Albany Conquest Game Notes

Published on April 7, 2003 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Richmond Speed (0-1) at Albany Conquest (1-0)
Date: Friday, April 11, 2003
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. PST
Site: Pepsi Arena (13,901)
National Anthem: Miranda Mazarella
Coin Toss: Head Referee
Officials: Ed Kierce(Referee), Karl Swanke(Umpire), Stephen Toal(Head Linesman), James Czajkowski (Line Judge), Kevin Moreland (Back Judge)
Broadcast: Teamline Services (Internet broadcast via www.albanyconquest.com)
Series Record: Series tied 1-1
Last Meeting: ALB 45, RIC 42 (April 5, 2003)
Streaks: ALB – WON 1 RIC – LOST 1
Coaches: Pete Costanza (1-0, 5-12 overall, 1st season in Albany) Richard Davis (0-1, 34-13 overall, 2-2 postseason, 4th season in Richmond)

THE STAKES: Six days after the first game of the season for both teams in Richmond, the two are set to square off again, this time at the Pepsi Arena. Albany (1-0) is currently in a first-place tie with the Mohegan Wolves in the Northeast Division. Richmond (0-1) is tied for fourth in the Atlantic, a game behind Norfolk, Greensboro and Cape Fear, who are all 1-0. Albany needs to keep pace with Mohegan until the two teams meet in week four, so a win this week against the Speed would ensure at least a share of the division lead. A win would also give the Conquest their fourth straight victory at home, including the 2002 playoffs.

THE SERIES: Albany took a (2-1) series advantage over Richmond this past weekend. The Conquest stunned the home team, 45-42, in another dramatic ending to what is turning into a great af2 rivalry game. The two teams entered the 2003 season each winning one game apiece. The Conquest has won two consecutive games at the Richmond Coliseum and is the only team to win there in two seasons. The Speed will look for similar luck as they look for two in a row at the Pepsi Arena.

THE IFs:

If Albany defeats Richmond, it would ...
• Give Albany a 3-1 series record with Richmond
• Give Albany a 1-0 home record in 2003
• Give Pete Costanza his second straight victory as head coach of the Conquest.
• Extend Albany's four-game regular season win streak to five games.
• Give Albany it's fourth consecutive win at home dating back to the 2002 playoffs and regular season.
• Give Albany their second consecutive 2-0 start.

HEAD COACHES: Pete Costanza enters his first season as head coach of the Conquest. In 2002, Pete turned around a 0-16 Colunbus (GA) Wardogs team and finished 4-12, including having the league's #5 ranked defense. Costanza, a New Jersey native, brings over seven years of arena football coaching experience to the Capital region, which includes stops with the New Jersey Red Dogs, Roanoke Steam, Norfolk Nighthawks, Iowa Barnstormers and the Wardogs. Costanza has coached every position in arena football and will be responsible for calling both the offense and defense for the Conquest in 2003.

In his first full season as head coach, Richard Davis led Richmond to the 2001 ArenaCup Championship against Quad City in Moline, IL. Davis has compiled a 34-13 record entering his fourth season with the club. The Speed's record at home under Davis is an astounding 19-4. Coach Davis has spearheaded a dramatic turn-around for a Speed franchise that began the 2000 season 0-7.

LAST SERIES MEETING: Albany 45, RICHMOND 42 (4/5/03) – Elijah Beamon's 3-yard interception return for a touchdown with 34 second to play gave the visiting Albany Conquest a 45-42 victory over the Richmond Speed at the Richmond Coliseum Saturday night. Jamie Ware intercepted a Joel Gordon pass to seal the victory, as the Conquest defense scored two touchdowns on the night, the other coming on a fumble recovery by defensive end Lube Stamenich just before halftime. The win marked the second consecutive victory for Albany in Richmond.

Both teams traded scored all night long, leading to nine lead changes. Quarterback Ryan Vena ran for three touchdowns and amassed 73 rushing yards, while throwing another touchdown to OS Corey Hill. Hill led all receivers in the game with ten receptions and chipped in another 111 yards on kick returns. Richmond was led by WR/DB Jeff Townsley, who caught six passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns. QB Joel Gordon ran for three scores and threw three for Richmond, en route to Offensive Player of the Game honors.

The Speed's WR/DB Kevin Harvey was named Ironman of the Game. He caught four passes for 31 yards and a score, ran for seven yards and led all Richmond defenders with 4.5 tackles, including one for a loss.

Beamon, who was named ADT Defensive Player of the Game, totaled seven tackles, one interception and one pass breakup. Stamenich, a rookie out of the University of Virginia, contributed 4.5 tackles, teo for loss, one sack and the crucial fumble recovery resulting in a touchdown for the visiting Conquest. Albany took a 19-18 lead into halftime, but saw their lead erased on the first play of the second half when Gordon found OS Damon "Red" Thompson for a 41-yard scoring strike. Albany answered back on one of Vena's rushing touchdowns, this one from 48-yards away. Richmond will not have to wait long to get back at the Conquest. The two teams meet again in six days, this time at the Pepsi Arena in the Albany 2003 home opener on Friday, April 11th. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.

SERIES NOTABLES: QB Ryan Vena (ALB) has 484 yards passing with seven touchdowns, while amassing 81 yards and five scores on the ground in less than three games...OS Corey Hill (ALB) has 26 catches for 276 yards and four touchdowns...K Chris Drennan (ALB) has converted six field goals in two games, including a game-winning 21-yarder in Richmond during the first meeting...WR/DB Kevin Harvey (RIC) earning Ironman of the Game honors twice, has caught 19 passes for 559 yards, ran eleven times for 36 yards and scored seven touchdowns in two games... WR/DB Jeff Townsley caught 6 passes for 119 yards and two scores last week in Richmond.

THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:

QB RYAN VENA, on adjusting to throwing in the high arena: "I think I had some problems throwing the deep ball tonight. The low ceiling during camp may have been a hinderance to me. I was tight tonight and I have to work that out and get that better."

DS ELIJAH BEAMON, on playing the final game-winning interception: "They knew they had to get positive yardage to keep the clock going and that screen had been getting them yards all game. But I was looking for it, I broke on it and it came right to me."

HEAD COACH PETE COSTANZA, on the second and final meeting with Richmond: "The good thing is after Friday we won't have to play them again until perhaps the playoffs. We look at the two game series like this, if we split we'll be alright with that, and if we win them both then we will be ahead of ourselves."

MILESTONES:

• OS Corey Hill reached 250 receptions last week when he recorded ten against Richmond.
• QB Ryan Vena surpassed the 250 career rushing yards (275) in week two.
• FB/LB Matt Vittengl is the Conquest's active team leader in tackles (45.0) and sacks (4.5).
• DS John Stuart is the team's active leader in fumble recoveries (3) and pass breakups (8) and is second in tackles (38.5).
• OL/DL Mike Levy is the active leader in tackles for loss (4.5) and is second in sacks (3.0).

DROPBACK: The Conquest defeated Richmond, 45-42, in Richmond last Saturday night. Both teams struggled offensively, but two touchdowns by the Albany defense and two Chris Drennan field goals gave the visiting Conquest their second straight victory at the Richmond Coliseum.

FORWARD MOTION: Following this second straight meeting with the Speed, the Conquest will take to the road for four-in-a-row away from the Pepsi Arena. Divisional match-ups with Mohegan, Wilkes-Barre and Rochester, combined with a BYE week and a trip to expansion Cincinnati , ensure that Albany will have to be road warriors for the first six games of the season. The team will not return home until May 23rd when they will host Birmingham.

TEAM NOTES/TRENDS:

Hill Once Again On Pace: OS Corey Hill, a 2002 2nd Team All-af2 representative, broke the professional football record with 161 receptions in the 2002 season. Last week against Richmond he caught ten passes for 66 yards and a touchdown. With the af2 season stretching sixteen weeks, Hill is again on pace for 160 receptions.

Richmond...Meet Lube: OL/DL "Lube" Stamenich lives ten minutes outside of Richmond and attended UVA. He went back to his home state last weekend and made Richmond pay for allowing him out of Virginia. Lube scored his first career touchdown on a recovered fumble in the 2nd Quarter, made 4.5 tackles and was credited with 1.5 sacks in first af2 game.

Right From the Start: During the 2002 season, the Conquest averaged 15.9 yards per return, a number that ranked them last in the entire af2. Last week vs. Richmond, they averaged 17.9 yards per return and had an average starting field position of their own 18-yard line.

Flags on the Play: In week two, the Conquest and Speed combined to amass 21 penalties for 236 yards. Albany racked up ten flags for 87 yards, while the Speed got hit eleven times for 149 yards.

"Beam" Me Up, Elijah: Conquest DS Elijah Beamon got off to a great start to his second season with the team. Beamon earned ADT Defensive Player of the Game honors for his game-winning interception return, while leading all players in the game with 7.0 tackles (five solo). Beamon played WR/DB in 2002, before being named starting DS for this season.

PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

Speed WR/DB Kevin Harvey: Harvey earned Ironman of the Game honors for his efforts in the week two loss. He caught four passed for 31 yards and a score, carried the ball four times for seven yards and led the Speed defense with 4.5 tackles (including one for a loss).

Conquest OS Corey Hill: Hill led the af2 in receptions (161) and receiving yards (1,824) in 2002. He picked up right where he left off, during last week's win at Richmond. He hauled in a game-high ten catches for 66 yards and a touchdown, while grabbing another 11 all-purpose yards in kick returns.

Speed QB Joel Gordon: The rookie QB out of Shephard College had a very impressive debut in week two against the Conquest. He threw three touchdowns and ran for three more, en route to being named Offensive Player of the Game. Gordon did fumble twice and throw two interceptions in the loss, but showed good understanding of the game in his first career arena football start. He averaged 5.0 yards per rush and completed 14-of-24 pass attempts.

Conquest OL/DL Lube Stamenich: Stamenich, a rookie out of UVA, brought pressure to Richmond's backfield all night long in his first ever arena football game. He was credited with his first career touchdown when he jumped on a fumble in the Speed endzone during the second quarter and also racked up 4.5 tackles (two for loss) and 1.5 sacks.

KEY DATES IN TEAM/LEAGUE HISTORY:

April 13, 2002 – The Conquest defeat the Rochester Brigade, 42-36, in the first installment of the NYS Lottery Cup series.

April 11, 2001 – af2 announces that 32 players from the 2000 season make the final rosters for the 2001 AFL season.

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