Trenton Freedom

Trenton Freedom
Trenton Freedom
	Established 2013; Folded 2015; Played in Sun National Bank Center in Trenton, New Jersey
League/conference affiliations
	Professional Indoor Football League (2014–2015) National Conference (2014);
	Current uniform
Team colors	Red, Silver, Blue, White;
Mascot	General George
Personnel
Owner(s)	Dennis Williams; Michael Schubiger
President	Dennis Williams
General manager	Jeff Gonos
Head coach	Kevin O’Hanlon
Team history
	Trenton Freedom (2014–2015);
Championships
	League championships (0);
	Conference championships (0);
	Division championships (0);
Playoff appearances (1)
	PIFL: 2014;
Home arena(s)
	Sun National Bank Center (2014–2015);

The Trenton Freedom was a professional indoor football team based in Trenton, New Jersey. The Freedom were a member of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL).^[1] The Freedom began play in 2014 as an expansion member of the PIFL. The Freedom played their home games at the Sun National Bank Center.

Franchise history

2014

In August 2013, Owners Dennis Williams and Michael Schubiger announced their intentions to bring an indoor football team back to Trenton, New Jersey.^[2] The owners held name the team contest, and picked the name "Freedom," as well as named Adam Turkel to be the team's first head coach and general manager.^[2] When looking for a league to play in, Williams and Schubiger both were lobbying to become members of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL).^[2] In September, the team officially became the 7th member of the PIFL for the 2014 season.^[3] In November 2013, the team announced that they were replacing Turkel with Kevin O'Hanlon as the team's inaugural coach.

The Freedom began their inaugural season on March 30, 2014 at home, defeating the Richmond Raiders 52–17. Quarterback Warren Smith threw for four touchdowns and ran for two more. Defensive Back Domonic Joseph was named PIFL Defensive Player of the Week. The Freedom lost their first road game, 48–47 at the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks. Wide receiver Antoine Rivera caught 13 passes for 132 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

The Freedom rebounded in their second home game for a 66–63 win over the Columbus Lions. The Freedom suffered their second road loss, 42–36 at Lehigh Valley April 26, but linebacker Jeffery Morgan earned the franchise's second PIFL Defensive Player of the Week honor by scoring a pair of touchdowns. Success continued at home May 3, as the Freedom rallied with 16 points in the last two minutes to edge Richmond, 33–32, with Marques Slocum earning PIFL Defensive Player of the Week. The winning trend at home continued May 11 with a 52–39 triumph over the Harrisburg Stampede as William Hollis was named PIFL Defensive Player of the week, the team's third straight selection.

With a 52–42 win at Richmond, May 17, the Freedom recorded the franchise's first-ever road victory. The following week, back at home, the Freedom avenged two earlier losses to Lehigh Valley with a 55–42 victory to push their record to a PIFL-best 6–2 atop the National Conference.

The Freedom, with a 57–49 win at Harrisburg June 7, clinched a PIFL playoff berth in its first season in moving to 7–2.

With a 49–47 comeback win over the defending PIFL champion Alabama Hammers June 14, the Freedom clinched the regular-season National Conference title and a home playoff game in the franchise's first season.

The Freedom dropped a 52–49 decision to the Georgia Fire in the team's final regular-season home game.^[4]

The Freedom finished the regular season with an 8–4 record, the 2nd best in the league, but were defeated by the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks in the National Conference Championship Game by a score of 49–38.^[5]

2015

On August 26, 2015, the Freedom announced that they wouldn't be returning to play in 2016.

Players of note

Final roster

Trenton Freedom roster

Quarterbacks

11 Stephen Panasuk
10 Hunter Wanket

Running backs

6 Melik Brown

Wide receivers

1 Antonio Allen
3 Milton Colbert
18 Tony Green
13 Colin Larmond
19 Richie Martin
17 Antonie Rivera
5 Landis Williams

Offensive linemen

70 Mohamed Kourouma Ibraihm
76 Rocco Manfre
75 Lavon McCoy
79 Rufus Quinn
62 Malcolm Speller

Defensive linemen

44 Michael Atunarse
95 Brandon Potvin
55 Jerome Williams

Linebackers

2 Jerome Hayes
8 Adrian McLeod

Defensive backs

4 Vaughn Carraway
-- Guesly Dervil
12 Keiron Jones
23 Dom Joseph
14 Serge Kona
26 Mike McMillian

Kickers

15 Edward Rhunke

Injured reserve

91 Trevor Anderson DL
-- Jaquan Bryant WR
9 Tevan Ferguson DL
7 Alex Joseph LB

Exempt list

14 Boubacar Cissoko DB
-- Dwayne Hollis DB
3 Roger Jackson WR
-- DaShawn Johnson OL
-- Keith Newell OL
-- Jeremy Schonbrunner OL
-- Warren Smith QB
-- Nijha White WR

Failure to report

-- Phede Celestine OL
-- Leavander Jones DB
-- Maurice Jones DB
70 Lloyd Morrison OL

Left squad

90 Marques Slocum DL
21 Kwaheem Smith DB

rookies in italics
Roster updated June 14, 2015
27 Active, 18 Inactive

→ More rosters

Awards and honors

The following is a list of all Freedom players who won league awards:

Season	Player	Position	Award
2014	Roger Jackson	WR	Offensive Rookie of the Year
2014	Warren Smith	QB	Most Valuable Player
2015	Jerome Hayes	LB	Defensive Player of the Year

All-League players

The following Freedom players were named to All-League Teams:

QB Warren Smith
FB Melik Brown (2)
WR Richie Martin
OL Lavon McCoy (2), Malcolm Speller
DL Gerrard Bryant, Michael Atunarse
LB Jerome Hayes
DB Mike McMillian
Iron-man Melik Brown (2)

Head coaches

Name	Term	Regular season				Playoffs		Awards
Name	Term	W	L	T	Win%	W	L	Awards
Kevin O'Hanlon	2014–2015	14	10	0	.583	0	1

Coaching staff

Trenton Freedom staff

Front office

President/Owner – Dennis Williams
Owner – Michael Schubiger
General manager – Jeff Gonos
Assistant general manager – Will Schubiger

Head coach

Head coach – Kevin O'Hanlon

Offensive coaches

Offensive coordinator – Ryan Vena
Running Backs -
Offensive/Defensive Line –

Defensive coaches

Defensive coordinator/secondary – Ryan Sloth
Wide Receivers -

Season-by-season results

League Champions	Conference Champions	Division Champions	Wild Card Berth	League Leader

Season	Team	League	Conference	Division	Regular season				Postseason results
Season	Team	League	Conference	Division	Finish	Wins	Losses	Ties	Postseason results
2014	2014	PIFL	National		1st	8	4	0	Lost National Conference Title 39-43 vs. (Lehigh Valley)
2015	2015	PIFL			5th	6	6	0
Totals						14	10	0	All-time regular season record (2014–2015)
						0	1	-	All-time postseason record (2014–2015)
						14	11	0	All-time regular season and postseason record (2014–2015)

References

^ Hester, Matthew. "PIFL Sinks Their Fangs Into Nashville." Professional Indoor Football League. November 11, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2013.
^ ^a ^b ^c Jenna Pizzi (September 17, 2013). "Trenton Freedom looks to join Professional Indoor Football League". www.nj.com. New Jersey On-Line LLC. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
^ "Trenton Freedom join PIFL". www.nj.com. New Jersey On-Line LLC. September 20, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.
^ George O'Gorman (May 4, 2014). "Freedom hoping to keep momentum going from huge comeback". www.trentonian.com. The Trentonian. Retrieved May 5, 2014.
^ "Trenton Freedom come up short in playoff loss to Lehigh Valley". www.nj.com. New Jersey On-Line LLC. July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.

External links

Official website

[1] Hester, Matthew. "PIFL Sinks Their Fangs Into Nashville." Professional Indoor Football League. November 11, 2013. Retrieved November 11, 2013.

[birth-2] Jenna Pizzi (September 17, 2013). "Trenton Freedom looks to join Professional Indoor Football League". www.nj.com. New Jersey On-Line LLC. Retrieved December 26, 2013.

[3] "Trenton Freedom join PIFL". www.nj.com. New Jersey On-Line LLC. September 20, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2013.

[4] George O'Gorman (May 4, 2014). "Freedom hoping to keep momentum going from huge comeback". www.trentonian.com. The Trentonian. Retrieved May 5, 2014.

[5] "Trenton Freedom come up short in playoff loss to Lehigh Valley". www.nj.com. New Jersey On-Line LLC. July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.

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v t e Professional Indoor Football League
Teams	Alabama Hammers Albany Panthers Charlotte Speed Columbus Lions Erie Explosion Georgia Fire Harrisburg Stampede Lehigh Valley Steelhawks Knoxville NightHawks Louisiana Swashbucklers Nashville Venom Richmond Raiders Trenton Freedom
Arenas	Von Braun Center (Alabama) Albany Civic Center (Albany) Columbus Civic Center (Columbus) Erie Insurance Arena (Erie) Forum Civic Center (Georgia) Giant Center (Harrisburg) Knoxville Civic Coliseum (Knoxville) Stabler Arena (Lehigh Valley) Sudduth Coliseum (Louisiana) Nashville Municipal Auditorium (Nashville) Richmond Coliseum (Richmond) Sun National Bank Center (Trenton)
Seasons	2012 2013 2014 2015