Conquest rounding into form
June 9, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release
The Albany Conquest (3-6) are coming off a 68-53 victory over the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings at Pepsi Arena last Saturday night. The Conquest are looking for their first divisional win of the season in the first of two consecutive road match-ups. The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers (5-4) defeated the Green Bay Blizzard 38-24 on Friday to snap a two-game losing skid. The Pioneers are tied with Louisville for third place in the East Division.
SERIES NOTABLES
The Conquest defeated the Pioneers 34-28 in the first home contest in franchise history back on April 20, 2002. Albany clinched its 2003 playoff berth with a 59-58 home win on July 5, 2003. Conquest OS Tony Locke, now with the AFL's Los Angeles Avengers, tied a club mark with his 36th all-purpose TD of the season on July 17, 2004.
UN-D-LIEVABLE
Conquest QB D. Bryant had his finest af2 performance in Saturday's win over Bossier. He matched a franchise record with eight touchdown passes and set a career-high with 336 yards through the air. The former Duke Blue Devil is tied for second in the af2 with 2,397 yards of total offense and was named Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday.
OH MY, JEREMIAH
Albany OS Jeremiah Pope had a breakthrough game in the win over the Battle Wings. He earned Offensive Player of the Game honors following an 11-catch, 128-yard performance, including three touchdowns. C.W. Posts' all-time leading receiver also had three kick returns for 42 yards, giving him 160 all-purpose yards on the night.
THAT'S COLE-MAN
Conquest DS Travis Coleman led the club in tackles for the third straight week as he picked up a season-high 6.5 (5UA, 3A) tackles. The 25-year-old added two pass breakups and leads the team with 42.5 (39UA, 7A) tackles and three interceptions to go with nine pass breakups and a forced fumble through nine games this season.
PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH
Pioneers Offense
Wilkes-Barre QB Kyle Rowley's 52 offensive touchdowns this year are good for sixth in the league, while his 65.4 completion percentage stands fifth in the af2. WR/LB Rocco Forgione's 63 receptions rank sixth overall to go with 720 receiving yards. The 2004 af2 rookie of the year WR J.R. Thomas is tied for sixth with 19 TD receptions on 56 catches during the 2005 season.
Conquest Defense
The Conquests defense as a group had three tackles for a loss of 11 yards, a sack and five QBH in a game that saw the club finish with 20 tackles. OL/DL Oby Arah recorded his third sack of the season and added two QBH's on the night. DS Pete McBride placed second on the club with 3.5 (3UA, 1A) tackles and added two pass breakups, giving him a team-high 10 this season.
Conquest Offense
Albany QB D. Bryant's 44 TD passes are tied for seventh in the af2. While Jeremiah Pope led the aerial attack, he was followed closely by WR/LB Manwell Talbert's eight reception, three-touchdown performance. The 25-year-old's 845 receiving yards rank sixth in the af2 and he leads the team with 17 TD's this season. WR/DB Buchie Ibeh has three TD's on eight catches in just three games with the club and caught two passes on Saturday, both for touchdowns.
Pioneers Defense
Wilkes-Barre WR/DB Jamie Hattley recorded 11 solo tackles against Green Bay and leads the team with 64 (59UA, 10A) tackles, good for second in the af2. He also shows 17 pass breakups, and two tackles for a loss playing on the league's fifth-ranked defense. DS Ronnie Kaymore ranks seventh with 50 (38UA, 24A) tackles and leads the club with three interceptions.
FORWARD MOTION
The Conquest face Quad City for the first time in an 8:30 p.m. kick off on Saturday, June 18th. Albany returns home on Friday, June 24th for a 7:30 p.m. contest against the Louisville Fire at Pepsi Arena. 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 www.albanyconquest.com for more information.
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