Conquest face another division battle
April 20, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release
Albany, N.Y. - The Albany Conquest dropped a 55-48 overtime decision to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers at Pepsi Arena on Friday night. Albany is tied for second in the East Division and will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak versus Manchester. The Wolves are coming off a 39-34 road victory over the Louisville Fire. Saturday is the first of three regular season meetings between the East Division rivals and the 13th all-time meeting with each club recording six victories thus far.
SERIES NOTABLES: Former Conquest QB D. Bryant made his arena football debut against the Wolves in a 7-for-12, 126-yard relief appearance on April 16, 2004 at Pepsi Arena. Manchester established an af2 record by picking up 194 penalty yards in a 51-34 win on April 30th. OS Tony Locke picked up 135 yards kick return yards in that game to give him a single season record 1,302.
VENA LEADS THE WAY: QB Ryan Vena used his arm as opposed to his legs in the overtime loss to Wilkes-Barre. He threw for a season-high 364 yards, bringing his total to a league-leading 883 yards through three games. The Colgate alumnus tops the af2 with 908 yards of total offense, stands second with 302.7 total yards/game and places third with 65 completions.
BREWING UP SOME OFFENSE: OS Chris Brewer continues to improve through the first two weeks of his arenafootball2 career. He caught five passes for 110 yards with 2 TDs and ranks third on the team with 209 receiving yards. His 3 receiving TDs are second on the roster along with his 16.1 yards per catch average. Brewer recently worked out for the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers in preparation for the NFL Draft.
SHAWN STILL SHINING: WR/DB Shawn Murray kept his streak of interceptions alive on Friday. He picked off his league-high fourth pass to go along with 4.5 tackles against the Pioneers. The New Jersey native is now tied for the team lead with 11.5 (9UA, 5A) tackles through the season's first three contests.
FAMILIAR FACES: Wolves QB D. Bryant spent the last two seasons with the Conquest and went 24-for-40 with five TDs in the season-opening loss to Green Bay. DS Rob Green was recently traded from Manchester to Albany, where he played during the 2004 season. OL/DL Lou Vega played for the Wolves during that same year, but wound up the campaign with the Conquest.
PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
Manchester Offense: QB Kyle Rowley completed 22-of-37 passes for four TDs in the victory over Louisville after a slow start in Week One. The rushing game should be difficult to stop with veterans Demetrius Forney and Mark Kimener, who each rushed for a TD in the win versus the Fire. WR/DB David Bailey led the receivers with 12 catches, while WR/DB Steve Gonzalez racked up 122 yards of total offense.
Conquest Defense: WR/DB DeOnte Taylor broke out with a great-two way performance against Wilkes-Barre. He led the defense with 6.5 (6UA, 1A) tackles, pushing him to fourth on the squad with 10.5 tackles on the season. FB/LB Melvin Parris leads the team with 11.5 tackles, including two sacks in three games. WR/DB Pete McBride continues to be Mr. Consistent with 4.5 tackles on Friday, raising his total to 11 tackles on the season.
Conquest Offense: QB Ryan Vena had an up-and-down performance against Wilkes-Barre with a season-best 364 passing yards but he also threw three interceptions. WR/LB Manwell Talbert re-established his game with eight catches for 89 yards, raising his team-leading totals to 19 receptions and 236 receiving yards. WR/DB DeOnte Taylor caught four passes for 78 yards, while WR/DB Antwun Williams, OL/DL Karleton Thomas and WR/LB Jim Jones each caught TD passes.
Wolves Defense: DS William Haith posted five tackles to up his team-high total to 10.5 through two games this season. "Roc" set an af2 record for tackles (121.5) last season and has broken up four passes along with two forced fumbles this year. DS Allistair Sebastien has broken up a team-high seven passes to go with a pair of INTs in the first two games of the season. The group is also strong up the middle with Kimener and Forney leading the way.
DROPBACK: Albany dropped its home opener 55-48 in overtime to Wilkes-Barre in front of 6,319 last Friday night to snap a two-game winning streak.
FORWARD MOTION: The Albany Conquest return to Pepsi Arena on Saturday, April 29, 2006 when they host the Quad City Steamwheelers in a 7:00pm kick off at U.S. Army Field. It will be U.S. Army rally towel night where lucky fans will win tickets to see the Boston Red Sox take on the New York Yankees at the stadium.
The Albany Conquest are in their fifth anniversary arenafootball2 season with full
and partial season 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 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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