Vena and Levy Named All-af2
Published on August 13, 2003 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Albany Firebirds News Release
(ALBANY, NY) â Following their, 59-47, defeat at the hands of the Macon Knights Saturday night, the Albany Conquest received some good news from the arenafootball2 league office on Monday afternoon when they announced that QB Ryan Vena and OL/DL Stafford "Mike" Levy had been named to the American Conference All-af2 Team. Vena was selected to the 1st Team, while Levy was honored as member of the 2nd Team for the 2003 season.
Vena set the af2 single season passing record this season, throwing for 4,460 yards in sixteen games. He was the league leader in yards, Passer Rating (123.31), Total Offense (4,634) and Completions (345), while ranking 2nd in Completion Percentage (67.3), Touchdown Passes (85) and Attempts (513), 3rd in Rushing Touchdowns (17) and 6th in Rushing Yards (174). Vena led four fourth-quarter comebacks to help the Conquest to their second straight Northeast Division Championship and a final record of 13-4. The 2nd-year signal caller was named Game MVP a league-high ten times this season and accounted for nine total touchdowns (8 pass, 1 rush) in a game against the Cincinnati Swarm.
Levy, also a 2nd-year member of the Conquest, started all sixteen games Guard and Defensive End. Levy played FB/LB/OL/DL for the team last season, but was counted on every single game as one of Vena's top protectors on the line in 2003. Levy recorded 18.0 Total Tackles (13 unassisted), three Tackles for Loss, three sacks, one pass breakup and two forced fumbles on defense, to go along with several QB pressures. Levy was perhaps best known for racing downfield on every kickoff for the Conquest and smashing into a return man to ignite the home crowd at the Pepsi Arena.
This is the second season in a row that the Conquest has placed a player on both the 1st and 2nd all-af2 teams. Last season, OS Corey Hill and OL/DL Alex Houston were named to the All-af2 teams. Houston went on to play for the Buffalo Destroyers (AFL) this past season, while Hill became the first player in pro football history to catch 161 passes for two consecutive seasons.
While Vena and Levy were honored, Hill was snubbed by the coaches and media around the conference. Hill was a 2nd-Team honoree in 2002, but after finishing 2nd in the league in receiving yards (1,690), 3rd in all-purpose yards (2,830) and scoring 24 touchdowns (23 rec., 1 ret.), did not receive the votes in 2003.
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- Vena and Levy Named All-af2 - Albany Firebirds
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