Albany Firebirds Outlast Salina Liberty 64-58 in Overtime Thriller

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AF1 Albany Firebirds

Albany Firebirds Outlast Salina Liberty 64-58 in Overtime Thriller

May 4, 2025 - Arena Football One (AF1)
Albany Firebirds News Release


The Albany Firebirds and Salina Liberty put on an epic showdown in what will be argued as the best AF1 game of the season! The game also went to AF1's first overtime of the season, coming down to a sudden-death extended period!

EPIC First Half OF OFFENSE

The Albany Firebirds came into the game undefeated. However, the Salina Liberty showed they wouldn't let that intimidate them. Coming into the game on a two-game win streak, the Liberty kept up with the Firebirds' offense.

The Firebirds started the showdown with the first touchdown. However, after the Liberty returned the ball all the way to their five-yard line, they answered with their own touchdown. This set the pace for the first quarter. Every time the Firebirds put up a score, the Liberty answered.

At the end of the first quarter, a missed extra point was the only thing separating the two teams, with the Firebirds leading 21-20. The second quarter was more of the same, with both teams performing very well on offense and giving up yards on defense.

In fact, in the second quarter, a deuce was the only thing that separated the two teams. The Firebirds had added 23 more points, and the Liberty had added 21. The score heading into halftime was 44-41. It was a similar halftime score to the last time these two teams faced each other last year, which was 44-42 at halftime.

Competitive Second Half

Albany has been known to come out of halftime and make defensive adjustments and play as a second-half team. While the defense did stiffen up, the Salina Liberty defense also slowed Albany's attack. It became clear Liberty wanted to control the clock and keep Castranova and Co. off the field for as much as possible.

Albany's biggest lead all game was just ten points right before halftime. Liberty had closed that to three. They scored a field goal on the first drive of the third quarter to tie the game 44-44. It was their only score in the third quarter. It was a reflection of the game as the Firebirds only scored seven points in the third. The teams headed into the fourth quarter with Albany leading 51-44.

The fourth quarter was intense as the Salina Liberty tied the game 51-51. Albany scored again, going up 58-51. However, the Liberty answered again, tying the game 58-58. Salina had the ball one last time within 13 yards of scoring a touchdown with just ten seconds left. However, a penalty wiped out their game-winning touchdown. Since it was an offensive penalty, there was no additional play, and the game went into overtime.

Salina won the coin toss and elected to receive the ball first in overtime. Firebirds' fans who were helping for a deuce didn't get one, but they did stop Salina on the return, and had them backed up deep by their endzone.

The Liberty went three-and-out and then failed to convert the 4th and 2. The Firebirds took over, and Sam Castranova delivered the game-winning touchdown pass to Isaiah Scott to seal their victory. This game was the most we've seen the Firebirds tested to date this year.

Huge Offensive Performances And Three-Hundred-Yard Passers

This game was filled with huge performances by both offenses. Sam Castranova finished with 21 completions on 30 attempts, 330 yards, and nine touchdown passes. Rakeem Cato had 28 completions on 40 attempts, 308 yards, and seven touchdown passes. Cato added a rushing touchdown as well. We hadn't seen a three-hundred-yard passer this year, and this game had two of them.

The receivers for these quarterbacks had huge games as well. For Albany, Duane Brown had nine catches for 132 yards and five touchdown receptions. Isaiah Scott added seven catches for 156 yards and four touchdowns. For Salina, Malik Honeycutt finished with 11 catches for 157 yards and five touchdowns.

Fans will be kicking themselves if they missed this one. The good news is, you can rewatch this epic game on Evergreen Now TV! The Firebirds will take on Nashville in Albany next week while Salina is set up for an extended rest.

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