SIOUX CITY | The league name may have changed, but the goal of the Sioux City Bandits remains the same -- an indoor football championship.
The Bandits are playing in the new Champions Indoor Football league. By the end of June, they'll know if they've reached their goal.
After hoisting championship trophies in 2011 and 2012 in the American Professional Football League, it grated on Coach Erv Strohbeen to reach the playoffs but not win the past two years in the Champions Professional Indoor Football League.
The galling thing for Strohbeen is that he felt the Bandits were the better team in their 2013 and 2014 playoff losses. They ended last season with a 10-4 record after a 46-41 loss to Wichita in the title game. The 2013Â playoffs ouster came in a one-point home loss.
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Now, they're in a different league with many of the same teams, including the Amarillo Venom, Dodge City Law, Omaha Beef, Salina Bombers, Texas Revolution, Wichita Force and another team with the Bandits name, San Angelo.
"You can't take a week for granted in this league," Strohbeen said.
The Bandits easily won the home opener 62-13 over longtime rival Omaha, and now are three games into the CIF 12-game season. The six home games will again be played in the Tyson Events Center. Many games have drawn well over 5,000 fans at times.
Strohbeen has been involved in some capacity with the Bandits since the team began play in the 2001 season. He also played in the 2000 season with the Sioux City Attack, the predecessor of the Bandits. Strohbeen retired as a Bandits player in 2009 as the leader in games played with 130.
"I am proud of that fact. I love this organization," he said.
Strohbeen entered his fourth year as coach with a 34-7 record, and was the CPIFL Coach of the Year in 2014. Strohbeen pinpoints his coaching success on solid offensive and defensive coordinators, along with solid players.
"They like playing for us, playing for the city, the fans here. That makes my job that much easier," he said.
The Bandits are composed of many players who excelled at regional colleges. The most famous Bandit, Fred Jackson, hailed from Coe College in Iowa, and has had a long NFL career with the Buffalo Bills.
Strohbeen said the Sioux City roster is filled with productive veterans and talented newcomers. He said the Bandits are adept in both running and passing games on offense, and will excel on defense, too.
"I don't see a weak area on this team," Strohbeen said.
Longtime wide receiver Damon Mothershead said the season won't be one to rebuild, but to reload.
The deep Sioux City roster includes Frederick Bruno, who was last year's special teams player of the year. He scored six special teams touchdowns, with three on kickoff returns and a league record of three TD's off missed field goals.
Running back Johnny Bentley also returns after being an honorable mention MVP of the league after leading the CPIFL in rushing with 956 yards. On defense, Darius Davis was an honorable mention defensive player of the year, putting up a league best of 13.5 sacks.
A big addition to the team is quarterback Charles Dowdell, who was the CPIFL offensive player of the year last season. He passed for 2,416 yards and 43 touchdowns with Bloomington and added 306 yards and seven scores on the ground.
