Wilkes - Barre / Scranton Pioneers The Wilkes - Barre / Scranton Pioneers were a minor league arena football team that played in the AF2 . The team was part of the East Division in the American conference . The Pioneers were an expansion team for the league ' s 2002 season , and were the runner - ups in ArenaCup VIII and ArenaCup X . Franchise history . 2001 . The AF2 announced their expansion into the Wilkes - Barre / Scranton area on July 24 , 2001 . Ownership would comprise a Baltimore - based group , Smith Sports International , and NFL legend Johnny Unitas . The team signed a 10 - year lease with the First Union Arena at Casey Plaza ( later Wachovia Arena and now Mohegan Sun Arena ) and would begin play with the 2002 season in the league ' s Northeast Division . Terry Karg was hired as the team ' s first head coach . The team name was chosen on September 20 following a name - the - team contest . Of over 1500 entries , the name Pioneers was chosen in recognition of the early settlers of Northeastern Pennsylvania . 2002 . The Pioneers got off to a shaky start in the AF2 . The team took a 21 - 10 lead into halftime against the Greensboro Prowlers , but the Prowlers would come back to win the game 42 - 28 , handing the Pioneers their first franchise loss and first loss at home . Wilkes - Barre / Scranton lost their next five games before finally taking a win against division rivals New Haven Ninjas in New Haven . With a 3 - 3 record following the win , the Pioneers were still in the playoff hunt and could secure a berth with a win against the Rochester Brigade or a loss by the Brigade to the Mohegan Wolves the following week . Both the Pioneers and Wolves lost , ending Wilkes - Barre / Scranton ' s hopes for a playoff spot . Their season came to a close with a 6 - 10 record . Following the season , head coach Karg resigned and left the Pioneers . Larry Kuharich , who had played for the AFL ' s Tampa Bay Storm and was running back coach for the New Orleans Saints , was hired as the team ' s second head coach . 2003 . The Pioneers ’ second season got off to the same start that their first one did with an opening game loss to the Greensboro Prowlers . Soon afterwards , Coach Kuharich resigned as head coach to be replaced by Dean Cokinos . The Pioneers would finish the season with a 6 - 10 record , the same as in 2002 , and without a spot in the playoffs . Attendance for home games fell in 2003 . After averaging nearly 6200 fans per game in 2002 , attendance dropped more than 1000 to average 4975 per game in 2003 . The ownership blamed itself , rather than the product on the field , for moving games to Friday nights from Saturday nights ; they vowed to return to Saturdays as often as possible in 2004 . Following a tumultuous season that included the resignation of both the head coach and general manager , the Pioneers hired Les Moss , who had been working with the Orlando Predators of the AFL , as the team ' s fourth head coach . 2004 . Wilkes - Barre / Scranton ' s third season began on a noticeably different note than the previous two seasons . In a first - time matchup against the Columbus Wardogs , the Pioneers won their home and season opener . The team would continue to win , going 5 - 0 until suffering their first loss to the Albany Conquest . The Pioneers went on to lose only two more games , ending with a 13 - 3 record . They had not only secured a playoff spot , but they had won the Northeast Division and earned a first - round bye . Their first playoff game , against divisional rival Cape Fear Wildcats , resulted in a win , propelling them to the Conference Championships . The Pioneers would lose the championship game to the Florida Firecats , ending their first postseason run . Following their first playoff season , Coach Moss was named the AF2 Coach of the Year . He also signed on to coach the Pioneers in 2005 , becoming the first Pioneers coach to remain for a second season . 2005 . The Pioneers returned to action in 2005 with nine players returning from the 2004 roster , including 2004 af2 Rookie of the Year J . R . Thomas . With nine scores on ten possessions , the Pioneers won their season and home opener over the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgs . Wilkes - Barre / Scranton won two more games before 2004 starting quarterback Tim Hicks was traded to the Bossier - Shreveport Battle Wings . The Pioneers then suffered three straight losses and the loss of star receiver Thomas to a broken leg . The Pioneers would endure a further hardship with the hospitalization of coach Moss due to a “ weight - related issue ” . Despite the problems , the Pioneers would finish fourth in the Eastern Division with a 9 - 7 record and clinched a wildcard playoff berth . With a win over the Green Bay Blizzard , the Pioneers advanced to the Conference Semifinals to face Florida , the top - seeded team in the conference . Their championship aspirations would die in the second round in a 59 - 45 loss . Following the season , Coach Moss signed a three - year contract with the Orlando Predators as an assistant coach , leaving the Pioneers to find their fifth coach in as many seasons . Pittsburgh native Rich Ingold , former Quad City Steamwheelers coach and Dallas Desperados coordinator , was hired in this capacity for the 2006 season . 2006 . Ingold ' s first game with the Pioneers began with new quarterback Mike Granieri throwing two interceptions against the Louisville Fire ; it ended with a score of 45 - 37 and a win . The Pioneers would continue their season - opening winning streak to 5 - 0 before losing to the Tulsa Talons . After two wins in the next four games , Ingold released receiver Thomas for “ insubordination ” . A four - game losing streak would befall the team , but a victory over Albany in the season closer would propel them into the playoffs with a 9 - 7 record . Their season would end one week later , losing the first playoff round to Manchester . In the offseason , the Pioneers signed former Penn State quarterback Zack Mills to lead the offense . However , Mills only spent four days training with the Pioneers before departing from the team , citing a waning passion for the game . 2007 . For the fourth straight season , the Pioneers opened with a win , this time against Manchester . In their second game , against the Cincinnati Jungle Kats expansion team , Wilkes - Barre / Scranton ' s 94 - 25 win set a team record for most points scored in a game ; the 69 points of separation was also the fourth - highest margin of victory in league history . The Pioneers would extend their winning streak to 13 games before losing to Albany in week 16 . They finished the regular season with a 14 - 2 record and home field advantage throughout the playoffs . The Pioneers defeated the Tri - Cities Fever in the first round of the playoffs . In the second round , they emerged victorious over the Central Valley Coyotes to advance to their second - ever American Conference Championship , where they overcame defending conference champions Green Bay to advance to ArenaCup VIII . Playing against the Tulsa Talons , the only team in the league with a better record , the Pioneers lost the championship 73 - 66 on a dropped touchdown pass to end the game . 2008 . In 2008 , the Pioneers began to reload to take another shot at the ArenaCup . The team re - signed several key players from the 2007 squad , including quarterback Ryan Vena . The season got off to a rocky start , however , when the team lost the season opener to the Quad City Steamwheelers . After winning handily over the Daytona Beach ThunderBirds , the Pioneers began their season at Wachovia Arena with a win over the Mahoning Valley Thunder . The Pioneers lost only one game in their division in 2008 and won all of their home matches , giving them seventeen straight regular season home victories dating back to the 2006 season . The Pioneers began their playoff run with a victory over the Steamwheelers but lost in the conference semifinals to eventual ArenaCup champion Tennessee Valley . 2009 . The 2009 campaign began in the same way the 2008 season did : rebuilding a strong team with the ArenaCup in sight . Several key players returned to the team in 2009 , including Ryan Vena , David Davis , and Micheaux Robinson . The Pioneers began the season with two home wins over division opponents but dropped the Week 3 contest to the Kentucky Horsemen . The Pioneers lost only two other games in 2009 , one to Tulsa and one to Spokane . Wilkes - Barre / Scranton also kept up the tradition of winning at home , racking up another perfect season at Wachovia Arena and extending their regular season home win streak to 25 . The Pioneers locked up the Eastern Division crown for the third straight year and held homefield advantage throughout the playoffs . All of the Pioneers playoff games would be rematches from the 2009 regular season . The team took easy wins over Albany and Kentucky and won a nail - biter against Green Bay to advance to the ArenaCup . The Pioneers took a tie game into halftime against the Spokane Shock in the ArenaCup , but the game ended in disappointment again ; the Pioneers were denied the ArenaCup . Sale . Shortly after the Pioneers lost ArenaCup X , owner Cosmo DeNicola announced that he had put the team up for sale . DeNicola , a resident of the Philadelphia area , cited his other business responsibilities and length of time away from home during the AF2 season as the reasons for putting the team on the market . He had hoped that an owner could be found in northeast Pennsylvania to keep the team in Wilkes - Barre and that an owner could be found in time to field a team for the 2010 season . No one was found to step in as owner , and the team announced that it was in the process of shutting down the team offices and would not field a team in 2010 , though any potential investors were still encouraged to step up and begin negotiations to purchase the franchise . Team Returning to Football ? In August 2010 , the Mohegan Sun Arena ( formerly the Wachovia Arena where the Pioneers had played ) released a report claiming that a gentlemen from Allentown , PA was very interested in purchasing the team and returning the Pioneers to the area . The rumor is that should " this " occur , the team would be a part of the IFL ( Indoor Football League ) . Also , with the AIFA / SIFL merger ( as of Sep / Oct , 2010 ) , there is also the distinct possibility that indoor / arena - style football could very well make its return to the Mohegan Sun Arena as part of the new SIFL ( Southern Indoor Football League ) . With teams as close as Trenton , NJ , and Erie , PA , a team in N . E . PA would be an ideal addition to that league . In either event , the team ' s to return to action " could " happen for 2011 , but the more realistic time - line would be for the 2012 season ( both the SIFL and the IFL Regular Seasons start in March ) . In popular culture . In multiple episodes of the American television comedy , The Office , Michael Scott and other characters are seen wearing Wilkes - Barre / Scranton Pioneers sweatshirts and undershirts . The Office takes place in Scranton , Pennsylvania . Season - by - Season . ! Totals | | 93 | | 50 | | 0