Albany Conquest 2003 Season Preview

April 3, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release


ALBANY, NY – Training camp is over, one scrimmage along the way, now the roster has been set and the Northeast Division title defense begins for the Albany Conquest. First-year Head Coach, Pete Costanza, has assembled a mix of returning stars, arena football veterans and hungry rookies, ready to take aim at the ArenaCup Championship in August.

Perhaps one of the biggest moves this off-season was the re-commitment from QB Ryan Vena and OS Corey Hill, both of whom played together at Colgate University prior to last year with the Conquest. Hill set the all-time professional football league record with his 161 receptions in 2002, on his way to earning 2nd Team all-af2 honors and finishing in the top five in most offensive categories. Vena was named Game MVP a team-high seven times last season, completing 274-of-434 pass attempts for 3,041 yards and 56 touchdowns. He also ranked ninth in af2 with 248 yards rushing, adding fourteen more scores on the ground. Vena, a three-time Patriot League Player of the Year, was the first Patriot League quarterback to throw for 7,000 yards and rush for over 2,000 while at Colgate.

A new addition to the offense, which should add a nice complement to Hill, is former Toronto Phantom (AFL) and Columbus Wardog (af2) WR/DB Phil Taylor. Taylor played for Costanza last year in Columbus (GA) and made a huge impact immediately. In just 12 games, he caught 97 passes for 1,480 yards and scored 31 touchdowns. He was named the team's Offensive MVP and earned Game MVP honors in week18 against Mobile (9 catches for 121 yards, three touchdowns). Taylor will be joined at the WR/DB position by returning Conquest player, Jamie Ware. Ware, one of the most prolific receivers to come out of Shippensburgh University, finished 5th on the team last season with 22 receptions and 274 yards. He also chipped in with 18 total tackles (17 solo), three interceptions and seven pass breakups. The loss of three-year af2 veteran, and Lake George High graduate, Jeff Higgins to a torn rotator cuff, has opened the door for a few rookies to earn some valuable playing time this season at the two-way spot. Adrien "Butter" Pressey, a former University of Delaware running back who ran a 4.38 40-yard sprint at the Conquest's final tryout in February, will look to get in the lineup as soon as possible. Pressey's 35 career touchdowns, including twelve as a receiver, rank him seventh all-time for the Blue Hens.

At the WR/LB position, Shaker High graduate Adriel Linyear, is back from a year ago and is ready to step up to the starting lineup after splitting time at WR/DB for the Conquest last season. Linyear still managed to catch 15 passes for 174 yards and score four touchdowns, while totaling 22.5 tackles and two pass breakups defensively. A teammate of Linyear at Lafayette College, Phil Yarberough, will be competing with former East Carolina standout, Rashon Burns, for playing time early in the season. Burns, who stands 6'4, 250 pounds, can also play defensive end and fullback/linebacker and will be counted on to add pressure from the line on defense. Yarberough is more of an offensive threat than Burns, coming in as the Leopard's all-time leading receiver with 160 catches for 2,385 yards over his four-year career. In 2000, Yarberough was named Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year after finishing fifth in the country in receiving yards per game (103.55) and ninth in receptions per game (7.00).

The most exciting battles during training camp, without a doubt, came from the fullbacks and linebackers competing for spots on the 2003 roster. Returning is South Glens Falls High grad and RPI All-American, Matt Vittengl. "Vitt" was a nominee for 2002 af2 Ironman of the Year, as he recorded 45.0 tackles (38 solo), four for loss, 4.5 sacks, three fumble recoveries, two blocked kicks and one safety on defense. Offensively, he rushed for 73 yards on thirty carries, while scoring seven touchdowns. Along with Vittengl is six-year Arena Football League veteran, and former Grambling State All-American, 6'3 280 pound, Ron Perry. Perry, who last played for the New York Dragons (AFL) in 2002, has twice been named to the All-AFL Team as a FB/LB and earned Rookie of the Year honors in 1997 when he played for the Florida Bobcats. Perry played for Costanza in 1998-99 when they were both with the New Jersey Red Dogs (AFL). He recorded 61.5 tackles, 3.5 sacks and scored fourteen touchdowns during his AFL career. Aside from Vittengl and Perry are two other players that will be used as both fullback/linebackers and also linemen throughout the course of the 2003 season. Leroy Thompson (Rowan University) and Jason Davis (Temple) are both good-sized, quick linebackers that can put their hand down and rush off the end. Thompson spent two season at Hudson Valley before transferring to Rowan in 1998. In two season at Rowan, Leroy amassed 40 total tackles (28 solo) with an amazing 30 tackles for losses of 129 yards, 15.5 sacks for losses of 112 yards, three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles and two touchdowns. Davis' senior season (2001) he recorded a career-high 44 total tackles (18 solo) with six for loss, one sack and seven QB hurries. In the same season, he was named Defensive Player of the Week against Pittsburgh in a Big East rivalry match-up.

The Defensive Specialists may be the key to how the successful the ConQuest will be at defending their division title. Losing DS Henry Baker to the NFL (KC Chiefs), and not getting back Brandon Tinson, left a secondary with no returning starters at the DS position. Fortunately for Coach Costanza, two of last season's two-way players were eager to fill the shoes left by Baker and Tinson. DS's John Stuart and Elijah Beamon both played WR/DB in 2002 for the Conquest, but have become a very combination heading into the 2003 season. Stuart was the team's 4th leading receiver in 2002, catching 33 passes for 437 yards and scoring six touchdowns. Defensively, he was credited with 38.5 tackles (31 solo), one interception, eight pass breakups and three fumble recoveries. Beamon was a three-time All-Patriot League defensive back at Lafayette and finished last season with 27.0 tackles (23 solo), one interception and three pass breakups. Joining these two returning vets in the defensive backfield is rookie Jeremy Robinson. Robinson is an All-American out of University of Massachusetts, where he ranks fourth all-time in career interceptions (15), fifth in solo tackles (244) and sixth in total tackles (336), pass breakups (25) and interception return yards (171). He started 46 out of 47 career games for UMass and was named to three straight All-Atlantic 10 Conference and first team All-New England teams. Rounding out the defensive backs is 5'7" 155 pound, Yuichi Watanabe, an international player from Japan. Watanabe was rated as the best DB in the country of Japan and has been named to "Touchdown" magazine All-Japan football teams for the past four years. Watanabe is participating in practice with the Conquest, but unless he is activated in a game will not count against the team's 21-man regular season roster.

The big men up front who will be looked upon to protect Vena, as well as get pressure on the opposition, will feature some key returnees combined with some impressive rookies and af2 veterans. The returnees include the other Shaker High graduate, Rich Barlette, Mike Levy (Lafayette), Lou Vega (Glenville State) and Columbia High's Dave Mahoney (Alfred State). Levy brings back the most impressive numbers to the team from a year ago with his 4.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and two fumble recoveries. Vega and Mahoney each contributed 1.5 sacks, while Barlette chipped in with steady offensive line play and a team-high two blocked kicks. Joining these guys in the trenches are two af2 veterans, one of the top pass rushers out of the ACC and a big, strong All-American lineman from Tufts University. The two guys with previous arena experience are Nick Anderson (Northern Michigan), who has played the past two seasons under Costanza in both Iowa and Columbus, and Joe Shin, a Hofstra University graduate and teammate of Anderson and Costanza in Iowa. Shin has played the past three seasons in af2, starting with Roanoke and moving to Iowa and then onto Tulsa in 2002, being credited with 5.5 sacks over his career. Ljubomir (Loob-o-meer) Stamenich, The University of Virginia's 13th highest sackmaster over his career, is bringing in a pass rush not seen very often in af2. Stamenich finished his career at UVA with 180 total tackles, 26 tackles for loss and 12.5 quarterback sacks. "Lube" was a four-year varsity letterwinner, starting in 23 consecutive games from 1999-2000. Mike Willey is a 6'4" 315 pound offensive lineman from Tufts. Willey was named to the Football Gazette Division III All-East Region 1st Team and 3rd Team All-American. He played for United States Team versus Mexico in Aztec Bowl in Santillo, Mexico, where Willey was named captain of the 40-man squad, made up of Division III players from across the country. He was also named a 3rd Team All-American and to the New England Football Writers Div. II-III All-Star Team.

Last, but certainly not least, comes the second most important position in arena football according to Nebraska graduate Chris Drennan. Drennan will be the Conquest's kicker for the second year in a row after finishing the 2002 season fourth in af2 in scoring (108) and field goals made (13) and eighth in the league in PAT kicking (69-89). Drennan played seven seasons in the AFL, including two stints with the Albany Firebirds during the 1993 and 1997 seasons. In 1993, Drennan set the Firebirds all-time single-season record with 21 field goals made in a season, which still stands.

The Conquest, who lost three players from last year's team to higher levels of play, are entering their second season with a huge bulls-eye on their backs. They went to a scrimmage against the Mohegan Wolves and it was very apparent that the Wolves, along with Rochester and Wilkes-Barre, will be gunning for the division champs in 2003. Mohegan and Wilkes-Barre both feature new coaches, leaving Rochester's Mark Saunders as the only head coach to return to the Northeast Division. Albany opens up with back-to-back games against one of the top teams in af2, the Richmond Speed. The home opener is April 11th and then the team will take to the road for four straight games, not returning to the Pepsi Arena until May 23rd to take on Birmingham. In 2003...The Quest for the Cup Continues!



arenafootball2 Stories from April 3, 2003


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central