Ironman Football League

Ironbowl I

November 16, 1997

The very first Ironbowl took place on an icy field at Saint Johns Military Academy on November 16, 1997 with the Pewaukee Warhawks versus the Portage Hitmen.

The Warhawks went into the game with a 7-4 record and a lot of confidence coming off of a big win against the Mukwonago Bulldogs in the playoffs. Try as they might, they were no match for the powerful ground game of the (10-0) Hitmen. The Warhawks fell 28-14 and handed the Portage Hitmen championship honors.

Final Score
	Portage Hitmen «	28
	Pewaukee Warhawks	14

Ironbowl II

November 2, 1998

Ironbowl II was played at Jackson Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on November 2, 1998. It showcased two teams with explosive offensives. The (5-2-1) Warhawk's shotgun formation and passing attack got them to the big dance, while the (10-0) Mayville Maddawgs relied on a more balanced attack. The Warhawks, like in Ironbowl I, lost to another powerhouse from out of town, this time with a score of 35-21.

Final Score
	Pewaukee Warhawks	21
	Mayville Maddawgs «	35

Ironbowl III

November 21, 1999

The Ironbowl III match up was between the (8-0) Milwaukee Raiders and the (5-3) Bayview Beast. The game was held at Jackson Park in Milwaukee. The Raiders went undefeated during the regular season and essentially destroyed anyone they faced. Ironbowl III was no exception as the Raiders beat the Beast at will, 33-12.

Final Score
	Milwaukee Raiders «	33
	Bayview Beast	12

Ironbowl IV

November 10, 2000

All of the talk was about the (6-2) Milwaukee Raiders repeating as champs, but the (7-2) Milwaukee Panthers had other ideas. Ironbowl IV was brought back to Saint Johns Military Academy on a cloudy afternoon in November; a fitting place as this game was a war. The game went back and forth score-wise, and the hits were furious. In one of the most exciting Ironbowls in IFL history, the Panthers played the spoilers by upsetting the Raiders 36-28.

Final Score
	Milwaukee Raiders	28
	Milwaukee Panthers «	36

Ironbowl V

November 11, 2001

The (5-1) Madison Seminoles went into this game with a dangerous passing attack and the largest offensive line in the league; while their opponent, the (6-0) Milwaukee Bulldogs, had one of the biggest quarterbacks in the league as well as a young and hungry defense. The game was a good one, but in the end, the Bulldogs succumbed to the mighty Seminoles losing 38-20.

Final Score
	Madison Seminoles «	38
	Milwaukee Bulldogs	20

Ironbowl VI

November 3, 2002

Ironbowl VI took place at KP Classics in Big Bend, Wisconsin. It featured two very different teams, the (8-0) Bayview Beast and the (7-1) Oostburg Rebels. The Rebels were an out-of-town team; they were big, strong, and had a powerful ground game that included the triple option, something the league had never seen before. History would tell us that the Rebels were going to win this Championship, but the Beast was made up of league veterans who had either won or participated in previous Ironbowls. The game was a classic with the Beast prevailing 38-27 over the Rebels.

Final Score
	Bayview Beast «	38
	Oostburg Rebels	27

Ironbowl VII

October 26, 2003

The New Berlin Lunatics enjoyed a successful season on the field, but off the field was a different story. Tragedy struck as their captain and teammate, Miguel Bobadilla, passed away October 9th during the season. The team dedicated there season in his memory and went (9-1) on their road to the Ironbowl. The (6-4) Muskego Hitmen traveled a more difficult road to the big show, defeating the favored Madison Seminoles in the Conference Championship one week earlier. This game became one-sided though as the emotionally charged Lunatics shutout the Hitmen 19-0.

Final Score
	New Berlin Lunatics «	19
	Muskego Hitmen	0

Ironbowl VIII

November 7, 2004

Ironbowl VIII took place at the Milwaukee County Sports Complex in Franklin, Wisconsin in front of a packed house. It was a true David and Goliath story with the (9-0) Milwaukee Bulldogs facing the (6-3) Muskego Hitmen. The highly favored Bulldogs came into the contest ranked #3 (A) by the American Football News. They had a 9-0 record and had seven league all-stars on their roster.

The Hitmen relied on a cat-quick defense and a high percentage offense to conquer the Bulldogs. In the game, the much larger Bulldog offensive line had a hard time keeping the undersized Hitmen defenders off of their quarterback. The Hitmen defense did not have many league all-stars, but as a whole, they had the best front seven in the league. It showed, as they beat the Bulldogs in upset fashion, 14-0.

Final Score
	Milwaukee Bulldogs	0
	Muskego Hitmen «	14

Ironbowl IX

November 5, 2005

The 9th Ironbowl was a historic defensive battle, and set a record as the lowest scoring game in Ironbowl history. The site was the Milwaukee County Sports Complex in Franklin; the teams were the (10-1) Milwaukee Bulldogs and the (10-2) Madison Seminoles. Both teams possess cat quick defenses and a history of winning; the Bulldogs defense was so dominate that they set an IFL record for the most consecutive shutouts (8). The game was full of bone-jarring hits and near misses, in the first half the Bulldogs had 2 scoring opportunities but missed 2 field goals and fumbled inside the Seminole 5-yard line to stop another potential scoring drive. The Seminoles could get nothing going offensively as the dogs defense shut down their running and passing attack. With 15 seconds left in the first half the Bulldogs out of timeouts rushed their field goal unit onto the field and made a 25-yard field goal to put the Bulldogs up before halftime 3-0. In the second half both offenses struggled as both defenses played hardnosed football, in the end the Bulldogs recorded their 9th shutout of the season and defeated the Madison Seminoles 3-0.

Final Score
	Milwaukee Bulldogs «	3
	Madison Seminoles	0

Ironbowl X

September 16, 2006

Saturday pitted the Milwaukee Bulldogs (10-1) taking on the Verona Trojans (8-3) in Ironbowl X. The game was played at the Milwaukee County Sports Complex in Franklin and the weather conditions could not have been better as the temperature at game time was a cool 78 degrees with a clear sky. The Milwaukee Bulldogs were playing with heavy hearts as one of their teammates #45 Kirk Hinzman passed away unexpectedly the week before. As a tribute to their fallen teammate the Bulldogs dedicated the game in his honor by having his father Fred Hinzman be an honorary captain at the coin toss. After the coin toss league owner/CEO Chris Chudada presented a plaque to Kirks Father as the league honored its fallen player. The Bulldogs started out the game with guns blazing as they successfully passed their way for a touchdown on the first drive of the game. The Trojans were unable to score through the whole game as they were plagued by turnovers and countless mistakes. The Bulldogs defense although not as great as last year's unit, held the Trojans to zero points as they dismantled the National Conference Champion in a 14-0 victory. The win made the Milwaukee Bulldogs the first team in Ironman Football League history to win back-to-back Ironbowl championships and also cemented their place in history as one of the best teams ever.

Final Score
	Milwaukee Bulldogs «	14
	Verona Trojans	0

Ironbowl XI

August 27 , 2007

On a beautiful sunny day with a temperature of 74 degrees, the Franklin Outlaws met the Muskego Hitmen in Ironbowl XI. The game was built as possibly being one of the best games in IFL history as both teams had their eyes set on an Ironbowl championship.

The last time these two teams met was on August 19th of the 2006 regular season where the Outlaws came out on top with a gutsy 36-35 overtime win over the Hitmen. This time around both teams met on a much larger stage with a lot more at stake and the game truly lived up to its pregame hype.

In front of a packed crowd at the Milwaukee County Sports Complex in Franklin, both teams laid everything on the line as this heated rivalry reached scorching temperatures. Despite Muskego trailing the Outlaws for three and a half quarters, the they finally took the lead on a toss sweep from inside the 20-yard line which made the score 17-14 with just under two minutes on the clock.

Then Franklin quarterback JP Josetti calmly took his team down the field where he threw a 30-yard touchdown strike to one of his receivers giving the Outlaws the lead and a 20-17 victory over the Hitmen.

Final Score
	Franklin Outlaws «	20
	Muskego Hitmen	17

Ironbowl XII

September 6, 2008

A record crowd of more than a few thousand fans packed Middleton High School’s Breitenbach Stadium to witness the undefeated Madison Mustangs raise the Joseph Chudada Memorial Trophy after their 23-13 victory over the Roscoe Rush in Iron Bowl XII presented by State Farm Insurance. The Mustangs are only the fifth team in league history, and first since the 2002, to finish the regular season undefeated and capture the IFL crown.

Madison struck first blood as LB Luke Staak blitzed QB Joe Cotton and forced him to throw the ball away from deep inside his own end zone. A flag flew shortly after, and the intentional grounding penalty gave the Mustangs the safety and the lead, 2-0.

The Mustangs struck again when RB George Randolph’s six yard touchdown plunge put Madison up, 9-0. Later in the 2nd quarter, Roscoe answered as QB Joe Cotton hooked up with WR Justin Opengo for a 45 yard catch and run. Later, RB Deejay Spencer’s four yard touchdown run cut the Mustang lead to 9-7.

Midway through the third quarter, Madison RB Kyle Brodd screen play set up a four yard scoring run by QB Marques Korpela as Roscoe trailed, 16-7.

Midway through the fourth, QB Joe Cotton connected with WR Justin Opengo from 15 yards out to cut the deficit to ten. Time ran out on the Rush as Madison won 23-13

The Madison franchise ends their historical season with an unblemished 12-0 record and claims their second IFL championship.

Final Score
	Roscoe Rush	13
	Madison Mustangs «	23

Ironbowl XIII

September 12th, 2009

Ironbowl XIII was historic and unique for two reasons, one, it marked the first time in league history that an IFL game was played in a dome, and two, to most people’s amazement the game would turn out to be arguably the best Ironbowl ever played. Despite playing against a very tough and talented Spartan team, the Mustangs encountered uncharacteristic mistakes and costly turnovers that plagued them all throughout the game. The Spartans had success by running behind their big offensive line which wore down the Mustang defense early, but this epic battle would be ultimately decided in overtime by a 30 yard field goal try by kicker Jason Epps which ensured a second consecutive Championship for the Mustangs.

The Mustangs have survived arguably the greatest game ever played in IFL history and won their 24th game in a row against a very tough Spartan team. There were no losers in Ironbowl XIII, there were only the victors and the vanquished, the Spartans played heroically all through the game but came up just short on their quest for a championship. Ironbowl XIII will truly go down in IFL history as a classic hard fought battle between two championship caliber teams that kept fans on the edge of their seats all game long.

Final Score
	Wauwatosa Spartans	14
	Madison Mustangs «	17