Manchester Wolves
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225883445
2008-07-15T21:13:15Z
Alakazam
376416
/* Season-by-season */
{{Template:Af2 team
| title = Manchester Wolves
| logo = ManchesterWolves.gif
| founded = 2002
| coach = Danton Barto
| arena = Verizon Wireless Arena
| city = Manchester, New Hampshire
| conference = American
| division = East
| championships = None
| div_titles = 2005
| playoffs = 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007
}}
The '''Manchester Wolves''' are a professional [[arena football]] team, based at the [[Verizon Wireless Arena]] in [[Manchester, New Hampshire]]. They play in the East Division of the American Conference of the [[af2]] league, which is the minor league of the [[Arena Football League]]. Coach [[Ben Bennett]] returns for his third season of coaching the Wolves in 2007. In 2006, Bennett led the team to a 9-7 regular season record and a first round victory in the post-season.
==Team History==
<div style="float:left">
[[Image:Mohegan_Wolves.png|none|Mohegan Wolves]]
</div>
On December 12, 2001, [[Mohegan Sun]] and [[Dr. Eric Margenau]], President/Chief Executive Officer of [[United Sports Ventures]], announced that the new [[Uncasville, Connecticut]] expansion af2 franchise would be named the Mohegan Wolves. Margenau introduced [[Gary Porter]] as the head coach for the team that would first take the field April 5, 2002 at the [[Mohegan Sun Arena]] against the [[Albany Conquest]]. Gary Porter previously led the expansion Peoria Pirates to a 7-9 record in 2001.
The team name was selected through a “Name the Team” contest sponsored by [[WCTY]], Mohegan Sun and X-Tra Mart. A [[Jewett City, Connecticut]] resident, came up with the winning name. The winner won four season tickets for the 2002 Mohegan Wolves season, dinner for four on the night of the team’s first home game, and a team merchandise package.
For the expansion season in 2002, the team went 3-13 which included only one home win.
On February 6, 2003, the af2 league office announced that [[Big Win Ventures LLC]] would now be the operator of the Mohegan Wolves. Dr. Margenau, the former principal operator of the Mohegan Wolves, assumed the role of President of Big Win and remained a substantial shareholder. Big Win, which is privately held, also announced the same day that it has assumed operations of the [[Albany Conquest]] af2 franchise.
For the 2003 season, AFL veteran head coach Mark Stoute led the Wolves and dramatically improved their record. The team finished with a 10-6 regular season record (which included a 7-1 home record) and won their first postseason game on August 2, 2003 against the Atlantic Division Champion [[Cape Fear Wildcats]] 50-47. The season ended the next week on August 8, 2003 with a 47-30 loss to the [[Tennessee Valley Vipers]].
On October 29, 2003, the league office approved the relocation of the Mohegan Wolves team to Manchester, NH. The Wolves’ move to Manchester was made possible through the efforts of a group of local businessmen and Dr. Margenau. The team of local investors was led by longtime area resident [[Steve Schubert]], a former player for the [[New England Patriots]] and [[Chicago Bears]] .
During the first season in Manchester, NH, the new head coach, [[Rik Richards]], was first fired midway through the season and replaced by his coordinator [[Ron Hil]].And assistant coaches Mark Page and Ryan Ray.The Wolves finished out the season with a 5-11 record.
Things turned around in 2005 with new head coach, Ben Bennett. Bennett, a veteran coach and player with Arena Football and af2 transformed the Manchester team to a 12-4 regular season record and won the East Division. The regular season included a 10-game win streak. The season ended with a first round playoff loss at home on August 12, 2005 against the [[Louisville Fire]] 56-69.
In 2006, the Wolves had lofty expectations because of many key players and Head Coach Ben Bennett returning. The team had issues at QB however as [[D Bryant]] and [[Kyle Rowley]] were ineffective while trying to fill the shoes of the '05 starter and current [[Orlando Predator]] [[Jake Eaton]]. With 4 games remaining in the season and the team sitting at 5-7, Coach Bennett turned to former Ohio State Quarterback [[Steve Bellisari]]. A failed project at DB at the NFL level, Bellisari took control of the Wolves offense and led them to 4 straight victories which took the Wolves from the bottom of the division to making the playoffs and hosting a first round game.
Bellisari found his favorite target [[Steve Gonzalez]] and the Wolves had stellar defense with the tandem of [[William Haith]] and [[Allistair Sebastien]] as the Wolves got a 55-47 win against the [[Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers]] in front of 3,732 fans at Verizon Wireless Arena. The Wolves season would end a week later in Florida however as Steve Bellisari was driving the Wolves down the field late in the fourth quarter when he threw his last pass as a Wolf, a game-sealing interception to the [[Florida Firecats]]. The final score was Florida 40, Manchester 39
==Season-by-season==
{{Start NFL SBS}}
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | '''Mohegan Wolves'''
|-
|2002 || 3 || 13 || 0 || 5th AC Northeast || --
|-
|2003 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 2nd AC Northeast || Won AC Round 1 ([[South Georgia Wildcats|Cape Fear]])<BR>Lost AC Semifinal ([[Tennessee Valley Vipers|Tennessee Valley]])
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | '''Manchester Wolves'''
|-
|2004 || 5 || 11 || 0 || 4th AC Northeast || --
|-
|2005 || 12 || 4 || 0 || 1st AC East || Lost AC Semifinal ([[Louisville Fire|Louisville]])
|-
|2006 || 9 || 7 || 0 || 2nd AC East || Won AC Round 1 ([[Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers|Wilkes-Barre/Scranton]])<BR>Lost AC Semifinal ([[Florida Firecats|Florida]])
|-
|2007 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 2nd AC East || Lost AC Round 1 ([[Central Valley Coyotes|Central Valley]])
|-
|*2008 || 7 || 7 || 0 || 2nd AC East || --
|-
!Totals || 58 || 58 || 0
|colspan="2"| (including playoffs)
{{end box}}
<nowiki>*</nowiki> = Current Standing
==Notable Players==
*[[David Bailey]] - WR/S
*[[Steve Bellisari]] - QB/S
*[[William Haith]] - DS
*[[Dylan Pohlman]] - K
==External links==
* [http://www.manchesterwolves.com Official website]
* [http://www.arenafan.com/teams/?page=clubhouse&team=105 ArenaFan Online page]
* [http://www.wolvesfanclub.com/ Official Manchester Wolves fan club]
* [http://www.oursportscentral.com/sports/?t_id=882 at OurSports Central]
* [http://www.arenafan.com/teams/?page=history&team=96 Mohegan Wolves at ArenaFan.com]
{{af2}}
{{Newenglandsports}}
[[Category:AF2 teams]]
[[Category:Sports in New Hampshire]]
[[Category:Manchester, New Hampshire|Wolves]]
[[Category:Sports clubs established in 2002]]
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