Conquest ink offensive specialist Tony Locke

April 8, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release


Albany, N.Y., April 8, 2004 – The Albany Conquest, which open their regular season on the road Saturday evening at 7:30 p.m. against the Cape Fear Wildcats in Fayetteville, N.C., were assigned offensive specialist, Tony Locke, on Thursday evening. The Conquest regular season opener will be televised live on UPN Capital Region.

The Albany Conquest, back-to-back Northeast Division Champions of arenafootball2, will play their home opener against the Manchester Wolves on April 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Pepsi Arena featuring performances by the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

"Tony (Locke) has a lot of speed and is someone who will make an immediate impact as our offensive specialist," said Albany Conquest Head Coach Steve Matthews.

Locke will be a solid target for Conquest QB Gus Ornstein, who will get the starting nod against Cape Fear. Locke played in four games this season for the Columbus Destroyers of Arena Football League. With the Destroyers, he caught five passes for 36 yards. In 2003, Locke played for the former Cincinnati Swarm of af2, catching 22 passes for 298 yards and five touchdowns. He also returned kicks averaging 22.8 per return, with two touchdowns. He had ten tackles, two interceptions, and two passes broken up. Locke was a two-year letter winner at The Ohio State University. He played behind David Boston and was on the Ohio State squad that earned a Big 10 Championship and Sugar Bowl Championship during the 1998-1999 season.

At the same time, the Conquest placed Jeff Higgins (OS) on reassignment. Higgins was a roster member of the Conquest in 2003, but was on long-term injured reserve with a shoulder injury. He played for the Macon Knights in 2001 scoring 17 touchdowns (11 receiving, 4 rushing, 2 kick returns). In 2002, he played in four regular season games and two playoff games for the Cape Fear Wildcats, including a 46-30 second-round af2 playoff victory over the Conquest on August 10, 2002 in Fayetteville, N.C.

"Jeff (Higgins) had a great preseason and is an extremely talented player and great guy altogether," said Coach Matthews. "But, we had to make the decision to go with Tony," he added.

Season tickets to Albany Conquest arenafootball2 home games are available by calling (518) 487-2222 ext. 2.



arenafootball2 Stories from April 8, 2004


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.

OurSports Central