The Rochester Raiders joined the IFL after leaving the CIFL in 2008 prior to the postseason. The Raiders were 2007 CIFL champions and were lauded as contendors for the IFL championship. The team lost its first two contests to Sioux Fallas and Saginaw before winning nine of their final twelve. Two of the remaining losses came to Maryland. A high-powered offense and strong defense characterized the team, as Perry Patterson quarterbacked the team for ten of the 14 games, throwing 42 scores and just 10 picks. Rob Mager caught over 900 yards and 26 scores. The defense picked 27 balls off while holding teams to just 29% on third down conversion tries. The Raiders secured second place in their division and hosted RiverCity in the first round of the playoffs. The Raiders had defeated the Rage 34-19 back in May and looked to be well on their way to another victory, as they held a 23-9 lead in the third quarter. However, a critical fumble led to a return for a Rage touchdown and the Rage would take a 37-35 lead. The game went back and forth and both teams failed to score inside the others' 1 yard line. RiverCity exacted their revenge and held on for a shocking 45-42 victory. The Raiders returned in 2010 and again finished second place in their division at 9-5. Perry Patterson quarterbacked the team, throwing for 58 touchdowns and 16 picks. He ran for six more scores. Kevin Concepcion was by far the main receiver, catching 33 touchdowns and amassing 996 yards. The team's first four games were decided by six points at most. The Raiders played a very weak schedule, with Richmond being the only winning team. After being the only team to defeated Richmond in the regular season, the Raiders played the Revolution in Virginia. The Raiders upset the top seed in the league, 26-24 and advanced to play at Wichita. On only four days rest, the Raiders faltered and lost 45-33.