Albany Conquest Game Notes

Published on April 28, 2003 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Albany Conquest (2-1) at WB-Scranton Pioneers (1-3)
Date: Saturday, May 3, 2003
Kickoff: 7:00 p.m. EST
Site: First Union Arena (7,955)
National Anthem:
Coin Toss: Head Referee
Officials: Not Available at this time
Broadcast: Teamline Services (Internet broadcast via www.albanyconquest.com)...Bill Callahan
Series Record: Albany leads, 3-0
Last Meeting: ALB 58, WBS 36 (July 13, 2002)
Streaks: ALB – LOST 1 WBS – WON 1
Coaches: Pete Costanza (2-1, 6-13 overall, 1st season in Albany) Dean Cokinos (1-3, 1st season in af2)

THE STAKES: With the Albany Conquest currently ½ game behind Mohegan (3-1) in the Northeast Division, every game is a crucial game from here on out. This will be the first of three meetings between the Conquest (2-1) and Pioneers (1-3) in 2003, with Wilkes-Barre playing host to two out of three. Wilkes-Barre is 1½ games behind Albany, due to Albany having a BYE week last week, and the Pioneers gaining their first win of the year over Rochester. Rochester (0-4), the other playoff representative from the Northeast Division in 2002, is sitting in last place in the four-team division and play division-leading Mohegan this week in Rochester, NY.

THE SERIES: The Pioneers come into this week's game having never defeated the Albany Conquest. In both team's inaugural season, 2002, the Conquest won all three meetings by a combined score of 129-99, a ten point average margin of victory...April 20, 2002: 8,355 fans celebrate the return of arena football to Albany and Game MVP Corey Hill scores three times, in 34-28 win...May 25, 2002...Conquest record a season-high four rushing TD's, two apiece from QB Ryan Vena and FB/LB Matt Vittengl, Albany wins 37-35 ...July 13, 2002...Vena goes 28-for39 for 277 yards and throws six touchdowns, three to Hill, who caught 12 passes for 118 yards.

THE IFs:

If Albany defeats Wilkes-Barre, it would ...
• Give Albany a 4-0 series record with Wilkes-Barre
• Give Albany a 2-1 road record in 2003
• Give Pete Costanza his third victory as head coach of the Conquest.
• Give Albany their second consecutive 3-1start.

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.

Dean Cokinos was promoted from defensive coordinator to Head Coach in March 2003, following the departure of then-head coach Larry Kuharick to the Arena Football League (AFL). He spent several years as a head coach in the German Football League, prior to entering the AFL as an advanced scout for the Nashville Kats in 1998.

LAST SERIES MEETING: Albany 58, Wilkes-Barre 36 (7/13/02) – Wilkes-Barre, PA - The Albany Conquest used their trademark stingy defense to put a damper on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers' end-of-the-season festivities Saturday night en route to a 58-36 victory in front of over 6,000 fans at the First Union Arena. The Conquest, already Northeast Division champs, improve to 12-3 on the season. The Pioneers end their inaugural campaign at 6-10, third in the Northeast standings. Conquest quarterback Ryan Vena was impressive for the visitors, completing 28 of 39 passes for 277 yards and 6 touchdowns. His primary target was Corey Hill, who hauled in 12 catches for 118 yards and three scores. Pioneers QB Bryan Snyder had a less-than-stellar performance in front of the home crowd, completing just 14 of 30 passes for 156 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. Offensive specialist John Knust caught four passes for 34 yards with two scores, and Opio Gary added another touchdown to go with his six receptions. Albany, who plays Mohegan next week in both team's regular season finales, got off to a slow start against the Pioneers. Neither team was able to score until kicker Chris Drennan hit a 26-yard field goal with 5:49 left in the opening quarter. Twenty seconds into the second period, Vena connected with Corey Hill on a 25 yard scoring reception to put the Conquest on top, 10-0. The Pioneers answered exactly three minutes later, when Snyder found Knust in the end zone. After Jimmy Kibble's successful extra point, Albany's lead was cut to 10-7. Several times throughout the second and third quarter, Albany appeared to be running away with the game. But each time the Conquest would score, the Pioneers were able to answer. Going into the fourth, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was down by just eight points, 44-36, but would never seriously threaten the Albany lead from that point on.

SERIES NOTABLES: QB Ryan Vena (ALB) has completed 58-of-89 pass attempts for 633 yards and eleven touchdowns, while rushing for 76 yards and two scores, in three games vs. the Pioneers...OS Corey Hill (ALB) has caught 26 passes for 336 yards and seven touchdowns in three games...FB/LB Matt Vittengl (ALB) has recorded two rushing touchdowns...FB/LB Elly Salamo (WBS) has recorded a rushing touchdown against the Conquest.

THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:

WR/DB PHIL TAYLOR, on playing in Albany over Columbus (GA): "Albany has a great team here. We struggled in Columbus, although I put up big numbers, and I just wanted to bring some of my talent to this team. I did all the posters and stuff like Corey is doing, so that's not what its all about. I want to win."

HEAD COACH PETE COSTANZA, on his team's penalty woes as of late: "We have to do a better job of overcoming adversity. We as coaches have to get our guys more mentally ready to play. If we want to win a championship, we have to do a much better job mentally."

MILESTONES:

• The Corey Hill Watch
af2 Career Numbers
Receptions (265)
Receiving Yards (2,922)
All-Purpose Yards (5,022)*
Scoring (326 points)

• QB Ryan Vena has 305 career rushing yards and 3,571 career passing yards.

DROPBACK: The Conquest lost their first game of 2003, two weeks ago, at the hands of the Mohegan Wolves, 52-45 in Uncasville, CT. Albany OS Corey Hill totaled 275 total yards, including a 51-yard kick return for touchdown and two receiving touchdowns, but was overshadowed by a penalty-plagued game, which saw the visitors tagged with 14 penalties for 99 yards. Mohegan went on a 23-0 run during the 2nd and 3rd quarters to take the lead for good from the defending division champs.

FORWARD MOTION: The Conquest will continue on their early season road session, as they head to Ohio to take on the expansion Cincinnati Swarm on Saturday, May 10th. Following that game, Albany finishes their journey in Rochester against the Brigade, before returning home to the Pepsi Arena for seven out of their last ten. If the Conquest can make it through the "Spring Swing" with just the one setback, they will be in prime position to defend their division crown on their home turf through the second half of the season.

TEAM NOTES/TRENDS:

Minister of Defense: OL/DL Spencer Conley, who is also an ordained minister in Texas, is currently tied for third in af2 with (3.0) sacks. Conley already holds a share the league's all-time record for sacks in a single game (4.5), and is on pace for 19 sacks in 2003. One of the nicest people you would meet in your life off the field, Conley seems to get pressure on the passer no matter what team the Conquest is playing.

Return of "The Thrill": Just when Northeast Division teams may have forgotten about Corey Hill, he puts his name in the team record books again, and this time in a manner he has never accomplished before. In Albany's week four loss to Mohegan, Hill ran back a 51-yard kickoff for a touchdown and caught 12 passes for 131 yards and two scores. Hill is the first Albany Conquest player ever to return a kick for a touchdown.

D-Fense...D-Fense: A staple of the 2002 Albany Conquest was that their defense never lost games for them and always gave their team a chance to win in the end. This season is no different. The Conquest defense is ranked 2nd overall, 2nd against the pass and 4th in scoring defense, allowing just 35.7 points per game. DS John Stuart and OL/DL's Spencer Conley and Lube Stamenich are all in the af2 top ten in their respective defensive statistical categories (Passes defended, tackles for loss, and sacks)

Low Turnover: Many times in football games, the team with the fewest turnovers wins the game. The Conquest can attribute some early season success to the fact that they are currently 4th in af2 in turnover ratio (+ 3). The defense has forced seven turnovers, while the offense has lost three fumbles and only thrown one interception.

PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

Conquest Secondary vs. Pioneers WR's: The Conquest has one of the best DS combinations in the entire af2. John Stuart and Elijah Beamon have each stepped up in the first three games. Beamon was named af2 ADT Defensive Player of the Week in week two, while Stuart shut down Richmond's Jeff Townsley in week three and recorded a game-high four pass breakups against Mohegan a week later. Wilkes-Barre features a very good receiver combo in OS Cosmo Dematteo (19 rec. for 253 and 8 TD) and WR/DB Terrell Johnson (21 rec. for 288 yards, 3 TD). To put these numbers in perspective, DeMatteo has scored more times than Albany's Corey Hill and Phil Taylor combined.

Conquest WR/LB Adriel Linyear: Linyear, a 2nd year Conquest player out of Shaker High School (Latham, NY), has become a very vital part of the success of his team in 2003. After seeing limited action last season, Linyear is currently 3rd on the team in receiving (6-76, 2 TD), 4th in tackles (8.5) and returned a fumble 20 yards for a score against Richmond. Linyear has also played 80% of the teams plays, as Coach Costanza looks for a solid WR/LB to back Linyear up.

Wilkes-Barre QB Chris Boden: Boden has had some success against Albany in the past. In 2002, when he was playing with New Haven, Boden threw twelve touchdown passes in two and a half games against the ‘Quest. Boden is currently ranked 10th in the league in total offense and has 15 TD passes in four games.

KEY DATES IN TEAM/LEAGUE HISTORY:

May 5, 2000 –Charleston K Tom Sellers successfully drop kicks a 25-yard field goal, worth four points. He becomes the first player to do so since St. Louis' Tom Whelihan did so in an AFL game in 1996.

May 4, 2001 – The Quad City Steamwheelers raise their all-time record to an unprecedented 24-0, the longest winning streak in professional football history.

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