Conquest gear up for Saturday's home game
April 20, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release
Albany, N.Y., April 20, 2005 â The Albany Conquest will play East Division rival, Manchester Wolves, in a home game at Pepsi Arena on Saturday evening (April 23) at 7:30 p.m. The Upstate GMC pre-game tailgate party on Pearl Street will begin at 5:00 p.m. The first 1,000 kids 12 and under will receive a foam Conquest sword upon entrance into the Pepsi Arena. For more information or to order tickets call the Albany Conquest offices at (518) 487-2222 or visit www.albanyconquest.com.
The Albany Conquest (0-2) will play their third East Division game of this young season Saturday when they face the Manchester Wolves (1-1). After two tough division losses to Green Bay and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, the Conquest will be eager to earn their first win. Manchester won a division contest by topping Green Bay, 59-41, last weekend. The East Division is arguably the strongest division in arenafootball2 and its teams currently boast a combined 7-4 record. East Division teams are 4-1 in games played outside of the division.
The Albany Conquest and Manchester Wolves will be meeting for the tenth time in their storied rivalry. The Conquest leads the all-time series 6-3, and won the last meeting between the two teams, 54-47, on July 23 at Pepsi Arena on WR/DB Cy Butler's nine-yard TD run with 30-seconds remaining in the game. Manchester won the two meetings prior, 51-34 in Manchester, N.H. on April 30 and 47-34 at Pepsi Arena on April 16, both during the 2004 season.
Team Notes:
The dawning of D: Albany Conquest QB D. Bryant saw his first Arena Football action last season at home against the Manchester Wolves when he entered the game in the third quarter in relief of Gus Ornstein. In the game, which was the Conquest's second of the season, Bryant led Albany on three scoring drives, which included TD passes of 31, 36, and 37-yards. Bryant, who latter became the starter in Albany's fifth game of the 2004 season, had one of his finest games in Albany's 2004 home finale, a 54-47 win over Manchester at Pepsi Arena. He was 19-of-35 passing for 264 yards with six TD passes.
Talbert's Time to Shine: After finding his way to Albany during training camp in a trade with Macon and making his way on the roster at the WR/LB position, Manwell Talbert has quickly become the prime target for Albany and has emerged as the team's offensive specialist. He again led the team in receiving last week catching eight passes for 77 yards and scored one TD. Talbert is among league leaders three offensive categories. He is tied for fifth in scoring TD (6), tied for fourth in receptions (18) and receiving yards (236).
Return specialists: The Albany Conquest has been able to give their offense good field position with solid returns this season. In fact, Albany ranks second in the league in kickoff return average (23.5 yards) and fourth in missed field goal return average (18.0 yards).
The Ironman Way: Albany WR/LB Jeff Higgins, a five-year veteran of the league and in his second season with the Conquest, earned US Army Ironman of the Game in the team's loss to Wilkes-Barre last week. Higgins helped the Albany Conquest jump out to an early 7-0 advantage when he forced a Wilkes-Barre fumble on the opening kickoff, which was recovered by teammate Donte Wells in the endzone for a touchdown. In the second quarter, he returned a kickoff 54-yards for a TD giving Albany a 20-14 lead. Higgins had five kickoff returns for 153 yards. He also led the Conquest with 7.5 tackles and caught five passes for 30-yards.
Familiar Faces: For the second week in a row, Albany Conquest OL/DL David Dean will be going head-to-head against another East Stroudsburg alum. Dean will meet up with Manchester's Greg Munch in the trenches on Saturday. Munch is a 310-pound lineman from East Stroudsburg.
Match-ups to Watch:
Wolves Offense: For the third week in a row, the Albany Conquest defense will be facing one of the league's top quarterbacks. Manchester QB Jake Eaton is ranked in the top-six in four offensive categories. He is ranked fifth in both total offense (577 yards) and all-purpose yards per game (288), while being ranked fourth in completion percentage (72.0) and sixth in pass rating (127.2)
Conquest Defense: The Albany Conquest defense has shown that they can match up with teams this season. Albany has been able to force teams to put the ball on the ground this season and have recovered a league-high three fumbles. Two of those fumbles have occurred on opponents' opening possessions. Albany will need to improve upon their one sack this season and play better in pass coverage. The Conquest has given up 14 passing touchdowns this season.
Conquest Offense: The Albany Conquest offense is quite balanced and has managed to move the ball well. While rushing the football is rare in Arena Football it is important and Albany ranks is a tie for fourth in rushing offense (21-yards per game). Albany has distributed the ball well through the air and found their prime target in OS Manwell Talbert (18 catches, 236 yards, 6 TD). Albany will, however, need to limit their turnovers when threatening to score. The Conquest has thrown three interceptions in opponents' endzones.
Wolves Defense: The Manchester Wolves have a ball hawk in their secondary in DS Allistair Sebastian, who has a league-high, three interceptions along with a team-high, 13.5 tackles.
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