Friday Night matchup
Published on July 26, 2007 under arenafootball2 (af2) News Release
No. 1-ranked Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will finish up its near perfect regular season on the road at Albany Friday night in an East Division affair against the Conquest. The Pioneers, who are preparing for a playoff run, boast a tremendous amount of talent on both sides of the ball. After suffering its only loss of 2007 in Week 16 at Manchester, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton rebounded last week with a 50-28 home victory over Bossier-Shreveport, one of the National Conference's top teams. The Pioneers moved the ball with ease early against the Battle Wings, running out to a 33-16 lead at the half. DB CHRIS ROYAL and the Pioneers defense held up against a very potent offensive attack for Bossier-Shreveport. Royal intercepted Battle Wings QB QUINCY CARTER three times on the night and had a team-high 6.5 tackles. Royal is one of the league's most dangerous defenders. He is tied for the league lead in interceptions with 14 and has 111.5 total tackles. While Carter was struggling, Pioneers QB RYAN VENA, in comparison, was efficient on the other side with four touchdown passes with just one interception. He also recorded two rushing touchdowns. WR BUCHIE IBEH was the team's leading receiver with eight catches for 117 yards and one score. Albany wants to close out its 2007 campaign on a positive note, especially at home against a Wilkes-Barre/Scranton squad that has soundly defeated the Conquest twice this season. In the most recent meeting between the two, Vena went off for one of his most efficient games of the season. He was 19-of-24 for 319 yards passing and nine touchdowns. Although Albany performed well offensively with WR BAKARI BROWN catching 15 balls for 150 yards and four TDS, it simply wasn't enough to match the firepower of the Pioneers. Brown has been one of the league's top receivers in 2007, leading the af2 with 150 catches. The Conquest also boast another pair of dangerous pass catchers in ANTWUN WILLIAMS (team-best 32 receiving TDs) and CHRIS CURD (26 receiving TDs). Rookie QB RYAN HART has been the team's trigger man under center. He's approaching 4,000 yards passing to go along with 82 TDs. Defensively, ATCHESON CONWAY leads the squad in tackles with 82. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton will take the field with plans on victory, but the team will also want to rest some of its starters if they run out to an early advantage. If the Conquest hope to make a statement on Friday, they'll need more help on the defensive side of the ball. They have yet to force a Pioneers turnover in the two games this year.
arenafootball2 Stories from July 26, 2007
- Quad City Steamwheelers Keep Division Championship Hopes Alive - Quad City Steamwheelers
- Former Dorados in ArenaBowl - Rio Grande Valley Dorados
- Friday Night matchup - af2
- Sharks Weekly - Corpus Christi Sharks
- af2 Quick Hitters - af2
- Simpson is Co-Defensive Player of the Week - Arkansas Diamonds
- Twisters Game Notes - Arkansas Diamonds
- Giddens Honored By af2 - Manchester Wolves
- Playoff Tickets Go On Sale Monday - Arkansas Diamonds
- af2 Weekly Awards - af2
- Jungle Kats Close-Out Regular Season in Alabama Saturday Night - Cincinnati Jungle Kats
- Steeldogs Come Home With Playoffs On The Line - Alabama Steeldogs
- Steeldogs' Tanney Named af2 Offensive Player of the Week - Alabama Steeldogs
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.
