Conquest Hits Jackpot Against Mohegan
July 27, 2002 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release
ALBANY, NY â The Albany Conquest concluded their inaugural regular season in impressive fashion tonight defeating the Mohegan Wolves 57-27 in front of 6,953 at Pepsi Arena. With the victory the Conquest finished the regular season tied for an American Conference best 13-3 record. Conquest offensive specialist Corey Hill finished the night with a season high 18 receptions for 183 yards and five touchdowns. Hill's 18 receptions gives him a total of 161 for the season, breaking the all-time reception record of 160 held by Derrell Mitchell, who accomplished the feat for the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL in 1998. The Conquest scored early and often as they took a 29-0 lead when back-up QB John Kruger fell on a fumbled kick-return with 7:38 left in the 2nd quarter. Starting Quarterback Ryan Vena hooked up with three different receivers during that span including a six-yard strike to Hill and a 21-yard score to Ironman of the Game Mike Guazzo. Mohegan put their first points on the scoreboard at the 4:31 mark of the 2nd quarter when quarterback Kevin Carty hit Greg Gildea on a 29-yard TD strike . Mohegan answered on their next possession when Carty rumbled in from 1-yard out, cutting the Conquest's lead to 29-13. Hill and Vena connected one more time in the 2nd quarter on a 32-yard strike with no time remaining in the half, giving the Conquest a 35-13 halftime lead. The 2nd half was much of the same as the Conquest scored 16 unanswered points to open the half taking a 50-13 lead, their largest lead of the night. Krueger and Hill hooked-up twice during that stretch for touchdowns, while Shcree Lewis recorded a safety, the Conquest's second of the night. Mohegan scored 14 unanswered, cutting the lead to 50-27 before Hill caught the record-setting pass for a 14-yard score with 13 seconds remaining in the game. Both Conquest quarterback were effective with Vena completing 15-of-23 passes for 165 yards and four touchdowns while Krueger connected on 17-of-27 passes for 169 yards and three touchdowns. The Conquest's defense was also extraordinary, led by defensive specialist Branson Tinson and Lineman Alex Houston. Tinson had a team high 5 ½ tackles, two interceptions, three pass deflections and a forced fumble. Meanwhile, Houston recorded four tackles including one for a loss, a sack (his 11th of the season), three QB hurries and a forced fumble. Both players were honored with the ADT Defensive Player of the Game award. Mohegan's Brandon Burnside finished the game with a team high five receptions for 51 yards while his twin brother Brent had three catches for 18 yards and a score. Carty completed 18-of-31 for 184 yards and two touchdowns. The Conquest will play host to the Rochester Brigade this Saturday, August 3rd at 7:30 pm in first round playoff action. The Conquest has defeated the Brigade twice this season though the Brigade did hand Albany its only Northeast Division loss this season. Tickets for that game are on-sale now and can be purchased at the Pepsi Arena Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, online at www.ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster charge-by-phone at (518) 4776-1000. Tickets for the first round game are priced as low as $7.00. Playoff packages for all four playoff games are also available. Playoff packages start as low as $38. The package includes three playoff games and the af2 Championship Game, ArenaCup. If the Conquest does not host any additional rounds, a full refund will be accessed or rolled over to an account for the 2003 season. Playoff packages are only available through the Albany Conquest front office. To order your playoff packages today please call (518) 487-2246.
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