Brigade Falls Short in Playoff

August 4, 2002 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Rochester Brigade News Release

The game didn't see much offense with the first quarter ending scoreless. Both teams came up empty on both offensive possessions in the quarter, as the defense played strong on both sides. The Brigade prevented the Conquest from scoring deep inside Brigade territory early to set the tone and the Conquest denied the Brigade any sort of attack.

In the second quarter the Brigade took the early lead as Kicker Charles Eger netted a 21-yard field goal, but the Conquest returned the favor as FB/LB Matt Vittengl ran in a 20 yard score to put the Conquest on top 7 to 3. QB Matt D'Orazio found an open WR/DB Derek Baker for a 31 yard strike to make the score 10-7, but the Conquest scored the next ten points to recapture the lead 17 to 10 lead into halftime. Among those scoring for the Conquest were Kicker Chris Drennan, who landed a 23-yard field goal, and OS Corey Hill with 4-yard touchdown.

The Conquest started the second half right where they left off, as QB Ryan Vena targeted WR/DB Jason Mattes for an 18-yard strike to increase the margin 24 to 10. The Brigade fought back and scored on their next two possessions to make it a 24 to 20 game; QB Matt D'Orazio connected with OS Martino Theus from seven yards and Eger connected on a 26-yard field goal.

The defense came up huge for the Brigade in the fourth quarter as DS Mark Herron intercepted Vena in the end zone to give the Brigade offense a chance to take the lead, but the attempt ended fruitless after turning the ball over on downs. On the ensuing series, the Conquest went for broke as the Brigade defense had them with their backs to the wall on fourth down and four yards to go, but the Conquest answered with a first down to Hill. The next play Hill caught his second touchdown of the game, from 21 yards, to make it 31 to 20 with 1:24 to play. The Brigade offense responded with Theus catching his second touchdown of the night from 15 yards out; nevertheless, the team's attempt at a two-point conversion came up short. With the clock-nearing zero and the score standing at 31 to 26, the Brigade attempted an onside kick. The ball was inches from being recovered by the Brigade, but a fan reached over and grabbed the ball to seal the victory for the Conquest.

On the night, Theus led the Brigade with eleven catches for 96 yards and two scores. Baker caught three balls for 57 yards with one score, registered four kick returns for 98 yards and two tackles with two pass breakups. FB/LB Anthony Cleary had a stellar game, forcing a fumble and registering two sacks and a tackle.

Next week the Conquest will travel to North Carolina and face the Cape Fear Wildcats in the quarterfinals of Arena Cup 2002.

The Rochester Brigade wants to thank their fans for all of the support they've provided throughout the year and looks forward to an action packed season in 2003.

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arenafootball2 Stories from August 4, 2002

• Brigade Falls Short in Playoff - Rochester Brigade

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