Manchester Wolves head coach Danton Barto recorded his 66th victory in the arenafootball2 league when the Wolves beat the Quad City Steamwheelers, 53-35, Saturday night.

Barto, who is in his second season as Manchester's head coach, is tied for third place for all-time victories among af2 coaches. Barto is tied with former Manchester head coach Ben Bennett, now the coach of the af2 Amarillo Dusters. Barto and Bennett trail Rich Ingold (82) of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers and Chris Siegfried (71) of the Arkansas Twisters.

"Honestly, when you get to the point when you have earned enough victories to be considered in the same category with those guys, it's a real honor," Barto said. "It's exciting."

Barto, who guided the Memphis Xploreres to the ArenaCup championship in 2005, has a 66-52 record as an af2 head coach.

"To reach this milestone in my career is a tribute to the organizations I have been fortunate to have been associated with," Barto said. "They (the Wolves and Xplorers) have never been quick to pull the trigger. They have maintained their faith in me and in my program. That's what it takes to be successful and win games in football. 

"In this day and age, many good coaches don't get the chance to prove what they can do. I have been very fortunate to be associated with two ownership groups that stood by me even when we weren't winning a lot of games at one point. But they supported me and believed in my plan."

The Wolves (6-7) have a bye next week and will take on the Albany Firebirds (6-7) on the road on July 11th in a game that has great significance as both teams are currently in the hunt for a wildcard playoff berth.