Conquest kickoff 2005 home opener Friday at Pepsi Arena
April 13, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release
Albany, N.Y., April 13, 2005 â The Albany Conquest will play their home opener against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers in an East Division showdown on Friday evening (April 15) at 7:30 p.m. at Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y. The Upstate GMC pre-game block party on Pearl Street will begin at 5 p.m. in front of Pepsi Arena and will include a concert by "Fear of Flying". For ticket information, call the Albany Conquest offices at (518) 487-2222.
The Conquest (0-1) will be looking to earn their first victory in this young season and win Head Coach Richard Davis his 40th all-time arenafootball2 victory. The Pioneers (2-0) are looking to stay undefeated and become the first af2 team to reach three victories. Wilkes-Barre won the Northeast division crown in 2004 posting a 13-3 regular season record before falling in the first round of the ArenaCup playoffs.
Albany leads the all-time series 6-3 over Wilkes-Barre. The Pioneers won the season series last year 2-1, with the Pioneers winning the most recent contest 55-31 in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. on July 17. In the other two meetings last season, Albany earned a 52-45 win on May 8 and Wilkes-Barre topped Albany, 69-43 on June 18, both at Pepsi Arena.
Game Notes:
D. to Talbert 1-2-3-4-5: D. Bryant found a new friend last week in WR/LB Manwell Talbert, connecting with him on five TD receptions in Albany's 49-41 loss at Green Bay. Talbert's five TD receptions tied an Albany Conquest single-game record. Talbert is among league leaders in three offensive categories. He is tied for third in receiving TD (5), tied for ninth in receptions (10), and seventh in receiving yards (159), all of this in just one game, while many af2 team have played two games.
Accurate D.: Albany Conquest quarterback D. Bryant has found his way to the top of league standards in passing efficiency after one game. He ranks in a tie for eight in completion percentage (66.7) and is seventh in passer rating (105.7). In 2004, D. had a 55.7% completion percentage on the season. D. Bryant also ranks seventh in the league this season in total offense (277 yards).
Dumas and Arah - Albany's one-two punch: Albany FB/LB Jameel Dumas had a stellar opening game as a rookie last week, leading the Conquest with three tackles, including two for a loss, a pass broken up, and a fumble recovery. Couple that with the play on another rookie, FB/LB Oby Arah, who had two tackles, including one sack last Friday, and Albany has quite a one-two punch on defense.
Familiar Faces: There will be some college teammates going head-to-head on Friday evening at Pepsi Arena. East Stroudsburg alums David Dean (Albany OL/DL) and Jim Sodano (Wilkes-Barre OL/DL), Colgate alums Maurice Bowers (Albany OL/DL) and Ameer Riley (Wilkes-Barre WR/DB), as well as three Temple alums; Pete McBride (Albany DS), Jose Portillo (Albany OL/DL), and Taso Apostolidis (Wilkes-Barre FB/LB).
PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
Pioneer Offense: Wilkes-Barre has a fortunate problem this season at the quarterback position â they have two great ones, but which one will start? Well they do know who the starter is. It is Kyle Rowley (633 yards passing, 13 TD in two games). The Brown alum is off to a speedy start in his first season in Wilkes-Barre. He is currently leading the No. 1 ranked scoring offense in af2 (61.5/g). If Rowley should go down, the Pioneers will be able to turn to their starting QB from last season, Tim Hicks, who played in all 16 games in 2004, leading Wilkes-Barre to a division crown and a 13-4 overall record.
Albany defense: The Albany Conquest defense has been upgraded from last year and now this young squad, full of Division I talent, will look to find a way to grind Wilkes-Barre's potent offense to a stop. Albany has some top-notch talent in defensive specialists' Travis Coleman, Pete McBride and Drakus Langford. McBride and Langford are both rookies and played well in their first af2 games last week. McBride had a pass defended that helped Albany get the ball back late in the game with a chance to win. Langford had three tackles and one pass defended. The Albany line and backer play will be crucial if Albany is going to disrupt the passing schemes of Wilkes-Barre. Last week, Oby Arah was able to find routes to the passer recording two tackles and a sack.
Conquest offense: The Albany Conquest offense saw the emergence of WR/LB Manwell Talbert last week in the loss at Green Bay. Talbert caught 10 passes for 159 yards with five TD receptions. Albany outscored Green Bay 22-21 in the second half and Albany QB D. Bryant distributed the ball well connecting with six different receivers, including two passes for 19 yards to FB/LB Jose Harris, one of Albany's Syracuse University products. Albany also got the ball to a couple familiar faces last week in WR/DB Cy Butler (3 catches for 16 yards) and WR/LB Jeff Higgins (2 catches for 17 yards).
Blizzard Defense: Albany must be aware of WR/DB Ameer Riley, who already has one interception this season as well as DS Ronnie Kaymore who is second in af2 in tackles (16). In addition, WR/LB Rocco Forgione has had a history of success against the Conquest, including the last time these two teams met when he had two tackles, including one for a loss, an interception, and a pass defended.
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