quarterback Kurt Warner.

Now, after two on-again, off-again stints with both the Arena Football League and its offshoot af2, Des Moines' Iowa Barnstormers are set to make their Indoor Football League debut Saturday against the Cedar Rapids Titans at the U.S. Cellular Center.

'I think it's been extremely positive,” first-year Barnstormers coach Joe Brannen said. 'The IFL has done so many good things for us. The organization, they're committed to keeping football in Des Moines.”

Kickoff is at 7:05 p.m. in the first of two meetings this season between the in-state teams. The IFL has dubbed the game 'Iowa Bowl,” complete with a traveling trophy that will be awarded Saturday and after the return game May 16 at Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines.

'The biggest thing is we can grow so many local rivalries,” Brannen said. '(For our fans) to be able to get to these games and not only catch the home games in Des Moines. It will be a great move for us.”

The operating budget for an IFL team is roughly eight times less than one in the AFL. In a 14-team league which included franchises in major cities like Los Angeles and Philadelphia, the Barnstormers found it increasingly difficult to compete economically in the AFL while possessing the league's smallest population base. In the IFL, seven of the nine other franchises are within comparable distance to the Barnstormers' closest AFL 'rival” - Cleveland. A number of Barnstormer supporters are expected to make the trip for Saturday's season opener.

'I think it will be a great show,” Brannen said. 'Two very good teams starting off the season, and I know everyone's excited.”

The game will be a bit of a homecoming for Brannen, who started for three years at quarterback for Coe College from 2002-04. With current Buffalo Bills running back Fred Jackson in his backfield, Brannen helped the Kohawks to a 10-2 record in 2002.

'He was a great player,” Brannen said of Jackson. 'A tremendous person, and his career has gone on like a movie and he's still a humble, hard-working guy.”

Brannen became the one of the most prolific passers in school history, earning all-Iowa Conference honors two years in a row and the MVP award in 2004. Brannen finished his Coe career with 6,407 passing yards and 47 touchdowns.

'I loved every aspect of Coe College,” Brannen said. 'I couldn't have made a better decision college-wise. We had a great football program, and they still do. It was just a lot of fun.”

After Coe, Brannen bounced around various indoor leagues, including two seasons with the Barnstormers in 2008-09. Brannen started his head coaching career in 2011 with the Abilene (Texas) Bombers of the Southern Indoor Football League before winning a Lone Star Football championship with the San Angelo Bandits. Now, Brannen has been tasked with helping turn over the Barnstormer roster (only three returnees from 2014) and leading it into the IFL.

'Really, being our first year in the IFL we're an expansion team,” Brannen said. 'We're building that expansion roster. We're getting guys that we think can play at this level and hopefully move up, and we have guys that I plan on being in Des Moines for a few years here. So we've kind of developed and built this tradition we want right here in Des Moines going forward.”

l Comments: douglas.miles@thegazette.com