Wolves face second road test of the 2004
Published on April 14, 2004 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Manchester Wolves News Release
MANCHESTER, N.H. (April 14, 2004) - The Manchester Wolves (arenafootball2) face their second road test of the 2004 season when they travel to Albany, NY this Friday (April 16) to take on the Albany Conquest. The Wolves (0-2) are looking to capture their first win of the season and their first win since their move to the granite state. Friday's game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. at Pepsi Arena.
Fans who want to cheer on the Wolves from their homes in New Hampshire can listen to the action live on WFEA AM 1370. Local radio veteran Dick Lutsk will provide the play-by-play. The Wolves face a tough task ahead against a quality Albany team, which enters its home opener in a bad mood after suffering a lopsided loss at Cape Fear last week, 70-55.
"Albany is a real solid, well-coached football team," Wolves Head Coach Rik Richards said. "I'm sure they're going to come out raring to go since it's their first home game of the year. As long as we match their energy from the start and play smart, I think we'll be o.k."
This Friday's matchup at a glance - Manchester Wolves (0-2) at Albany Conquest (0-1) Friday's game is the seventh all-time meeting between the Wolves and the Conquest. Albany, which owns a 5-1 series advantage over the Wolves, has been in the af2 since 2002 and in that time, the Conquest have posted a 27-8 overall record, playoffs included. Last season the team finished with a 13-3 record and won the Northeast Division Championship for the second straight year. This year, however, the team looks a little different than the one from years past. The franchise's two most decorated players over the last two years, QB Ryan Vena and OS Corey Hill, have moved on to the AFL. They followed former head coach Pete Costanza to Columbus, OH to join the Destroyers. In 2003, Vena threw for an af2-best 4,462 yards and 85 touchdowns. Hill led the af2 with 159 receptions. This year the team is banking on the efforts of new starting quarterback Gus Ornstein. Ornstein had a solid Week 1 outing in a losing effort, throwing for 315 yards and seven touchdowns against the Wildcats. The Wolves also rely heavily on the performance of their quarterback as well. So far QB Chris Sanders has done well despite playing behind a banged-up offensive line. In last week's heartbreaking 45-42 loss to Quad City, Sanders registered game-highs in rushing (36 yards) and rushing touchdowns (2) to go along with 233 yards passing and two touchdowns. Fans should also expect more exploits from newcomer Josh Liddell as well. Liddell, who was assigned to the Wolves on April 8, played a stellar overall game against the Steamwheelers last Saturday, earning Army Ironman of the Game and ADT Defensive Player of the Game honors.
Wolves Game Two Recap - 4/10/04 - It was a tale of two halves for the Manchester Wolves in their historic home opener as they fell just short of a dramatic comeback against the Quad City Steamwheelers, 45-42, Saturday night at the Verizon Wireless Arena. The Wolves played their first home game in Manchester in front of a near capacity crowd of 9,005. After being down 19 at halftime with the game almost out of reach, the Wolves went on to outscore the Steamwheelers, 33-17. With the score tied at 42-42, Quad City kicker Ryan Geisler sealed the Wolves' fate by connecting on a last-second, 17-yard field goal. Quad City WR/DB Jeff Hewitt earned Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game honors with 7 catches for 172 yards and one touchdown. Hewitt also ran scored on a 53-yard kickoff return to put the Steamwheelers ahead 21-3 early in the second quarter. The Army Ironman of the Game and ADT Defensive Player of the Game went to Manchester's Josh Liddell. Liddell's efforts were key in the Wolves second half charge. Overall, he collected three catches for 27 yards, one interception return for a 35-yard touchdown, one sack, and 4.5 tackles. Henry Frazier also contributed for the Wolves with four catches for 98 yards and one missed FG return for a 54-yard touchdown.
The Wolves invite all area fans to join them for their next home game on Friday, April 30 against the Albany Conquest at the Verizon Wireless Arena. Kick-off for this event is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. The first 4,000 fans through the doors that night will receive a FREE Manchester Wolves touchdown towel, courtesy of C.R. Sparks, Cool 96.5 and AAA.
To get in the game, fans can purchase tickets at the Verizon Wireless Arena box office or through Ticketmaster at 603-868-7300, at Ticketmaster outlets or online at www.ticketmaster.com. Adult seats start as low as $14 in the upper bowl while youth (12-and-under) and senior (65-and-over) tickets start at just $9.50. Season ticket packages for the Wolves are also still available for dream, lower bowl and upper bowl seats.
For more information on obtaining season tickets for the Manchester Wolves,
fans can contact the Wolves office at 603.627.WOLF (9653) or visit them on
the web at www.manchesterwolves.com 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.
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