Conquest Week 12

Published on June 18, 2008 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release


2008 Record:

3-8 (2-3 Home, 1-5 Road) - Streak: Lost 6 - Third Place, East Division, American Conference

Week 12 Recap:

The Lexington Horsemen hung on in the fourth quarter against an upstart Albany Conquest surge to earn a 40-31 victory over the visitors last Saturday night at Rupp Arena. Lexington won the coin toss and deferred to the second half, giving Albany the ball to start the game. The Conquest struck first as they drove down the field and kicker Carlos Ojeda drilled a 29-yard field goal, the longest of the season by a Conquest kicker, giving the visitors a 3-0 lead. The Conquest then rolled the dice, gambling with an onside kick that was recovered by Albany's Vernard Abrams, only to have the play scrapped by an offside penalty, giving the home team the ball at the Conquest six-yard line. Lexington QB Ryan Mitch connected with WR Chad Spencer for a 3-yard TD pass and their first lead of the game. Albany answered back on their next possession with a 7-yard touchdown strike from QB Dan Cole to WR Jared Jones, giving Albany the lead 10-7. Early in the second quarter Spencer found the end zone for the second time on a 7-yard pass from Mitch, putting the Horsemen ahead 14-10; they would never trail again. After Albany turned over the ball on downs, Lexington kicker Douglas Daniel nailed a 21-yard field goal for a 17-10 lead. The Conquest were again stopped on downs by the Horsemen defense, but Albany's defense returned the favor with a huge stop as DB Roland Minor intercepted a Ryan Mitch pass and returned it to the Lexington four-yard line. Dan Cole turned the turnover into points as he tied the game at 17-17 by finding Vernard Abrams for a 3-yard touchdown pass with just 4.7 seconds remaining in the first half. It looked like it would be tied going into halftime, but on Albany's ensuing kickoff, Ojeda's squib kick bounced off the turf and went out of bounds, keeping the 4.7 seconds on the clock. That special team's mistake gave Lexington a chance for a Hail Mary pass, one which was caught in the end zone by WR John Cooper for a 38-yard TD pass from Mitch, giving the Horsemen a seven-point lead at the half.

The home team tried the deep pass again to start the third quarter and again Mitch connected with Cooper, this time for a 23-yard touchdown pass and a 31-17 lead. Albany answered with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Cole to WR Antwun Williams, cutting the Horsemen's lead to 31-24. Ryan Mitch answered by going back to Chad Spencer for his third touchdown reception of the game, an 11-yard pass for a 38-24 lead. Albany countered with a drive that led to a 4-yard touchdown pass from Cole to Jones, cutting the lead to seven points as the third quarter came to a close. Albany's defense was rock solid in the fourth quarter, forcing four successive turnovers, but the offense could not capitalize on the defense's strong play. First nose tackle Damion DeRosia blocked a Daniel field goal attempt, and then the Conquest stopped the Horsemen on downs. Lexington sacked Dan Cole in the end zone for a safety and a 41-30, but DeRosia blocked another field goal attempt to keep the deficit at nine points. Albany DE Ed Greene sacked Ryan Mitch on their next possession, forcing a fumble that was recovered by LB Michael Lewis, but with less than a minute to go in the game Albany's last-ditch drive was halted by several holding penalties. Lexington then killed the clock for the 41-30 victory.

Week 13 Preview:

The Conquest saw their playoff hopes fade slightly as they lost in Lexington, setting a new franchise record by dropping their seventh consecutive game. Up from grabs this week for Albany is redemption and revenge as they look to snap their losing streak and get back at the ThunderBirds after their loss in Florida in early May. Daytona Beach is coming off a bye week and has not won a game since their Week 7 win over the Conquest, losing four straight games; they allowed a season-high 84 points at South Georgia in Week 11. This is second all-time meeting between Albany and Daytona Beach and it is the second game of the 2008 season. The ThunderBirds beat Albany 62-53 on May 8th at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach.

Week 13 Schedule:

(All games are broadcast LIVE on 88.3 FM The SAINT and on the Internet at www.albanyconquest.com)

Friday, June 18 - 7:00 pm - Times Union Center

vs. Daytona Beach ThunderBirds (2-9) - Streak: Lost 4

Fourth Place, South Division, American Conference

* The ThunderBirds lost their first five games of the season, rattled off two wins and have since lost their next four games for a 2-9 record. Daytona Beach needed their Week 12 bye to help regroup after setting some dubious records in their previous two games. In Week 10 at the Florida Firecats, the ThunderBirds were flagged for a single-game af2 record 24 penalties for 181 yards, the fourth highest penalty yardage total in league history. Then in Week 11 the South Georgia Wildcats defense scored five touchdowns on the ThunderBirds offense (3 interception returns for touchdowns and 2 fumble returns for touchdowns). * Leading Passer: Matt Bohnet (#19) - 7 GP, 138-for-269, 1,584 yards, 24 TDs, 15 INTs, 68.4 QB rating. * Leading Rusher: James Jackson (#20) - 5 GP, 21 carries for 42 yards, 3 TDs, 2.0 yards per carry. * Leading Receivers: Toris Rutledge (#17) - 9 GP, 59 catches for 481 yards, 5 TDs, 8.2 yards per catch & Jeremy Grier (#23) - 7 GP, 50 catches for 576 yards, 13 TDs, 11.5 yards per catch. * Leading Tackler: Jocques Richardson (#21) - 8 GP, 25.5 tackles (22 solo, 7 assisted), 5 INTs & Domenique Milton (#15) - 8 GP, 25.5 tackles (24 solo, 3 assisted), 1 INT.

Conquest Player of the Week: (Week 12)

Damion DeRosia - NT- #54 2 Assisted Tackles & 2 Blocked Field Goals

NT Damion DeRosia had arguably his best game of the 2008 season in Lexington as the Conquest's largest defensive lineman led by example. DeRosia blocked two field goals and was instrumental in helping the defense get pressure on the quarterback. DeRosia's powerful push against the offensive line constantly opened lanes for blitzing linebackers to go on the attack; the nose tackle's strength led the way for Vernard Abrams' third sack of the season and also two key fourth quarter goal line stops. DeRosia is currently tied for third in the league in blocked kicks; Austin's Kika Kaululaau and Oklahoma City's Devin Rutledge each have four blocked kicks, while DeRosia, Daytona Beach's Adbiyi Ojutiku and Manchester's Chris Eggleston all have three.

Conquest Arrows:

- SWAGGER BACK ON D - Albany's defense continues to be the shining star for the Conquest as they came up with another big performance in Lexington. DB Roland Minor had his first interception of the season and DE Ed Greene recorded his second sack in as many games, this time forcing a fumble that was recovered by LB Michael Lewis. NT Damion DeRosia had a monster fourth quarter by blocking two field goal attempts and leading the way on two goal line stands.

- MISSLE DEFENSE - DB Brandon Taylor recorded a season-high five pass break-ups last week against the Horsemen. Going into the game Taylor had been tied for the team-lead with four pass break-ups in his first ten games this season; he now leads the team with nine break-ups.

- OUT OF THE LINEUP, BUT LEADING THE LEAGUE - WR Chris Bocage has missed the last two weeks due to an injury suffered in Albany's Week 10 game at Mahoning Valley. Bocage currently leads af2 in all-purpose yards per game, averaging 211.0 yards in seven games played this season.

- HE WORKS BOTH SIDES - Two-way threat Vernard Abrams went nuts on both sides of the ball last week in Kentucky. Abrams caught five passes for 40 yards and one touchdown on offense, and then as the Jack linebacker he had 4.0 tackles (3 solo, 2 assisted) including one sack for a five-yard loss and one assisted tackle for a one yard loss on 6/14 at Lexington. Abrams ranks third on the Conquest in receptions and receiving TDs; he is tied for the team lead with 3.0 sacks, ranks third in tackles for loss (3.5) and is sixth in total tackles (18.0).

- GETTING A LEG UP - Kicker Carlos Ojeda drilled a 29-yard field goal during Albany's opening drive in Lexington last week. It was his first field goal attempt of the season and it was the longest field goal made by a Conquest kicker this year. He was 1-for-3 in the game, although his two "missed" field goals were both strategic punts to pin Lexington back near their own end zone.

Albany Conquest Team Leaders:

Passing

-Attempts: Dan Cole (434)

-Completions: Dan Cole (234)

-Percentage: Dan Cole (53.9%)

-Yards: Dan Cole (2,626)

-Touchdowns: Dan Cole (51)

-Long: Dan Cole (45)

Receiving

-Receptions: Antwun Williams (67)

-Yards: Antwun Williams (850)

-Touchdowns: Antwun Williams (25)

-Yards/Catch: Chris Bocage (13.8)

-Yards/Game: Jared Jones (88.5)

-Long: Antwun Williams (45)

Rushing

-Attempts: Dan Cole (35)

-Yards: Dan Cole (134)

-Touchdowns: Dan Cole (5)

-Yards/Carry: Norman Bauer (5.4)

-Yards/Game: Dan Cole (12.2)

-Long: Dan Cole (40)

Kick Returns

-Attempts: Chris Bocage (39)

-Yards: Chris Bocage (855)

-Touchdowns: Chris Bocage (2)

-Yards/Return: Chris Bocage (21.9)

-Yards/Game: Chris Bocage (122.1)

-Long: Chris Bocage (56)

Field Goals

-Attempts: Jason Fralicker (4)

-Kicks Made: Jason Fralicker, Carlos Ojeda (1)

-Percentage: Carlos Ojeda (33.3%)

-Long: Carlos Ojeda (29)

Kickoffs

-Attempts: Jason Fralicker (70)

-Yards: Jason Fralicker (3,742)

-Yards/Kick: Jason Fralicker (53.5)

-Touchbacks: Jason Fralicker (21)

Defense

-Tackles: Brandon Taylor (47.5)

-Solo Tackles: Brandon Taylor (37)

-Assisted Tackles: Brandon Taylor (21)

-Sacks: Kevin Marchant & Vernard Abrams (3.0)

-Tackles For Loss: Kevin Marchant & Michael Lewis (4.0)

-Interceptions: Brandon Taylor (6)

-Pass Breakups: Brandon Taylor (9)

-Quarterback Hurries: Michael Lewis (3)

-Fumble Recoveries: Michael Lewis (3)

-Forced Fumbles: Ed Greene (2)

-Blocked Kicks: Damion DeRosia (3)

-Defensive Touchdowns: Brenton Brady, Brandon Taylor & Brian Bond (1)

East Division Standings:

(AMERICAN CONFERENCE)

Team W L PCT Home Road Streak

WB/Scranton 9 2 .818 5-0 4-2 W2

Manchester 5 6 .455 2-3 3-3 W4

Albany 3 8 .273 2-3 1-5 L7

Mahoning Valley 2 9 .182 2-4 0-5 L2

The Conquest are preparing for a Week 13 rematch with the expansion Daytona Beach ThunderBirds on Friday, June 20th at the Times Union Center. Albany lost to Daytona Beach 62-53 on May 8th in Florida; it was their first ever meeting. Friday's game is scheduled for a 7:00 pm kickoff at the Times Union Center.

Partial season ticket packages and single game tickets are now on sale for the 2008 Albany Conquest regular season. For more information please contact the Conquest at (518) 487-2244 or online at www.albanyconquest.com.

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