Pioneers Continue to Win Ugly
Jason Moyer
Sunday June 12, 2005
The Pioneers defense provided seven stops on the night and amassed four sacks, one interception, and one fumble recovery. At one point in the second half, Wilkes-Barre posted back-to-back-to-back sacks against the Conquest.
"Our defense played great," commented Head Coach Les Moss. "They really stepped up. It could have very easily become a disaster. Our team showed a lot of character. They just kept fighting."
While the defense stepped up, the offense stepped back. Kyle Rowley misfired on passes throughout the first half and when he did hit his target the ball bounced off his receivers’ hands. Rowley finished the half 2 of 11 for 24 yards and was replaced by Brian Snyder.
The quarterback change did little to improve the offense as Snyder threw three straight incomplete passes to start the second half. This, however, was a blessing in disguise.
David Davis attempted a 50-yard field goal that sliced to the left and bounded off the netting. Jurron Kelly hustled down field and recovered the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. The play proved to be the turning point of the game as the Pioneers cut into Albany’s lead 21-17.
The defense then took over on Albany’s next possession as they sacked quarterback Tommy Jones on three consecutive plays. Chris Ekwueme sandwiched two sacks around a Taso Apostolidis effort. The stop turned the ball back to the offense at the Conquest’s 6-yard line. Roy Olson rumbled for a touchdown on the next play to give Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a 23-21 lead they would never relinquish.
Rocco Forgione took over the remainder of the game as he hauled in touchdown passes of 43 and 39 yards from Snyder to lift his team to a 36-28 advantage. The two catches were Forgione’s only receptions of the game, but sparked the team and the crowd.
"Rocco made a great catch," remarked Coach Moss. "It got the crowd excited. It’s great to get out of this with a victory."
Albany, however, refused to quit.
With 54 seconds remaining, Manwell Talbert wrestled the ball away from Jamie Hattley and a front row fan to pull the Conquest to within 2 points at 36-34. A two-point conversion would have tied the score, but Ronnie Kaymore deflected D. Bryant’s pass to Jeremiah Pope to preserve the Pioneer lead.
Forgione salted the game away for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton when he scooped up the ensuing onside kick and zigzagged his way 14 yards into the end zone for the final score.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton now heads to the road as they play their next four contests away from the Wachovia Arena.
"I’m packing my bags. Probably taking double bags," stated Coach Moss. "We were fortunate to get out of this one with a win. Now we got four tough games. Hopefully, we can get all of them and keep this thing rolling."
Inside the numbers:
Rocco Forgione earned Ironman of the Game. Forgione returned a kickoff 14 yards for a score, made 5.5 tackles, deflected a pass, and snared two passes for touchdowns.
Chris Ekwueme was named Defensive Player of the Game. Ekwueme recorded two sacks for a combined 14 yards loss and 3.5 total tackles.
Rocco Forgione also was voted Offensive Player of the Game. His two catches for 72 yards both went for touchdowns.
Jeremiah Pope led Albany with seven receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown.
The seven completions by Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is an af2 season low. Their 129 total yards was the third worst output by a team this season.
Looking ahead:
The Pioneers will begin their four game road trip next week when they travel to Georgia to take on the Macon Knights. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
Jason Moyer is an elementary school teacher in the western New Jersey area. He is an avid follower of the Arena Football League and has been covering the Philadelphia Soul with ArenaFan.com since 2005. Jason resides in Whitehall, PA with his wife and daughter.
