Macon Knights

Afl2 team
name = Macon Knights
logo =
conference = American
division = Southern
founded = 2001
folded = 2006
arena = Macon Coliseum
location = Macon, Georgia
coach = Derek Stingley
owner = Beverly Olson
championships = none

The Macon Knights were a professional arena football team, playing in the af2 league. They were a 2001 expansion member of the af2. They played their home games at Macon Coliseum which seats 7,182. The Knights were owned and operated by Beverly Olson. The Knights were formerly coached by Derek Stingley, son of former New England Patriots' wide receiver Darryl Stingley.

History

The franchise was born in 2001, the second year of the af2. Olson's first successful move as owner operator was to bring in local football hero Kevin Porter in to coach the fledgling team. Porter, an alumni of Auburn University, and the Kansas City Chiefs was also an arena football veteran. Under his leadership, the inaugural squad made the playoffs and was named "Expansion Franchise of the Year" by the league. Porter went on to coach the New Orleans VooDoo and Kansas City Brigade of the AFL.

Two seasons later, Porter led the Knights to the ArenaCup, af2's championship game, where the Knights fell to the Tulsa Talons 58 - 40. Afterwards, Porter left for the parent Arena Football League and a number of his players followed.

Porter was replaced by AFL veteran Mike Hold. Despite his success with other franchises, Hold was not so lucky in Macon. In 2005, after a miserable start, Hold was replaced by Derek Stingley.

Stingley took a club that had fallen to 2 and 5 and, by season's end, in 2005, managed to will them into the af2 playoffs. The Knights lost a heartbreaker against the Louisville Fire in the opening round, but the team's turnaround was remarkable.

After the 2006 season, the team announced they would be shutting down operations. [http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/15388879.htm] [http://www.arenafan.com/news/?page=pressrel&article=6300] [http://www.oursportscentral.com/services/releases/?id=3370558]

As of October 10, 2008 The Macon Telegraph reports that an Investor is "very interested" in reviving the Knights franchise in Macon.

eason-by-season

-
2001 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 2nd AC Southeast || Lost Week 1 (Quad City)
-
2002 || 13 || 3 || 0 || 1st AC Eastern || Lost Week 2 (Florida)
-
2003 || 10 || 6 || 0 || 3rd AC Southern || Lost ArenaCup IV (Tulsa)
-
2004 || 3 || 13 || 0 || 4th AC Southern || --
-
2005 || 8 || 8 || 0 || 2nd AC Southern || Lost Week 1 (Louisville)
-
2006 || 9 || 7 || 0 || 3rd AC Southern || --
-!Totals || 56 || 48 || 0
colspan="2"| (including playoffs)
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Notable Players

*Chad Elliot - QB
*James Hickenbotham - OS
*Matt Jakson - WR/DB
*Ed Wangler - DLS
*Byungwoo Yoon - K
*Rico Reese - DE

External links

* [http://www.maconknights.com Macon Knights Official Team Site]
* [http://www.arenafan.com/teams/?page=history&team=77&year=2006 Macon Knights on ArenaFan.com]
* [http://www.knightsfans.org/ The Crusaders, The Macon Knights' Official Fan Club]
* [http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/sports/football/arena/macon_knights/ Macon Knights coverage by "The Macon Telegraph"]