By Marc Thaler
Managing Sports Editor

When opposing quarterbacks line up against the Wolves, it’s a safe bet they make a point to locate Allistair Sebastien.

Failing to do so could – and often does – prove costly.

A key member of Manchester’s secondary and the only active player from the team’s days as Connecticut’s Mohegan Wolves, Sebastien stands just five interceptions shy of setting a new arenafootball2 record of 28 career picks.

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Incidentally, the 23 QB tosses corraled by Sebastien places him first among active af2 athletes.

The defensive back’s two INTs against the Lousiville Fire on April 14 led to the Wolves’ first win in 2006, a 39-34 Week 3 triumph. Sebastien also won his first ADT Defensive Player of the Week award.

“It’s a great accomplishment, but it wasn’t just me,” Sebastien said. “My lineman did a great job getting pressure and the other DBs did a great job helping me in coverage. It was a team effort.”

Clearly, Sebastien wanted no part of shining the spotlight on his individual success.

Unable to elicit comments classified as modest-free, I spoke with fellow Wolves defensive back William “Roc” Haith and head coach Ben Bennett.

Sebastien’s teammates might help him create turnovers, but they were going to help me find out what makes No. 21 a star in the secondary.

“Well me, of course,” Haith said with a smile following a recent team practice. “But no, he has good awareness of the ball. This is his fourth year in the league. He made All-Pro last year … This is our second year with coach (Keith) Easley’s (defensive) scheme and we have a good understanding of it, which allows all of us to make plays.”

Haith said his teammate’s ability to create timely turnovers is the direct result of studying game tape.

Focusing on the alignment and positioning of an opponent’s offensive personnel during film sessions, Haith added, allows the Wolves to determine if teams telegraph certain plays prior to the snap.

“He understands very well that this is a game of angles and trajectories,” Bennett said of Sebastien. “If you can put yourself in a position to cut off a lot of that stuff, that’s half the battle.”

Sebastien’s ability to anticipate, react and execute on interception opportunities gives the defense additional confidence, Haith said, when working to reach its weekly team goal on the field.

Entering every game, the Wolves’ defensive objective is to stop the opposing offense three times. A stop, Haith said, involves limiting the other team to a maximum of three points on an offensive possession.

Holding an offense to field goals – or keeping it off the scoreboard altogether – is extremely difficult in a sport defined by highoctane offense.

“We have a philosophy. If we get three stops, we’re gonna win the game,” Haith said prior to Manchester’s 59-45 win against the Albany Conquest on Saturday, April 22, which included five stops on defense.

Provided he stays healthy, Sebastien should become the new owner of the league interceptions record sometime this season.

According to Bennett, an Arena Football League Hall of Fame QB, there aren’t many tricks signal-callers can use to keep Sebastien from stepping into passing lanes and disrupting drives.

“There’s a lot of things you can do, but veteran DBs usually don’t fall for them,” Bennett said. “You might be able to fool a guy like Allistair once a game, and then it doesn’t happen again very often.”