3-5 (2-2 Home, 1-3 Road) - Streak: Lost 4 - Second Place, East Division, American Conference
Week 9 Recap:
Albany wide receiver Antwun Williams broke a franchise single-game record with seven touchdown receptions, but the Conquest lost to the Manchester Wolves 66-62 Friday night at the Times Union Center. Albany and Manchester traded blows in the first quarter as the Conquest grabbed an early 14-13 lead. Wolves QB James Pinkney went deep twice and connected for touchdown passes of 37 yards and 30 yards, but Albany QB Dan Cole answered with a pair of 14-yard strikes to Antwun Williams. Manchester pulled ahead in the second quarter, out-scoring Albany 26-6, as they cashed in on three Pinkney touchdown passes, one defensive safety and a stunning 53-yard field goal from rookie kicker Chris Koepplin. The Conquest's lone score in the quarter was a one-yard pass from Cole to Williams, as Albany trailed at halftime 39-20.
There was not anything between the two teams in the third quarter as both squads posted 13 points on the board. Cole again found Williams for two more touchdown passes, while Pinkney showed his athleticism with a dazzling 40-yard scramble for a touchdown; he also linked up with Bradley Chavez to put the Wolves ahead 52-33 going into the final quarter. The Conquest mounted a charge in the final 15 minutes, out-scoring Manchester 29-14, at one time closing the gap to three points, but their comeback would fall just short. Pinkney threw for his seventh TD pass and added an eight-yard run for his second rushing touchdown of the game giving Manchester just enough points to snap a six-game losing streak. Newly assigned Albany fullback Agean Robinson scored on a one-yard run, Cole ran for a seven-yard touchdown and Williams caught two more touchdowns for the Conquest, including a record-setting score. With 26 seconds remaining in the game Williams pulled away from a Manchester defensive back and ran under a long bomb from Cole for a 33-yard touchdown reception. The catch was his seventh touchdown reception of the game and it broke an Albany single-game franchise record, which was previously held by Thomas Anthony, who had six receiving touchdowns on June 10th, 2006 against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers.
Week 10 Preview:
Both Albany and Mahoning Valley are trying to halt skids and find a way to pick up a win. The Conquest have lost four-straight games since their last victory, a 61-49 home win over the Thunder on April 26th. Mahoning Valley beat Albany 59-33 at home in the 2008 season opener, but have not felt the thrill of victory since, losing seven consecutive games. Saturday's game is another do-or-die situation for both teams, who are looking to rally towards a playoff berth.
Mahoning Valley had one positive to take from the last few weeks, a bye week in Week 9, allowing the entire roster to rest and regroup. Thunder will need their three offensive stars to step up this week: FB Tim Murphy, WR Henry Tolbert and WR/LB John Tackmann. Murphy has 23 carries for 198 rushing yards and leads af2 in rushing yards per game (39.6) and yards per carry (8.6). Tolbert is their top all-around threat, leading the team in receiving (38 catches for 451 yards and 11 TDs) and kickoff returns (29 returns for 669 yards and 2 TDs) and he ranks eighth in the league in all-purpose yards per game (165.7). Tackmann leads the team with 36.0 tackles (28 solo, 16 assisted) and is tied for fourth in the league with 10 rushing touchdowns.
Week 10 Schedule:
(All games are broadcast LIVE on 88.3 FM The SAINT and on the Internet at www.albanyconquest.com)
Saturday, May 31 - 7:05 pm - Chevrolet Centre
@ Mahoning Valley Thunder (1-7) - Streak: Lost 7
Fourth Place, East Division, American Conference
This is the fifth All-Time meeting between Albany and Mahoning Valley, with the Thunder holding a 3-1 lead in the series. It is the third of three meetings during the 2008 regular season as the home team won in the previous two games of the year. The Thunder have struggled to find offense over their past two games, putting up a combined 52 points in back-to-back road games against the two Kentucky squads (Lexington Horsemen and Louisville Fire). Louisville's defense kept Mahoning Valley off the scoreboard for two of the four quarters, limiting the Thunder to a mere 8 points over the final three quarters of the game. QB Shane Adler was sacked 7 times in Week 8 by the Fire and has thrown just 3 touchdown passes in his last two starts.
Starting QB: Shane Adler (#10) - 3 GP, 38-for-100, 507 yards, 5 TDs, 9 INTs, 29.9 QB rating.
Leading Rusher: Tim Murphy (#21) - 5 GP, 23 carries for 198 yards, 4 TDs, 8.6 yards per carry.
Leading Receiver: Henry Tolbert (#3) - 7 GP, 38 catches for 451 yards, 11 TDs, 11.9 yards per catch.
Leading Tackler: John Tackmann (#5) - 8 GP, 36 tackles (28 solo, 16 assisted), 5 pass break-ups, 1 INT.
Conquest Player of the Week: (Week 9)
Antwun Williams - WR - #80 11 catches for 130 yards and 7 Touchdowns
Antwun Williams registered 11 receptions for 130 yards and broke a single-game franchise record last Friday when he caught seven touchdown passes from QB Dan Cole. The mark was the highest single game tally ever posted by one Albany wide receiver in the team's seven-year history. Williams' stellar performance out-did the previous record of six TD receptions set by Thomas Anthony on June 10th, 2006 vs. the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers. Williams' 11 receptions against Manchester in Week 9 was a 2008 Albany single-game high, equaling Jared Jones' 11-catch effort against the Mahoning Valley Thunder in Week 1.
Conquest Arrows:
- A RECORD CATCH - With one catch WR Antwun Williams broke one Conquest franchise record and tied another. Williams' seventh TD reception in Week 9 against Manchester set an Albany record for most touchdown catches in one game, but it also gave him 59 career touchdown receptions with the Conquest, which tied him with Corey Hill (2002-2003) for the most total receiving TDs in franchise history. Williams needs one more TD reception to take over sole possession of the team-record; he had 5 TD catches for Albany in 2006, 33 TDs in 2007 and 21 TDs so far this season.
- AIR PATROL - DB Brandon Taylor had another interception in Week 9 vs. Manchester. Taylor, the former University of New Hampshire star, has all four of Albany's interceptions this season and he leads the team with 38.5 tackles (29 solo, 19 assisted). The Conquest single-season franchise record is six interceptions held by Brandon Tinson and Henry Baker, who had six interceptions each in the 2002 season.
- BOCAGE NO FLUKE - WR Chris Bocage continues to show his incredible versatility as an offensive spark plug for the Conquest. For the fifth successive week the USC alum posted 200+ all-purpose yards, piling up 277 yards against the Manchester Wolves in Week 9. Bocage has totaled 1,328 all-purpose yards in six games played, giving him the second highest per-game average in the entire af2 (221.3), trailing the leader by 0.1 yard per game. He is also the only player of the af2's top ten in all-purpose yards that has zero missed field goal returns.
- FAMILIAR FOE - The Thunder have struggled to find offense over their past two games, putting up a combined 52 points in back-to-back road games against the two Kentucky squads (Lexington Horsemen and Louisville Fire). Louisville's defense kept Mahoning Valley off the scoreboard for two of the four quarters, limiting the Thunder to a mere 8 points over the final three quarters of the game. QB Shane Adler was sacked 7 times in Week 8 by the Fire and has thrown just 3 touchdown passes in his last two starts.
- TACKLING FUEL - Kicker Jason Fralicker had 1.5 tackles (1 solo, 1 assisted) in Week 9 against Manchester to extend his tackling streak to seven successive games with at least one tackle (solo or assisted). Fralicker has 7.5 tackles (6 solo, 3 assisted) in eight games this season, which leads all kickers in af2.
- BLAZING RETURNS - Rookie WR Chris Bocage has 802 kickoff return yards in six games played this season, putting him on pace to shatter Albany's single-season team record of 1,362 kickoff return yards set by Tony Locke in the 2004 season. Bocage ranks sixth in the af2 in kickoff return yards and is tied for fourth in the league with two kick return touchdowns.
No comments:
Post a Comment