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Conquest ready to cook the Wings

June 1, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release


The Albany Conquest (2-6) return home to Pepsi Arena following a 62-55 overtime loss in Louisville on Friday night. The Conquest are now 0-4 against East Division opponents this season and 2-2 in non-divisional match-ups. The Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings (2-6) are coming off a 52-17 loss to the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz.

BALL HOGS

The Albany Conquest rank fifth in the af2 with a time of possession average of 31:31 minutes per game. The club takes it a step further with 10 fumble recoveries through eight games this season. That number is tied for fourth overall, while Conquest WR/LB Jeff Higgins and WR/DB Donte Wells are the only two players in the league with three fumble recoveries.

THE KICKS KEEP COMING

The Albany Conquest remain one of the premier af2 squads both with and without the ball on kick off returns. The team is tied for second with 54 returns, ranks third with 1,136 yards and fifth overall with a 21-yard return average. Albany remains the top team in the league by allowing an average of 14.0 yards in 39 returns for the opposition.

TRIPLE AIR THREAT

Conquest QB D. Bryant’s arsenal of offensive weapons has him ranking seventh in the league with 1,965 yards through the air. WR/DB Buchie Ibeh (4rec, 80-yards & 2TD) OS Jeremiah Pope (8rec, 91-yards & 1TD) and WR/LB Manwell Talbert (5rec, 104-yards & 2TD) totaled 275 yards and caught all five touchdown passes in the game on Saturday night. The trio is responsible for 28 of the Conquests’ 37 touchdowns through the air this season.

PLAYERS/MATCH-UPS TO WATCH

Battle Wings Offense:

Bossier-Shreveport QB Tim Hicks has guided the offense since taking the reins in Week Four. He has thrown 18 touchdowns and ran for another seven scores, which ties him for fifth in the af2 through five games. OS Bo Smith has been THE offense by virtue of his 1,394 all-purpose yards and 120 points (20 TD), which are good for fourth on the circuit.

Conquest Defense:

Albany continues to be led by its run-stopping abilities. The Conquest has allowed just 138 yards on the ground for an average of 17.2/game. It is the passing defense that needs some assistance with the club having allowed 2,152 yards through the air. DS Pete McBride recorded his first interception on Friday, while DS Travis Coleman led the team with 5.5 tackles for the second straight week. The Wings should watch out for FB/LB Jameel Dumas, who is coming on and ranks third on the team with 20.5 tackles.

Conquest Offense:

Albany QB D. Bryant stands sixth in total offense with 2,047 yards gained on a league-high 318 offensive plays this season. His 44 TD’s are tied for seventh and his eight rushing TD’s are good for a third place tie in the af2. WR/LB Manwell Talbert caught five passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns on Friday. He ranks fourth in the af2 with 770 receiving yards and leads the team with 14 TD’s this season. WR/DB Buchie Ibeh is averaging 26 yards per catch, while OS Jeremiah Pope ranks second on the Conquest with 420 receiving yards and 11 TD’s.

Battle Wings Defense:

Bossier-Shreveport FB/LB Joe Wesley leads the team with 29 (19UA, 20A) tackles, six pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery this season. The club ranks 20th by allowing 2,413 yards against this season, but places 10th against the run with 142 yards allowed. DS Gana Joseph ranks second on the team with 19 (12UA, 14A) tackles and has one of the Wings’ five interceptions so far this season.

FORWARD MOTION

The Albany Conquest face two consecutive road match-ups starting next Saturday, June 11th in a 7:30 p.m. kick off against Division rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. The Conquest then visit perennial powerhouse, the Quad City Steamwheelers, in an 8:30 p.m. kick off on Saturday, June 18th. Each Albany Conquest game is broadcast live on 104.9FM WZMR Froggy Country beginning 15 minutes prior to kick off with the CSEA pre-game show.

The Albany Conquest, a proud member of the Arena Football family, are in their fourth arenafootball2 season. Individual game and partial season ticket packages are on sale now by calling the Albany Conquest offices at (518) 487-2244 or by visiting http://www.albanyconquest.com

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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.

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