Pioneers Conquer Albany in OT
Michael Balakier
Saturday July 12, 2003
Trailing 49-42, Albany quarterback Ryan Vena connected with OS Cory Hill as time expired in regulation to send the game into overtime. On the Pioneers first possession in overtime, quarterback Chris Boden’s pass was intercepted by Albany defensive specialist Elijah Beamon, setting the Conquest up for a 25-yard field goal attempt by Chris Drennan, which sailed wide left.
On Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s ensuing possession, Boden, who finished the game 25-44 for 275 yards and 6 TDs, threw his second interception of the game, which gave the Conquest the ball at their own 1-yard line.
Needing a defensive stop, Pioneers’ WR/DB Aman Abye intercepted a deflected pass, giving Wilkes-Barre/Scranton the ball back at midfield. Two plays later, Boden connected with Cosmo DeMatteo on a 25-yard corner route to claim victory for the Pioneers.
DeMatteo, who finished the game with 13 receptions for 143 yards and 4 TDs, said he didn’t even know the game was over after he caught the game winning touchdown pass. “I had no idea,” said DeMatteo. “I was wondering why everybody was out there. I was like ‘we still gotta kick.’”
In the game, the Pioneers, who are clinging to an outside chance at the playoffs, pulled out all the tricks in the playbook. On two of their first three possessions, the Pioneers successfully converted on fourth down by attempting a fake field goal. Also, at the start of the second half, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton successfully gained possession from an onside kick attempt.
Boden said that the trick plays were actually a week behind schedule. “We had all those planned for last week against (Albany) and we never ended up using them,” said Boden. “We used the fake field goal a couple times tonight and it worked well. It’s fun for the fans and it’s fun for us to use it, and it helps us out. It got us out of some holes and we wound up scoring on both drives.”
Albany head coach Pete Costanza said he doesn’t blame the Pioneers for doing whatever it takes to win. “A team that is shooting to be 8-8 and looking for a lot of help to get in [the playoffs] will do anything to win a game, and I would do the same thing myself in that situation,” said Costanza. “You want to give your football team the best situation to win if you have any chance to get in the playoffs.”
Costanza also credited the Pioneers for playing good offense down the stretch of the game. “You gotta give credit where credit is due,” said Costanza. “Wilkes-Barre is definitely playing good offense down the stretch here. When you’re playing a good offensive team or any team in arenaball it comes down to possessions like it did tonight. Down the stretch they just made one more play than we did and that’s what it took to win tonight.”
Costanza also said he was very surprised in the way overtime was played. “[It’s] not my first arenaball overtime, but [it’s] definitely my weirdest,” said Costanza. “I’ve never seen anything like that. Both teams played real well.”
Game notes
Stayin’ alive: With the win over the Conquest, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (6-8) is still mathematically alive for the playoffs. And despite being a long shot to make the playoffs, the Pioneers are remaining upbeat about the possibility of slipping in the backdoor. “We’re dangerous right now, we really are,” said DeMatteo. “It’s a shame it happened so late in the season. If we got in the playoff I don’t think anyone wants to play us right now. Not sounding cocky or anything, but we’re pretty good right now. And we may go and lose the next two, you never know, but right now we have the capability to beat anybody we play.” Boden also concurs with DeMatteo. “This team is playing extremely well right now,” said Boden. “I hope we can win our next two. If we win our next two and get to 8-8, it gives us a shot for the playoffs. If we can get in the playoffs we’re gonna do some damage.”
Still conquering: Despite the loss, Albany (11-3) is no stranger to close games this season, and head coach Pete Costanza knows that those close games will only benefit his team when it comes time for the postseason. “I don’t care if it’s Tennessee Valley, Peoria, Birmingham; if it’s a close game, our team definitely knows how to win a close game,” said Costanza. “Tonight we were in a situation, we had the ball last, we had to go down and score to tie it, we did, and then it worked out in overtime but we just didn’t execute it.” Costanza also said that his team plans no changes in playmaking heading into their final two regular season games against Rochester and Mohegan, respectively. “I already told them in the locker room, we’re not going back to drawing board by any means,” said Costanza. “We’re going to go back to practice and film and we’re gonna do what we do and get ready to play football again, our way with less mistakes and making the correct reads. The wheels are not falling off the bus by any means. It’s a small bump in the road on the way to where we’ve got to go, but sometimes hard lessons learned at this stage in the game can help you out through the playoffs.”
Michael Balakier first discovered a knack for writing during his senior year in high school while reporting for his school`s newspaper. Aside from being an Arenaball fan, Michael is an avid Syracuse University athletics follower, which poses a problem for him, as he attends the University of Pittsburgh. Michael plans on using what he has learned through his Arenafan experience to remain as impartial as he can during future Syracuse/Pitt events. Michael also serves as co-Editor of the af2 section of Arenafan Online.
