Conquest season review
Published on August 3, 2005 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release
The Albany Conquest completed the 2005 season with a 4-12 record following a 45-30 defeat to the Manchester Wolves last Friday night. The Conquest placed fifth in the East Division and tied for eighth in the American Conference. Albany ranked fourth in total offense with 4,560 yards, while leading the league in rushing defense by allowing just 201 yards on the ground. The club excelled on special teams placing second with a 23.1 kick return average and leading the af2 with a 15.9 kick return average for the opposition.
2005 TEAM LEADERS
Rushing
Yards: D. Bryant - 184
Touchdowns: D. Bryant - 14 (T-3rd af2)
Passing Yards: D. Bryant - 4,230
Touchdowns: D. Bryant - 81
Receiving
Receptions: Jeremiah Pope - 131 (2nd in af2)
Receiving Yards: Jeremiah Pope - 1,454
Touchdowns: Jeremiah Pope - 32
Rec. Yards/game: Jeremiah Pope - 111.8
Defense
Interceptions: Travis Coleman - 5
Tackles: Travis Coleman - 67.0
Sacks: Oby Arah - 4.0
Pass Breakups: Coleman/McBride - 13
Miscellaneous
All-Purpose Yards: Jeremiah Pope - 1,773
Kick Return Yards: Jeff Higgins - 960
Scoring: Jeremiah Pope - 208 pts
Total Offense: D. Bryant - 4,414 yards
BRYANT GETS HIGH MARKS
Conquest QB D. Bryant finished third in the af2 with 4,414 yards of total offense, while playing in a league-high 670 offensive plays. His 95 total touchdowns ranked fourth on the circuit, while his 14 rushing TD's tied for third overall. Bryant ranked sixth with 81 TD passes, fourth with 4,230 passing yards and fourth with 370 completions during his second af2 campaign.
POPE POWER
Albany OS Jeremiah Pope is one of the favorites to win af2 rookie of the year following a stellar freshman campaign. He led the Conquest and finished second in the league with 131 receptions, while ranking seventh with a team-high 1,454 receiving yards. The C.W. Post alumnus placed third on the circuit with 111.8 receiving yards per game and completed the season eighth in the af2 with 32 receiving touchdowns.
HIGGINS INTO THE SUNSET
Glens Falls resident WR/LB Jeff Higgins announced his retirement from arenafootball2 at the conclusion of the 45-30 loss in Manchester on Friday. The 1993 graduate of Lake George High School remains a member of the coaching staff at Corinth High School. He was a Hewlett Packard and Football Gazette Division III All-American in 1995 and 1996 playing at Ithaca College. He completed the 2005 season with 31 receptions for 270 yards with three receiving TD's, along with one rushing TD. He led the team with 960 kick return yards and ranked ninth in the af2 with a 23.4 average on 41 kick returns. The 30-year-old added 25.5 (20UA, 11A) tackles, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles on defense. He finished his af2 career with 139 receptions, 1,480 receiving yards, 20 receiving TD's, 99 kick returns for 2,132 yards and four kick return TD's. He added 147.5 tackles, five fumble recoveries, and five forced fumbles on defense in 58 games played.
FOR THE RECORD
The Albany Conquest won highest scoring game in Arena Football history when they combined with the Green Bay Blizzard for 170 total points on July 15, 2005.
Team Records Set
Most Points, Game (88, vs. Green Bay, July 15th)
Most TD's, Game (13, vs. Green Bay, July 15th)
Most First Downs (323)
Most First Downs, Game (27, vs. Manchester, April 23rd)
Most Pass Attempts, Season (617)
Most Completions, Season (375)
Most Kick Returns, Season (100)
Most Kick Return Yards, Season (2,158)
Most Kick Return Yards, Game (285, vs. Green Bay, July 15th)
Individual Records
Most Pass Attempts, Game (49) - D. Bryant @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, June 23rd
Most Completions, Season (370) - D. Bryant
Most All-Purpose Yards, Game (313) - Jeremiah Pope vs. Green Bay, July 15th
The Albany Conquest begin their fifth arenafootball2 season next April. Season ticket packages for the 2006 campaign are on sale now complete with a meet the players party, commemorative season-ticket sheet, discounted merchandise and parking with prize drawings at every game by calling the Albany Conquest offices at (518) 487-2244 or by visiting www.albanyconquest.com for more information.
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