The 2014 Trenton Freedom season was the first season as a professional indoor football franchise and their first in the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL). One of 8 teams that competed in the PIFL for the 2014 season.
| 2014 Trenton Freedom season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Dennis Williams |
| General manager | Megan Williams |
| Head coach | Kevin O'Hanlon |
| Home field | Sun National Bank Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–4 |
| Conference place | 1st |
| Playoff finish | Lost National Conference Championship (Lehigh Valley) 38–49 |
In August 2013, Owners Dennis Williams and Michael Schubiger announced their intentions to bring an indoor football team back to Trenton, New Jersey.[1] 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.[1] When looking for a league to play in, Williams and Schubiger both were lobbying to become members of the Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL).[1] In September, the team officially became the 7th member of the PIFL for the 2014 season.[2] 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. [3]
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.[4]
Schedule
editKey: Win Tie Loss Bye
Regular season
editAll start times are local to home team
| Week | Day | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | ||||||
| 1 | Sunday | March 30 | 2:05pm | Richmond Raiders | W 52–17 | 1–0 | Sun National Bank Center |
| 2 | Sunday | April 6 | 4:00pm | at Lehigh Valley Steelhawks | L 47–48 | 1–1 | Stabler Arena |
| 3 | BYE | ||||||
| 4 | Saturday | April 19 | 7:05pm | Columbus Lions | W 66–63 | 2–1 | Sun National Bank Center |
| 5 | Saturday | April 26 | 7:00pm | Lehigh Valley Steelhawks | L 36–42 | 2–2 | Stabler Arena |
| 6 | Friday | May 3 | 7:05pm | Richmond Raiders | W 33–32 | 3–2 | Sun National Bank Center |
| 7 | Sunday | May 11 | 4:00pm | Harrisburg Stampede | W 52–39 | 4–2 | Sun National Bank Center |
| 8 | Saturday | May 17 | 7:05pm | at Richmond Raiders | W 52–42 | 5–2 | Richmond Coliseum |
| 9 | Saturday | May 24 | 7:00pm | Lehigh Valley Steelhawks | W 55–42 | 6–2 | Sun National Bank Center |
| 10 | BYE | ||||||
| 11 | Friday | June 6 | 7:05pm | at Harrisburg Stampede | W 57–49 | 7–2 | Giant Center |
| 12 | Saturday | June 14 | 7:00pm | at Alabama Hammers | W 49–47 | 8–2 | Von Braun Center |
| 13 | Saturday | June 21 | 7:00pm | Georgia Fire | L 49–52 | 8–3 | Sun National Bank Center |
| 14 | Saturday | June 28 | 7:15pm | at Nashville Venom | L 48–64 | 8–4 | Nashville Municipal Auditorium |
Postseason
editAll start times are local to home team
| Round | Day | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Location | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | ||||||
| National Conference Championship | Saturday | July 5 | 7:01pm | Lehigh Valley Steelhawks | L 38–49 | 0–1 | Sun National Bank Center |
Roster
edit| 2014 Trenton Freedom roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks
Running backs Wide receivers
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
Kickers
|
Injured reserve
| |||
Division standings
edit| Team | Overall | Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | W | L | T | PCT | ||||
| National Conference | |||||||||||
| y-Trenton Freedom | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | |||
| x-Lehigh Valley Steelhawks | 6 | 6 | 0 | .500 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | |||
| Richmond Raiders | 5 | 7 | 0 | .417 | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | |||
| Harrisburg Stampede | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | |||
| American Conference | |||||||||||
| y-Nashville Venom | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | |||
| x-Columbus Lions | 7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | |||
| Georgia Fire | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | |||
| Alabama Hammers | 4 | 8 | 0 | .333 | 2 | 6 | 0 | .250 | |||
References
edit- ^ 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.