Conquest win at 2004 home finale
July 23, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release
Albany, N.Y., July 23, 2004 â WR/DB Cy Butler's nine-yard TD run with 30 seconds left in the game lifted the Albany Conquest to a 54-47 victory over the Manchester Wolves on Friday evening at Pepsi Arena in Albany, N.Y. in front of 6,862 fans. The game was the home finale of the 2004 season and was followed by a concert by country music duo, Montgomery Gentry.
In a game that had eight lead changes, including seven in the second half, Manchester (5-10) took a 47-44 lead on a Mel Long 22-yard TD reception from QB Chris Sanders with 5:53 left in the game. Sanders finished 21-of-40 passing for 306 yards with four TD passes and one interception.
Albany (6-9) tied the game at 47-47 on Vinny Cirrincione's second field goal of the game, this one a 26-yard boot with 1:38 left in regulation.
Manchester got the ball on their three-yard line on the ensuing kickoff, but their drive stalled on downs at their own nine-yard line. On first down, Sanders was pressured by Albany's Nick Anderson, which forced an incomplete pass. On consecutive plays on third and fourth down Sanders tried to connect with WR/DB Reggie Robinson down field, but Conquest defensive specialist Travis Coleman recorded back-to-back pass break ups giving Albany the ball back and leading into Butler's game winning run. Butler also caught three passes for 35 yards with one TD reception.
Albany's Tony Locke caught a season-high 10 passes for 170 yards with four TD receptions of 19, 45, 40, and ten yards. Locke set an Albany Conquest single-season franchise record of 40 total touchdowns. Locke had five kickoff returns for 135 yards. He also established Albany's single-season franchise kickoff return yardage record with 1,302 yards.
Albany QB D. Bryant was an impressive 19-of-35 passing for 264 yards with six TD passes and one interception.
Albany will play their season finale on the road against the Cape Fear Wildcats on July 31 at 7:30 p.m. in Fayetteville, N.C. The game will be televised live on NewsChannel 13 WNYT-TV Albany and will be able to heard live on 104.5 The Buzz.
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