Lexington Fights Off Albany 40-31
June 14, 2008 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release
LEXINGTON, KY - The Lexington Horsemen hung on in the fourth quarter against an upstart Albany Conquest surge to earn a 40-31 victory over the visitors 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.
Lexington QB Ryan Mitch completed 17-of-31 passes for 190 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. Albany QB Dan Cole finished the game 21-of-41 with 180 passing yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. Cole had a game-high 18 rushing yards on six carries, while Horsemen FB Michael Madrazo had a team-high 3 rushing yards on one carry. Albany WR Jared Jones led all receivers with 7 catches, while posting 45 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns and had 43 kickoff return yards. Lexington WR John Cooper had a game-high 82 receiving yards on five catches, including two touchdowns. DS Clarence Curry led Albany with 7.0 tackles; while teammate DB Brandon Taylor had 4.0 tackles and a season-high five pass break-ups. Lexington LB Connie Brown had 7.0 tackles to lead all Horsemen defenders.
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