Conquest ready for revenge
June 15, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release
Albany, N.Y. - The Albany Conquest recorded a 73-70 victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers at Pepsi Arena's U.S. Army Field on Saturday. Albany (5-5) is locked in a three-way tie for second place in the East Division with Louisville and Green Bay. The Fire are coming off a 79-69 home win last Saturday night over the Spokane Shock. Louisville (5-5) is part of the three-way tie in the East Division and Saturday's match-up is the second and final meeting during the 2006 season.
THE SERIES: Saturday is the sixth all-time meeting between Albany and Louisville, with the Fire holding a 4-1 advantage. Louisville has won three straight in the series, including a 51-38 victory at Freedom Hall earlier this season on May 20, 2006. The Conquests' lone win in the all-time series came in a 60-56 road victory on May 15, 2004.
VENA USES HIS LOWER HALF: QB Ryan Vena eclipsed the 500-rushing yard mark in his af2 career with 19 yards against the Pioneers. Vena had a 14-yard TD run, which raised his total to a league-high 16 rushing TDs and now is just one shy of matching the single-season record he established in 2003. The 28-year-old has 47-career af2 TDs in 41 match-ups dating back to 2002.
ANTHONY SETS TEAM RECORD: WR/DB Thomas Anthony has had a memorable first two weeks with the Conquest. He set an Albany franchise record with six receiving TDs in the victory over Wilkes-Barre, breaking a record shared by Corey Hill, Tony Locke, Jeremiah Pope & Manwell Talbert. He caught 10 passes for a team/season-high 172 yards and has nine TD receptions in two games since joining the club.
JONES RETURNS TO FORM: WR/LB Jim Jones had one of the best return games in franchise history on Saturday. His 186 kick return yards were just four short of Tony Locke's franchise record and his total of 965 return yards rank second in the af2. Jones needs just 397 return yards in the season's final six games to pass Tony Locke's single-season franchise record.
VINNY C. GETS HIS KICKS: K Vinny Cirrincione drilled the first game-winning field goal of his af2 career, nailing a 16-yarder as time expired against the Pioneers. He is tied for third with six field goals, ranks third in PAT percentage (89.%) and has hit 41 consecutive kicks over the last five games.
PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:
Louisville Offense:
QB Brett Dietz matched a season-high with eight TDs and now ranks second in the af2 with 59 TDs. He leads the league with a 71.3 completion percentage and stands second with a 126.2 passer rating. OS Rob Mager leads the af2 with 1,242 receiving yards and ranks second in both TDs (32), and receptions (95). WR/LB Lance Taylor had 10 catches for 106 yards with three TDs and his af2-leading third kick return for a touchdown against the Shock.
Conquest Defense:
DS Pete McBride led the Conquest with 6.5 tackles in the victory against Wilkes-Barre. He leads the club with five pass breakups and is second with 32.0 (26UA. 12A) tackles this season. DS Brandon Tinson followed closely with 5.5 tackles against the Pioneers and tops the Conquest with 37.5 (32UA, 11A) tackles in eight games. DLS Agean Robinson added two QBHs and the fumble recovery that led to the winning field goal.
Conquest Offense:
QB Ryan Vena threw for 325 yards on Saturday and is the only player in af2 with over 3,000 total yards (3,100) of offense. OS Bakari Brown caught his second touchdown in as many games, while WR/DB Thomas Anthony had the record-setting performance against Wilkes-Barre. WR/LB Jim Jones ranked second with six catches for 88 yards and is the only wide receiver to suit up for all 10 games this season.
Fire Defense:
DS Jeremy Chandler led Louisville with 10.5 tackles along with an interception against Spokane. He leads the team with 50.5 (42UA, 17A) tackles, while DS Kabote Sikyala tops the club with five interceptions and 13 pass breakups during the 2006 season. The pressure will come from OL/DL Shelton Conner, who has 3.5 sacks and 14 QBHs in nine games.
FORWARD MOTION: The Albany Conquest visit Spokane Arena for their inaugural meeting with the Spokane Shock on Saturday, June 24, 2006 at 9:00pm.
The Albany Conquest are in their fifth anniversary arenafootball2 season with four-game flex 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 for more information.
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