Albany Finishes Perfect Season; Rolls Washington 98-12

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AF1 Albany Firebirds

Albany Finishes Perfect Season; Rolls Washington 98-12

June 14, 2025 - Arena Football One (AF1)
Albany Firebirds News Release


We saw the end of the regular season with all teams in action for Week 14. While the Albany Firebirds had already locked up the number-one seed in the league, they still had a little something to play for. Sitting at a perfect 9-0 record, the Firebirds were looking to cap off the perfect regular season. To do so, they would welcome the Washington Wolfpack to MVP Arena in Albany. Although their 2-9 record might not be one to write home about, the team had looked far better than their record suggests. They were not going to sit by and let the Firebirds waltz their way to glory in this one.

Despite the grit and tenacity of Washington, it would ultimately be Albany's night. The fire power of the number-one seeded Firebirds was just too much as they cruised to a 98 to 12 victory. Their offense was plenty active and their defense chipped in as well. Let's take a look at how things shook out.

Early and Often

It didn't take long for this Firebirds team to get things started. As they have all season, their offense came out of the gate strong and put up another score on the opening drive. With starting quarterback Sam Castronova still in the game early on, he marched right down the field for the first six of the game. That first score would come on a strike to Duane Brown, who would go on to be a popular name to hear from in this one.

Brown was undoubtedly the most popular target early on. He saw four early targets before he ceded reps to some of the other players on the team. Those four targets bore fruit though, with each of them translating to a catch and three of the four turning into scores for the hometown squad. His final line would go down with 89 total yards, which comes out to 22.3 yards per catch.

It wasn't just Brown who was busy early on. The Firebirds' quarterback Sam Castronova looked dedicated to putting up a full game's worth of stats before being pulled for his backup. Playing just half of the game, he completed six of eight passes for 122 yards. Half of those completions he managed to throw for touchdowns - adding one on the ground for a total of four scores. While he did throw one interception, it was a fine tune up for the Arena Bowl playoffs.

Another side of things that we saw early and often was the prowess of the Albany defensive line. The big boys from Albany were constantly in the backfield on Saturday night, nabbing five sack and plenty of additional pressure on the quarterback. The leader of that crew was Marquise Lawson-Greenwood who had a pair by himself along with three teammates who all got one. Trevon Shorts was also not shy on that side of things. He put together nine solo tackles on the night and was all over the Wolfpack backs.

Quarterback Quandary

Washington has had issues all year with stability at the quarterback position. Despite playing just 11 games coming into this game, they managed to play seven different quarterbacks. That trend continued on Saturday with Kobe Gaston drawing the start for the Wolfpack. Playing from behind all night meant that Gaston would have to throw for volume and play a bit on the risky side.

That fact didn't work out all that well for him. He would complete just a touch over the 33 passes that he attempted in the game - having 13 of them reeled in by his wide outs. That was good for 103 yards and a touchdown. He would also add one on the ground in this one, accounting for all of the offense that Washington would see.

Pick Party

With a new quarterback at the helm, it perhaps isn't all that surprising that we saw a couple of turnovers from that part of the lineup. Gaston needed to take some chances down the field and a couple of them would cost him. In back-to-back possessions he was picked off by Mike Lee. Both of those picks went to the house - giving Lee just as much scoring as the entire Wolfpack offense in the game. Gaston also fumbled the ball twice, one of which was recovered for a touchdown as well.

Albany wasn't flawless on that side of things either. Before exiting the game Sam Castronova would throw a pick as one of his two incomplete passes on the day.

Your Time to Shine

After the score got out of hand, the Firebirds were able to give the starters a bit of a rest. As a result, we would see some less familar faced on the field. Amongst those faces was quarterback Robert McCoy Jr, who saw roughly half of the action in Saturday's contest. When all was said and done, he'd lead the team in completions, attempts and touchdowns in this one. The final line read 7-for-9 for 98 yards and four touchdowns. He also took care of the ball without a single turnover in his time on the field.

Not only did we see guys who haven't seen much of the field, but we also saw people in new roles. Offensive lineman Colby Byrd got in on the scoring for the first time this year. The 300lbs Norfolk State graduate caught a pass for a two-yard touchdown and got to have the big man celebration.

The regular season wraps with Week 14 as both teams see very different fates moving forward. After their perfect 10-0 regular season, the Firebirds will look to put an exclamation point on things with an Arena Bowl victory. Their next step in that quest will be the semifinals. They'll host the #4 seed at MVP Arena for that contest while they look to make it two straight Arena Bowl appearances. The Wolfpack will end their season here with a 2-10 mark. All AF1 games can be caught on EVERGREENNOW each week.



Arena Football One Stories from June 14, 2025


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.

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