Wolves Out to Conquer Northeast Division Leaders this Saturday

June 26, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Mohegan Wolves News Release


NEW LONDON, Conn. (June 26, 2003) - The Mohegan Wolves (8-3) face their toughest road test of the 2003 season when they travel to Albany, N.Y. this Saturday (June 28) to take on the Albany Conquest (9-2). A Wolves win would give them five straight victories and move themselves into a first-place tie with Albany for the Northeast Division lead. Mohegan also currently stands in fourth place overall in the American Conference playoff race. The top six teams from each conference (American and National) make the postseason. Saturday's battle kicks off at 7:30 p.m. at Pepsi Arena.

"This is our biggest game of the season by far," Mohegan Coach Mark Stoute said. "We have to be mentally prepared and come ready to play. If we do that, I think it'll be a heck of a battle.

This week's game at a glance - Wolves (8-3 overall, 5-1 home, 3-2 road) at Conquest (9-2 overall, 4-0 home, 5-2 road)

Saturday's game is the fifth all-time meeting between the two clubs and second of 2003. Albany leads the series, 3-1. The Wolves won the most recent matchup on April 18, 52-45. Last year the Conquest took all three contests from Mohegan. Albany is led on offense by QB Ryan Vena and OS Corey Hill. Vena is arguably the top passer in af2, leading the league in pass rating at 121.7 and ranking second in passing yards with 2,916. Hill has been Vena's main target in 2003. He currently leads the league in receptions (112) and ranks fifth in receiving yards per game (98.5). Together, Vena and Hill help fuel the league's third-highest scoring offense, which averages 53.4 points per game. The defensive unit of the Conquest is also strong. This season Albany's defense ranks among the league's elite in total defense (5th - 215 ypg), pass defense (4th - 197.4 ypg) and sacks (T-3rd - 23). Nobody's defense, however, is stingier than Mohegan's. The Wolves are the league's top-ranked team in scoring defense, allowing a league-low 34.7 points per game. The Wolves also rank among the league's best in sacks with 22 overall. Offensively, the Wolves will look for a solid showing from QB Rob Harding. The rookie from Mississippi Valley State looked a bit rusty last Saturday against Cincinnati, but still commanded the Wolves to a well-earned 38-24 win. It was Harding's first start since Mohegan's season opener on April 5. The 6-foot-3-signal caller sat out 10 weeks while recovering from a knee injury suffered in game one. Another player to watch on the Wolves this week will be FB/LB LaJhon Jones. Jones leads the team in rushing (153 yards) and rushing touchdowns (11).

Wolves Game Eleven Recap - 6/21/03 - Mohegan QB ROB HARDING scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard run with 4:15 left in the game as the Wolves held off a tough Cincinnati team, 38-24, Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena. The Wolves victory, which upped their record to 8-3, was their fourth in a row - a season and franchise-high. The Swarm dropped to 4-8 on the season with the loss. Wolves WR/DB CY BUTLER was the team's top performer on the night, notching 142 all-purpose yards (115 return yards, 27 receiving yards) on offense and 3.5 tackles on defense. The second-year veteran from Rhode Island earned Ironman of the Game honors for his efforts. Another individual garnering notice for Mohegan was WR/LB KAZMELL MINOTT. Minott was named Game MVP for his stellar all-around performance, which included an 8-yard touchdown reception in addition to his team-high 4.5 tackles and one fumble recovery on defense. Other touchdown scorers for the Wolves included FB/LB LAJHON JONES (two touchdown runs) and WR/LB DENNIS BARBOSA (8-yard reception).

Catch Mark Stoute on the all-new "Wolves Locker Room Show" Sundays at 10 AM on your local PAX TV station. Don't miss the next show, which airs on June 29. This exciting program takes you into world of New England's hottest Arena Football team! The program is shown on WHPX-TV 26 in Hartford & New Haven and on WPXQ-TV 69 in Providence & New Bedford.



arenafootball2 Stories from June 26, 2003


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.

OurSports Central