[MIJB#19]

2057 - 2064 Lester Lowe period

In the 2057 off-season, all signs were the Merchantmen wanted to build on the 2056 success with Chow still as the starter. The Merchantmen used their 2058 first rounder to move up from #29 to #14 overall to select wide receiver Riddick Stanley and in that trade also acquired quarterback Lester Lowe from Augusta. In the fifth round the Merchantmen drafted defensive end Jordan St. Pierre, who became a day one starter. Chow guided his team to a 3-2 start, but off-season acquisition Lowe was forced into action in week 7 as the new starter. Following a 23-30 loss to the Lake Monsters, the Merchantmen won 8 games straight, including a four game stretch where they averaged 43 points per game. They lost the last 2 regular season games, but by then had already locked up the division title and #3 seed in the playoffs. In the playoffs, Lowe guided the Merchantmen past North Plainfield and they followed up with upset victories at Toronto (37-31) and Tucker (34-30) to reach IHOF Bowl LIV. In a close game, the Merchantmen eventually came short to the Williamsburg Colonials (34-27 loss).

As undisputed Chow had been for so long, Lester Lowe had taken over. With Riddick Stanley, Kai Oburn and the tight end tandem Jorge Juruvicius and Emmanuel Forbes (2056 first round pick), Lowe had four stellar receivers. In the 2058 draft the Merchantmen added wide receiver Bubba Ellard to the mix with their late second round pick. The Merchantmen passing game kept improving and the Merchantmen became an elite offense. In 2058 they posted a 13-3 record after an 8-0 start, but as #2 seeds fell flat 17-14 to the San Antonio Tidal Force. Bryson Chow retired after that season. In 2059 the Merchantmen seemed unstoppable. The Merchantmen posted a 15-1 record, scoring 562 points and allowing only 254 points, leading the league with those figures by large margins. Shockingly, the Merchantmen crashed once again in the playoffs, losing 31-17 at home to the Atlanta Vipers, becoming arguably the best team to go one and done.

In 2060 the team quickly regrouped and despite scoring only 383 points, they went into the playoffs with a 12-4 record as the #3 seeds. Following a home victory over San Antonio to avenge the 2058 defeat, they followed up with a 24-21 shocker in Tucker. By virtue of facing the #4 seeded Atlanta, they hosted the AOC Championship game and had yet another payback moment, winning 34-17 to reach IHOF Bowl LVII. The Chicago Norsemen and Merchantmen made it a close game. Chicago with their run heavy approach and Maassluis with their quintet of receiving threats for Lowe. The Norsemen played it cooler though and came out of it victorious (17-14).

In 2061, Jurevicius was the first of Lowe's targets to retire. The Merchantmen once again started strong (10-1) and despite a 3-game losing streak still claimed the #2 seed. Their old playoffs nemesis Tucker Tigers handed them another one and done. In 2062 the Merchantmen started the rebuild of the defense. Defensive tackles Shaun Hartman (first round) and Preston Urquoila (fourth round) were drafted, while defensive tackle Brian Tyler was signed as a free agent to mentor those two. Urquiola spent the season inactive, but Hartman immediately made an impact teamed up with Jordan St. Pierre and Brian Tyler. The Merchantmen offense struggled with how the game had changed. The offense scored only 294 points, seeing the team miss the playoffs for the first time since Lester Lowe took over.

In 2063 the Merchantmen fell even further, posting a losing record for the first time in 18 seasons. They actually had a chance to win the division, but choked in week 17. The 2064 season started even worse, but after a 2-7 start, they regrouped and won 7 straight to miss the playoffs on tie-breakers. Some of the credit went to the class of 2064. Trades in previous off-seasons had them going into the 2064 draft it with first rounder picks from Colorado, Outer Banks and their own. After additional wheeling and dealing, the Merchantmen used the #10 on cornerback Peter Tucker, #12 on linebacker Gabe Hamilton and #16 on linebacker Edward Ross. Second round pick cornerback Kendrick Stewart busted (just 1 season in the league), fourth round pick Bradley Gutsche never became a full time starter and fifth round defensive tackle Spencer Rousseau was a career backup, but they also used a sixth round pick on wide receiver J.T. Rivera and in the seventh round selected Daquan Strugielski.

2057 11-5 (3rd) conference champion
2058 13-3 (2nd) conference semifinals
2059 15-1 (1st) conference semifinals
2060 12-4 (3rd) conference champion
2061 12-4 (2nd) conference semifinals
2062 10-6 (7th)
2063 7-9 (11th)
2064 9-7 (8th)