Albany Visits Washington For First Match-Up With Spokane
June 21, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release
Albany, N.Y. - The Albany Conquest dropped an 86-66 decision to the Louisville Fire at Pepsi Arena's U.S. Army Field on Saturday night. Albany (5-6) is tied for fourth place in the East Division and tied with Manchester for seventh in the American Conference. The Spokane Shock are coming off a 79-69 loss to the Louisville Fire on the road back on June 10, 2006. Spokane (8-2) leads the West Division and is tied with Florida for the best record in the af2.
THE SERIES: Saturday night is the first all-time meeting between Albany and Spokane. This will be the Conquests' only game against a West Division opponent this season, while the Shock are playing their third game against an East Division opponent during their inaugural season (Louisville, Manchester & Quad City).
VENA'S LEGS SET TEAM RECORD: QB Ryan Vena established a new franchise record by rushing for his 18th TD of the season on Saturday. He has four more rushing TDs than his closest competitor and ranks second in the af2 with 54 rushing attempts. Vena has been using his arm as well, averaging a league-high 300.5 passing yards per game.
ANOTHER 100 FOR ANTHONY: WR/DB Thomas Anthony has recorded at least 100 receiving yards in three straight games. He averages an af2-high 131.3 yards per game and is in the league's top ten in receptions/game (7.67/10th) & yards per catch (17.1/6th). The 23-year-old stands third on the Conquest with 23 receptions, 394 receiving yards and 10 TDs in just three games.
JONES DOES IT ALL: WR/LB Jim Jones accounted for four of the Conquests' nine TDs against the Fire. He ran for two TD scores and added another pair through the air, raising his total to a team-high 13 receiving TDs on the season. The only Albany receiver to play in all 11 games this season is also one of two players on the circuit with over 1,000 kick return yards.
LACEY MAKES DEBUT: DS Chonn Lacey tied for the team lead with five solo tackles in his af2 debut last weekend. Temple University's all-time fourth leading tackler has spent time with Baltimore, New Orleans and Seattle of the National Football League, and was a member of NFL Europe's 2004 World Bowl-winning Amsterdam Admirals.
PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
Spokane Offense:
QB Alex Niest threw for 324 yards with eight TDs against Louisville back on June 10th. He ranks ninth in the af2 with 245.7 yards per game and a 62.1 completion rate. WR/DB Antwone Savage tops Spokane with 50 receptions, 640 yards and 14 receiving TDs in his second af2 season. WR/DB Charles Frederick had 14 receptions for 192 yards with five TDs against the Fire and is second on the club with 10 TDs.
Conquest Defense:
FB/LB Melvin Parris tied for tops on the Conquest with five solo tackles against Louisville. He ranks fifth on the Albany roster with 21 solo tackles and second with two sacks. OL/DL Jamarr Ward had three solo tackles and added his team-high fourth sack against the Fire on Saturday night. DLS Agean Robinson had a blocked kick and one QBH, giving him four QBHs in his first three af2 games since joining the club.
Conquest Offense:
QB Ryan Vena threw for 341 yards on Saturday, upping his league-leading total to 3,306 passing yards during the 2006 season. WR/DB Thomas Anthony is the lead option, while OS Bakari Brown topped Albany with seven receptions last week. He now has 20 receptions for 220 yards in three games. OL/DL Karleton Thomas recorded his second TD of the season on Saturday as one of seven different receivers to catch a pass on the night.
Shock Defense:
DS Johnny Lamar led Spokane with 5.0 (4UA, 2A) tackles and is the team leader with 12 pass breakups. He leads the team with 50.5 (42UA, 17A) tackles, while WR/DB Rob Keefe, who was in on eight tackles (2UA, 6A) against Louisville, leads the Shock with 53 tackles and is second in the af2 with seven INTs. OL/DL Neil Purvis leads the line with three sacks this season.
FORWARD MOTION: The Albany Conquest return home to square off against the Macon Knights on Saturday, July 8, 2006 in a 7:00 pm kick-off.
The Albany Conquest are in their fifth anniversary arenafootball2 season with four-game flex ticket packages currently on sale. Individual game tickets for the 2006 campaign are also on sale now by calling the Albany Conquest offices at (518) 487-2244 or by visiting www.albanyconquest.com for more information.
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