Empire Take First Game of the Season: by the Numbers
Published on April 28, 2019 under Arena Football League (AFL)
Albany Empire News Release
The Albany Empire (1-0) started the season off with a victory on Saturday night against the Columbus Destroyers (0-1) at the Times Union Center by a score of 35-19 in front of a crowd of 11,682. The game started out close, but the Empire went up by two scores in the second quarter and never looked back.
SCORE BY QUARTER 1 2 3 4 FINAL
ALBANY 7 14 14 0 35
COLUMBUS 6 0 7 6 19
The game's MVP, Tommy Grady, had nice season opener, tallying 25 completions on 34 attempts for 230 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Grady spread the ball around finding 5 different receivers on the night. Offensive Player of the Game, Malachi Jones, led the way with 11 catches for 94 yards and 1 touchdown. In his second season in Albany, Jones has scored in every game he has played for the Empire. Newly acquired receivers, Demetres Stephens and Quentin Sims, also had big nights in their Empire debuts. Stephens reeled in 7 catches for 61 yards, while Sims caught 5 passes for 50 yards and 2 touchdowns. Rookie receiver, Christian Briggs, caught his first career pass in the AFL, securing 1 catch for 14 yards and 1 touchdown. Collin Taylor added 1 catch for 9 yards. Fullback, Mykel Benson, opened the game up with a score, and racked up 11 yards and 1 touchdown on 5 carries.
Leading the way on defense was Defensive Player of the Game, defensive end, Joe Sykes. Picking up where he left off a year ago, Sykes had 2.5 total tackles, including 1sack and 1 blocked extra point attempt. Sykes added to his all-time League leading career sack record, recording career sack number 62 on the night. The 2018 Defensive Player of the Year, Terence Moore, added 5.5 total tackles and 1 interception on the night. Newly acquired linebacker, Jeramie Richardson, had a nice debut with the Empire, being credited for 1 sack, 2 forced fumbles, and 1 fumble recovery. Veteran defensive back, Arkeith Brown, tallied 4 total tackles and 1 interception on the night. Leading the team in total tackles was rookie defensive back, Tevin Homer, who racked up 6 on the night.
The next game for the Empire is another home matchup against the Washington Valor on Saturday, May 4 at 7:30 pm in the Times Union Center.
Arena Football League Stories from April 28, 2019
- Blackjacks Come up Short in Season Opener: by the Numbers - Atlantic City Blackjacks
- Empire Take First Game of the Season: by the Numbers - Albany Empire
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.
