Manchester Wolves

Manchester Wolves
Manchester Wolves
	Established 2001; Folded 2009; Played in Verizon Wireless Arena ; in Manchester, New Hampshire
League/conference affiliations
	AF2 (2002–2009) American Conference (2002–2009) Northeastern Division (2002–2004); Eastern Division (2005–2006); East Division (2007–2009); ;
Team colors	Royal, silver, black, white;
Personnel
Owner(s)	Big Win Ventures LLC
Head coach	Danton Barto
Team history
	Mohegan Wolves (2002–2003); Manchester Wolves (2004–2009);
Championships
	League championships (0);
	Conference championships (0);
	Division championships (1); 2005 ;
Playoff appearances (6)
	2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 ;
Home arena(s)
	Mohegan Sun Arena (2002–2003); Verizon Wireless Arena (2004–2009);

Last updated October 26, 2022

The Manchester Wolves were a professional arena football team, based at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, which folded at the end of the 2009 season along with the rest of the league. They played in the East Division of the American Conference of the AF2 league, which was the minor league of the Arena Football League.

Team history

Inception

On July 19, 2001, Uncasville, Connecticut was awarded an AF2 expansion team.^[1] On December 12, 2001, Mohegan Sun and Dr. Eric Margenau, President/Chief Executive Officer of United Sports Ventures, announced that the new 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.

New owners

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.

Relocation

On October 29, 2003, the league office approved the relocation of the Mohegan Wolves team to Manchester, New Hampshire. 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, New Hampshire, the new head coach, Rik Richards, was first fired midway through the season and replaced by his coordinator Ron Hill. And assistant coaches Mark Page and Ryan Ray. The Wolves finished out the season with a 5-11 record.

New coach/Turnaround

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.

Quarterback problems

In 2006, the Wolves had loftier expectations because of many key players and Head Coach Ben Bennett returning. The team had issues at Quarterback however as D. Bryant and Kyle Rowley were ineffective while trying to fill the big shoes left by 2004-05 starter David Lamont. Lamont led the league in touchdowns and yards the previous season. Lamont out indefinitely due a severe back injury and reoccurring shoulder issues. With four games remaining in the season and the team sitting at 5-7, Coach Bennett turned to former Ohio State Quarterback Steve Bellisari. A failed defensive back in the NFL, Bellisari added a running dimension that Lamont did not possess. He lacked the big arm capability of Lamont but provided a mobility dimension. He took over the Wolves offense and led them to four 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 a 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 one 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

Season records
Season	W	L	T	Finish	Playoff results
Mohegan Wolves
2002	3	13	0	5th AC Northeast	--
2003	10	6	0	2nd AC Northeast	Won AC Round 1 (Cape Fear 50-47) Lost AC Semifinal (Tennessee Valley 47-30)
Manchester Wolves
2004	5	11	0	4th AC Northeast	--
2005	12	4	0	1st AC East	Lost AC Semifinal (Louisville 69-56)
2006	9	7	0	2nd AC East	Won AC Round 1 (Wilkes-Barre/Scranton 55-47) Lost AC Semifinal (Florida 40-39)
2007	10	6	0	2nd AC East	Lost AC Round 1 (Central Valley 42-41)
2008	9	7	0	2nd AC East	Won AC Round 1 (South Georgia 46-42) Won AC Semifinal (Green Bay 55-54) Lost AC Championship (Tennessee Valley 45-35)
2009	7	9	0	2nd AC East	Lost AC Round 1 (Iowa 70-53)
Totals	65	61	0	(including playoffs)

Notable players

William Roc Haith - DB

Related Research Articles

The Philadelphia Wings were a member of the National Lacrosse League, a professional box lacrosse league in North America starting in 1987. They played at the Spectrum (1987–96) and then at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The New York Dragons were a professional arena football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Dragons participated in the Arena Football League's (AFL) National Conference as a member of the Eastern Division. The team was founded in 1995 as the original iteration of the Iowa Barnstormers, and relocated to New York in 2001. They played in New York until 2008, when the league folded. They played in the Eastern Division of the National Conference, and played their home games at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. Their last coach was Weylan Harding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austin Wranglers</span> Arena football team

The Austin Wranglers were an arena football team based in Austin, Texas. They played four seasons in the Arena Football League from 2004 to 2007 and spent one season in af2, the AFL's developmental league, in 2008. They made playoff appearances in the AFL in 2006 and in af2 in 2008. They played their home games at the Frank Erwin Center at the University of Texas at Austin.

The New Orleans VooDoo were a professional arena football team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The VooDoo were a member of the East Division of the American Conference of the Arena Football League (AFL). They played their home games in Smoothie King Center. The VooDoo were unrelated to an earlier AFL team, the New Orleans Night, who had competed in the 1991 and 1992 AFL seasons in the Louisiana Superdome.

The SNHU Arena is an indoor events arena in Manchester, New Hampshire, and seats 9,852 for ice hockey, 11,140 for basketball and up to 11,770 for concerts.

The Manchester Monarchs were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They played in Manchester, New Hampshire, at the Verizon Wireless Arena. They were the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League (NHL) Los Angeles Kings during the team's entire existence. The Monarchs won their only Calder Cup in their final AHL season.

The Mohegan Sun Arena is a 10,000 seat multi-purpose arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, located inside the Mohegan Sun casino resort. The arena facility features 30,000 square feet (2,800 m²) of configurable exhibition space and a 400-foot (120 m) clear span. It was built by the Perini Building Company, and opened in October 2001.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers</span> Arena football team

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers were a minor league arena football team that played in the AF2. The team was part of the East Division in the American conference. The Pioneers were an expansion team for the league's 2002 season, and were the runners-up in ArenaCup VIII and ArenaCup X.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amarillo Venom</span> American indoor football team

The Amarillo Venom were a professional indoor football team based in Amarillo, Texas. They played their home games at the Amarillo Civic Center. The Venom began play in 2004 as the Amarillo Dusters, a charter member of the Intense Football League, a small indoor football league based in Texas. They won the championship in their first and only season with the Intense Football League.

The Spokane Shock were a professional indoor American football team based in Spokane, Washington, that played their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The team was initially a member of arenafootball2 (af2), the Shock won division titles in all four seasons and ArenaCups in 2006 and 2009 before they joined the Arena Football League (AFL) in its 2010 relaunch. The team advanced to the playoffs three times after joining the AFL, winning ArenaBowl XXIII in their first season, making them the only arena football franchise to win both the ArenaCup and the ArenaBowl.

The Kansas City Command were a professional arena football team that played in the Arena Football League (AFL). The team was founded before the 2006 season. Former Kansas City Chiefs strong safety Kevin Porter served as head coach. The team's new head coach in 2011 was Danton Barto; he also coached the AFL's Las Vegas Gladiators, af2's Memphis Xplorers and Manchester Wolves, and the IFL's Arkansas Diamonds.

Allen Beverly Bennett II is a former American football quarterback in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys, Cincinnati Bengals and Chicago Bears. He also was a member of the Jacksonville Bulls, Chicago Bruisers, Dallas Texans, Sacramento Surge, San Antonio Riders, Orlando Predators, San Jose SaberCats and Portland Forest Dragons. He was a football coach in the Arena Football League (AFL), AF2, and National Arena League (NAL). He played college football at Duke University.

Steve Bellisari is a former American football quarterback. He is best known for his time playing football at Ohio State University from 1998 to 2001.

Frank James Haith Jr. is an American men's basketball coach, having last served as head coach of the Tulsa Golden Hurricane from 2014 to 2022. Haith had previously been the head coach at the University of Miami and the University of Missouri, leaving both programs in the midst of NCAA investigations.

Nick Davila is an arena football quarterback who is currently a free agent. A three-time AFL champion, and three-time MVP, he also played for the Arizona Rattlers from 2010 to 2016. Davila is of Mexican American descent. He is nicknamed the "Latin Laser". In 2017, he was the quarterbacks and wide receivers coach for the Rattlers of the Indoor Football League (IFL), who went on to win the 2017 United Bowl.

Kyle Rowley is an arena football quarterback who is currently a free agent. He also played in the former af2. He played college football at Brown.

The 2009 Arkansas Twisters season was the franchise's tenth season as a football franchise, last in the arenafootball2 league, and final season as the "Arkansas Twisters". The National Conference team, led by head coach Chris Siegfried, played their home games on Allstate Field at Alltel Arena in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Diamonds finished the 2009 regular season with an 11-5 record and 2nd place in the Southwest Division. The team's playoff run ended with a 36-77 loss to the Boise Burn in the first round.

The New England Black Wolves were a professional box lacrosse team based in Uncasville, Connecticut. They were members of the East Division of the National Lacrosse League and began play in the winter of 2014–2015 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville. The team was partially owned by the Mohegan Tribe of Indians of Connecticut, partially owned by Ted Goldthorpe, and partially owned by Brad Brewster.

The 2016–17 British Basketball League season was the 30th campaign of the British Basketball League since the league's establishment in 1987. The season featured 12 teams from across England and Scotland. The season started on September 23, 2016, and ended on May 14, 2017.

Jake Eaton is a high school athletic director in Proctor, Vermont. Before his executive career, Eaton played in the af2 with the Cape Fear Wildcats in 2004 and the Manchester Wolves in 2005. He went on to the Arena Football League in 2006 and played for the Orlando Predators before retiring in 2009. Eaton was inducted into the University of Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.

References

↑ "af2 enters SE Connecticut". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. July 19, 2001. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
↑ HAVOC announces a distribution deal with the Manchester wolves. (2007, Dec 17). Business Wire, pp. n/a.

External links

Official website (Offline due to team disbanding in 2009)
Official fan club (Offline)
Mohegan Wolves at ArenaFan

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "af2 enters SE Connecticut". www.oursportscentral.com. OurSports Central. July 19, 2001. Retrieved July 19, 2017.

[2] HAVOC announces a distribution deal with the Manchester wolves. (2007, Dec 17). Business Wire, pp. n/a.

[1]

[2]