Upon Further Review, Hill Ties his Own Record
July 31, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release
(ALBANY, NY) â As of early Wednesday morning, Conquest OS Corey Hill had recorded 159 receptions during the 2003 season, leaving him three short of breaking his own pro football record for catches in a single season. After Head Coach Pete Costanza looked at the final season statistics and noticed that Hill was credited with three rushes this season, but had never attempted a rush, he quickly notified the league office and a tape review began.
Three times during the 2003 season, Hill caught passes that were registered in the stat system as rushes. The passes were all the same type of play, a lateral/screen pass that the stat crew's felt the passes were thrown backwards from quarterback Ryan Vena to Hill, but two of them actually were thrown parallel with the line, if not going forward. The mistakes went unnoticed until this week.
"It's unfortunate that we caught the errors late and that it makes Corey look like he is trying to go back after the fact, but I thought that I told the appropriate people after the game and that the changes were made, apparently they weren't", said Conquest Director of Communications/Football Operations Mike McCaffrey. "Two out of three of them were ruled catches by the league, so he ties his own mark".
With the three receptions, Hill finished the regular season with 161, tying the record he set last season while playing in Albany. Hill becomes the first player in professional football history to catch 161 passes in consecutive seasons. That includes the NFL, CFL, USFL or any other league. He finished second in af2 with 1,690 yards and recorded 24 total touchdowns (23 receiving, 1 return). Hill, a 2002 2nd Team all-af2 performer, led the league in catches for the second year in a row.
Hill has become the most prolific receiver in the history of arenafootball2. He is the all-time leader in receptions (401) and receiving yards (4,403), while unofficially has also totaled more all-purpose yards (7,287) than any other player as well. The 2003 af2 Record and Fact Book did not track career all-purpose yards leaders. Hill's 73 career touchdowns puts him in the top five all-time, while he is still maintains the 2nd best single-game performance in league history (18 receptions for 225 yards vs. Mohegan, 2002).
arenafootball2 Stories from July 31, 2003
- Stealth, Islanders Open Playoffs - af2
- Mohegan's Road to ArenaCup Starts In Fayetteville, NC - Mohegan Wolves
- Upon Further Review, Hill Ties his Own Record - Albany Firebirds
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