Wolves tangle with Barnstormers in first round of af2 playoffs
July 27, 2009 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Manchester Wolves News Release
MANCHESTER, NH-- The Manchester Wolves, who enter the arenafootball2 league post season as the No. 7 seed in the American Conference and will be fighting for their first af2 championship, will head out on the road to take on the No. 2 seeded Iowa Barnstormers in a first round playoff game on Friday night.
The wild card Wolves (7-9) and the Midwest Champion Barnstormers (12-4) have never met before in the 10-year history of the league. While the Wolves cannot host a first or second round playoff game as a wild card, they have been road warriors this year and won their last three games in hostile arenas down the stretch of the regular season.
Moreover, Manchester went into the 2008 playoffs as the No. 7 seed and won two dramatic, come-from-behind, road games against the No. 2 and No. 3 seeded teams before falling to the eventual ArenaCup Champions in the American Conference title game.. The team is hoping history repeats itself, and then writes a new chapter this year with a conference title and even a league championship.
The Wolves enter the post season with confidence even though there will be a new and as yet unnamed quarterback taking the snaps against Iowa. In the loss to the East Division Champion Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers in the regular season finale, Manchester lost both of the two quarterbacks on the roster when starter Mike Potts broke the pinky on his throwing hand and back-up Willie Copeland broke his ankle in the early going on a special teams play.
Wide receiver Steve Savoy was pressed in to service for most of the second half and established a Wolves franchise record for most rushing yards in a single with 97 while running the most basic of offensive plays in the emergency. Savoy will be back in his customary role as one of the Wolves two receivers along with Emery Sammons.
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