Empire Defeated by Valor, Eliminated from AFL Playoffs: by the Numbers
July 22, 2018 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Albany Empire News Release
The top-seeded Albany Empire were defeated by the fourth-seeded Washington Valor at the Times Union Center on Saturday night by a score of 47-40 in front of a crowd of 9,261. The two teams split the home-and-home series with Washington advancing by aggregate score 103-97 to secure a spot in ArenaBowl XXXI.
SCORE BY QUARTER
1 2 3 4 FINAL
ALBANY 13 6 14 7 40
WASHINGTON 7 19 7 14 47
Regular season MVP candidate, Tommy Grady, had another solid performance in the defeat, completing 14 passes on 27 attempts for 273 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 1 interception. Grady came into the playoff series totaling 228 completions on 341 attempts for a league best 2,960 yards in 2018. Grady also finished the regular season leading the league in passing touchdowns with 81 and passer rating with 126.2.
Grady connected with four different receivers on the night. Leading the way was the regular season's Wide Receiver of the Year, Malachi Jones. Jones had a team high 6 catches for 116 yards and 3 receiving touchdowns. Rookie receiver Jordan Williams added career highs with 3 catches for 91 yards and 2 touchdowns. Veteran receiver Joe Hills compiled 3 catches for 53 yards and 1 touchdown. Receiver Collin Taylor added 2 catches for 13 yards. On the ground, fullback Mykel Benson compiled just 5 yards on 4 rushing attempts.
Leading the way on defense was defensive back Varmah Sonie who had a game-high 7.5 total tackles. Defensive back Terrance Smith chipped in 3.5 total tackles and 1 interception on his way to earning Defensive Player of the Game honors. Jack linebacker Terence Moore added 6.5 total tackles and defensive back Marrio Norman tallied 5 total tackles in the defeat.
The betting spread heavily favored the Empire (-16) which Albany was unable to cover, losing by 7 points. The score totaled up to 87 points; below the over/under of 97 set by oddsmakers.
Arena Football League Stories from July 22, 2018
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.
