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Albany Conquest Game Notes

May 13, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Albany Conquest (4-1) at Rochester Brigade (1-5)
Date: Saturday, May 17, 2003
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. EST
Site: Blue Cross Arena (10,598)
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 3-1
Last Meeting: 2002 playoffs, (AUG. 3 - ALB won 31-26)
Streaks: ALB – WON 2 ROC – LOST 1
Coaches: Pete Costanza (4-1, 8-13 overall, 1st season in Albany) Mark Saunders (12-27 overall, 3rd season in af2)

THE STAKES: The first-place Albany Conquest are looking to extend their lead in the Northeast Division this week against their most familiar conference foe, the Rochester Brigade. Albany is currently one game ahead of Mohegan (3-2) and three and a half games ahead of Wilkes-Barre (1-5) and Rochester (1-5). The Conquest currently control their own destiny. If they can win this week at Rochester, they will be (5-1) with seven out of the remaining ten games at home.

THE SERIES: CONQUEST LEAD 3-1...(April 13, 2002): Conquest defeat the Brigade, 42-36, behind Ryan Vena's four total TD's (3 pass, 1 rush)...(April 27, 2002): Brigade hand Quest first loss of the season, 34-32, behind Martino Theus' 14 catches for 181 yards and two scores...(June 20, 2002): Conquest become first team to win ten games in 54-42 win at Rochester. OS Corey Hill hauled in 16 passes for 226 yards and five touchdowns...(Aug 3, 2002): First round of af2 playoffs, Conquest win, 31-26, at home. Game MVP Hill finished with 13 catches for 130 yards and two scores.

THE IFs:

If Albany defeats Rochester, it would ...
· Give the Quest a 4-1 series record with the Brigade
· Give the Quest a 4-1 road record in 2003
· Give Pete Costanza his fifth victory as head coach of the Conquest.
· Give the Quest their second consecutive 5-1start.
· Keep the Quest in first place, ahead of Mohegan.

HEAD COACHES: Pete Costanza enters his first season as head coach of the Conquest. In 2002, Pete turned around a 0-16 Columbus (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.

Mark Saunders was introduced as the first and only head coach of the Brigade prior to the inaugural 2001 season. Saunders has accumulated an 11-22 overall record in two years, including one playoff appearance in 2002. Saunders came to the Brigade after spending the prior eight seasons on the North Carolina A&T Aggies coaching staff, winning the Black College National Championship in 1999. Prior to NC A&T, Saunders served as a graduate assistant for one season at the University of Virginia. Saunders played college football at Johnson C. Smith University, where he set a record for longest run from scrimmage (1981 - 98 yards)

LAST SERIES MEETING: August 3, 2002 - 2002 af2 Playoffs - (Albany Won, 31-26): Prior to Saturday night's first round playoff game against the Rochester Brigade, offensive specialist Corey Hill was recognized as the Most Outstanding Player of the Year for the Albany Conquest. Voted by the fans, Hill gracefully received his award at midfield and then proceeded to show why he was worthy of such an honor, as his performance proved the difference.

Hill grabbed the game-clinching touchdown with 1:24 to go in the game to give the Conquest a 31-20 advantage, en-route to an impressive 31-26 victory over Rochester.

Albany will now travel to Fayetteville, NC, to play the Cape Fear Wildcats in second round playoff action Saturday night at 7:30 pm. The game was a true battle from start to finish as both clubs showed their talent throughout the first half and into the early portions of the second. But the Albany Conquest defense, solid as a rock all night, came up with a huge play when defensive back Elijah Beamon batted down a pass intended for Rochester receiver Martino Theus on fourth down. Hill then responded with his heroics and Albany advanced to the second round. Hill took home game Most Valuable Player honors after he scorched the Brigade defense for 13 catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns. Quarterback Ryan Vena was equally impressive completing 23-of-33 for 234 yards and three touchdowns. Jason Mattes, Mike Guazzo and John Stuart all turned in solid performances for the host offensively, as Matt Vittengl, Mike Levy and Lou Vega spearheaded the defense. Vega was named the defensive player of the game while Levy was honored as the game's Ironman.

The anticipated match up of Theus and Hill, two of the top receivers in the league, was as advertised. Theus, managed 11 receptions for 96 yards and two touchdowns, but was held in check most of the night by the stifling Albany defense. Rochester quarterback Matt D'Orazio was excellent in defeat completing 17-of-33 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns, but on this night, it just wasn't enough as his team ends it's season at 7-9. With the win, Albany improves to 14-3, entering Saturday night's showdown at Cape Fear where the Wildcats beat Albany 33-25 on July 7, 2002.

SERIES NOTABLES: QB Ryan Vena (ALB) has completed 67-of-109 pass attempts for 739 yards and 13 touchdowns in four games versus the Brigade, while also rushing for three scores...OS Corey Hill (ALB) has caught 44 passes for 504 yards and ten touchdowns in four games...OS Martino Theus (ROC) has caught 45 passes for 521 yards with eight receiving touchdowns.

THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:

HEAD COACH PETE COSTANZA, on the team effort versus Cincinnati: "We played real well all around. We got after the quarterback, put a lot of pressure on them. We showed them a lot of different looks, changing things up a lot...Most of the time (on special teams) we tackled them inside the 10 or even inside the 5-yard line."

MILESTONES:

· The Corey Hill Watch
af2 Career Numbers
Receptions (286)
Receiving Yards (3,147)
All-Purpose Yards (5,400)
Scoring (344 points)

· QB Ryan Vena has 308 career rushing yards and 4,096 career passing yards.

DROPBACK: The Conquest set a new team record for scoring in their 69-35 victory over the Cincinnati Swarm. The total was one point higher than the record of 68, which was set just last week in Wilkes-Barre. Quarterback Ryan Vena completed 20-of-30 pass attempts for 240 yards and six touchdowns, while picking up his sixth and seventh rushing scores of the season as well. WR/DB's Phil Taylor and Jamie Ware each caught three touchdown passes, while OS Corey Hill led all receivers with nine receptions for 133 yards and one touchdown. DS John Stuart recorded two interceptions, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, four solo tackles (one for loss)and four pass breakups. OL/DL Spencer Conley recorded his fourth sack of the season, while WR/LB Adriel Linyear scooped up his second fumble return for a score of 2003. The Conquest defense played another great game, blocking a field goal for a safety and knocking out Swarm starting QB, Christian Batcheller, midway through the third quarter.

FORWARD MOTION: The Conquest return to the Pepsi Arena for the first time since April 11th next Friday, May 23rd, when they play host to the Birmingham Steeldogs. This marks the beginning of a stretch that will watch Albany play seven out of their final ten games at home. With seven games remaining against divisional teams, the Conquest realistically control their own destiny. The Conquest have been out of first place in their division for only one week since their inception.

TEAM NOTES/TRENDS:

The BIG "5-0": So far this season five teams are averaging over 50 points per game in af2. Albany ranks 2nd with 54.4 points per game, less than a point behind the Quad City Steamwheelers (55.2). The combined record of the five teams is 19-8. Tennessee Valley (5-0) is the only remaining undefeated team and Bossier City (2-4) averages 51.2, but has lost to the Vipers twice.

Playing the Percentages: Coming into last week's game at Cincinnati the Conquest were the only team to allow less than 50% completions by their opposing quarterbacks. Now, Albany ranks 2nd in af2 with a 50.6% completion percentage against their pass defense. Macon moved into first place, now giving up 50.3%. On offense, the Conquest boast the best completion percentage in af2 at 67.8%. Rochester come into this week 104-for-205 (50.7%). Sack Attack: The Conquest lead the entire af2 in sacks with (11) Eleven, while they have allowed just six against them. Conversely, Rochester has managed only (5) Five sacks on defense and have given up a league worst eighteen on their quarterbacks.

Turnover Terror: The Conquest rank #1 in af2 with a (+ 1.20) turnover rate per game. They are (+6) for the season with seven interceptions and fumble recoveries each, while coughing the ball up a total of just eight times.

PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

Conquest Defensive Line vs. Rochester O-Line: The #1 pass rushing team in af2 gets a shot at the league's worst protection this week, statistically speaking of course. Albany has recorded more sacks than any other team in af2 (11) and Rochester has allowed a league-high eighteen sacks of their quarterbacks. OL/DL's Lube Stamenich (3.5) and Spencer Conley (4.0) both rank in the af2 top ten in sacks and Tackles for Loss.

Rochester WR/LB Derek Baker: Mr. Brigade, Derek Baker. Baker has been the most consistent performer in Rochester Brigade team history since coming to the team during their inaugural season in 2001. After playing mainly OS during the first season, Baker has made the transition to WR.LB this season and hasn't lost a step. Baker currently ranks 7th in af2 in scoring (82 points), 4th in All-Purpose Yards (1,054) and T-5th in Interceptions (3). Baker ranks 2nd on the Brigade in tackles and has returned one kickoff for a touchdown in 2003.

Conquest DS's vs. Rochester OS Martino Theus: each week it seems like one of af2's most potent receivers is lining up against the Conquest. Richmond's Jeff Townsley, Cincinnati's James Scott, Wilkes-Barre's Cosmo DeMatteo, they all are regarded as top scoring threats in the league (Townsley retired after the second game vs. Albany). DS's John Stuart and Elijah Beamon are a major reason why the Conquest are 4-1 and why their defense is ranked 9th in af2 against the pass and 4th in points allowed 38.2 per game). The two first-year starters have combined for four interceptions, 19 breakups and 35 solo tackles. This week, Theus brings his 26 receptions for 344 yards and four touchdowns into the game. Last season, Theus finished behind Corey Hill with 160 receptions, as Hill broke the all-time pro football mark with 161. Needless to say, Theus will be ready for this game.

KEY DATES IN TEAM/LEAGUE HISTORY:

May 16, 2000 – Tennessee Valley OL/Dl Curtis Jeter signs with Saskatchewan Roughriders, becoming the first af2 player ever to sign with CFL.

May 12, 2001 – Quad City loses its first ever game, 49-47 to Tulsa.

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