Inside the Numbers: Pioneers vs. Conquest
Michael Balakier
Wednesday May 22, 2002
Saturday’s game between divisional foes Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Albany marks the second of three meetings the teams face each other this year. Albany won the first game, 34-28 back on April 20. The Pioneers are coming off their first victory of the season against the New Haven Ninjas, 47-43. The victory snapped a six game losing streak and now has Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at 1-6, 1-2 in the division. Albany defeated the Roanoke Steam in a close battle, 37-32. The game marked the first time this season that the Conquest has played a team outside their division. The win put the Conquest at 5-1 on the year, 4-1 in the division.
Positional matchups
Quarterback
The skinny: The Pioneers rode the arm and legs of Bryan Snyder to victory last week against New Haven. Snyder went 19-29 for 189 yards, 2 TDs and 1 INT. Snyder also added two rushing touchdowns. Since being assigned to the Pioneers, Snyder has gone 33-59 (55.9%) for 391 yards and 7 TDs. He also boasts a quarterback rating of 91.84. Albany’s Ryan Vena went 24-35 for 283 yards and 3 TDs against the Steam. Vena also had a rushing touchdown, but did throw two interceptions as well. On the year, Vena has completed over 56 percent of his passes for 849 yards and 15 TDs. However, Vena also has thrown 7 INTs. His QB rating is 81.91.
Hidden stat: The Pioneers head into the game averaging more points than the Conquest. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton is averaging 34.6 pts. per game, which ranks 28 in the league, while Albany is averaging 34.5 pts. per game, which ranks 29 in the league. Defensively, however, the Conquest rank third in the league in points allowed, giving up an average of only 29.5 pts. per game, as compared to 50.9 pts. per game allowed by the Pioneers, which ranks 29.
Advantage: Both Snyder and Vena are talented quarterbacks and each have the ability to be lethal from the air or the ground. Whoever has the better game will lead his team to victory.
Fullback
The skinny: The Pioneers mostly relied on LaMonte “Col-Col” Coleman last week against the Ninjas. Coleman, who leads the Pioneers in rushing with 110 yards, ran the ball nine times for 18 yards. Kevin Nagle also added four carries for seven yards. However, aside from Snyder’s ground scores, receivers Amam Abye and Matt Jackson each scored touchdowns from the ground on their only carries. Ironically, Albany’s top rusher is quarterback Ryan Vena. Vena has gained 110 yards on 20 attempts this year and has scored four times. The Conquest also has FB Matt Vittengl, who has 40 yards on 15 attempts this year and 5 TDs.
Hidden stat: The Pioneers rush defense ranks last in the league, allowing an average of 47.3 yards per game. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s rush offense, however, ranks ninth in the league, averaging 36.6 yards per game.
Advantage: The Pioneers have the better talent in the fullbacks, but the Conquest have a better scrambling quarterback. If Vena can breakdown the Pioneers pass rush, and if he’s allowed to scramble, then the Pioneers may be in for a long night.
Wide receivers
The skinny: Last week, Snyder hit six different targets, most often going to Bob Washington or Opio Gary, each having five receptions. Both of Snyder’s touchdown passes were to Matt Jackson. Jackson finished the game with three receptions for 40 yards. On the year, Amam Abye leads all Pioneer receivers with 25 receptions while Matt Jackson leads the Pioneers with five receiving TDs. Albany’s Ryan Vena also varied his targets last week, throwing to four different receivers. The Conquest were lead by Corey Hill, who had ten receptions for 97 yards, and John Stuart, who had six receptions for 102 yards and a touchdown. Michael Guazzo and Jason Mattes also added a touchdown apiece for Albany.
Hidden stat: Albany’s Corey Hill, who is tied for second in the league in receptions with 55, has caught over half of the Conquest’s passes and just under two-thirds of their touchdowns.
Advantage: This is the same scenario as two weeks ago when the Pioneers played Rochester. Rochester had one real receiving threat, but added another player to their roster midway through the week. Albany has one real receiving threat, that being Corey Hill, and disregarding any unforeseen roster additions by the Conquest, the Pioneers should be able to contain Hill and force Vena either to throw to other receivers or scramble.
Kick returns
The skinny: The past two weeks the Pioneers have turned to Bob Washington to handle returns. Last week, Washington handled three returns for a total of 45 yards, and on the year he is averaging just over 16 yards a return. Albany has single handily relied on Corey Hill. Hill, who racked up 103 yards on six returns against the Steam last week, has 361 yards on 21 returns on the year with an average of just over 17 yards a return.
Hidden stat: The Conquest’s kick return average of 14.2 yards a return ranks 33 in the league, just above Wichita.
Advantage: The Pioneers hold a slight edge in this department, but beware, as Corey Hill can single handily change the outcome of the game.
Kickers
The skinny: The Pioneers’ Jimmie Kibble has been on fire as of lately. After going 1-2 on field goals and 7-7 on PATs against the Brigade two weeks ago, Kibble continued his success against the Ninjas by going 2-3 on field goals and 5-6 on PATs. Kibble, who ranks seventh in the league in field goals, improved to 6-17 on the year. Albany’s Chris Drennan went 1-2 last week, connecting on a 20 yard attempt and missing from 44 yards. On the year, Drennan is 4-17, and 1-12 from 40+ yards.
Hidden stat: Kibble has steadily increased in his performance each of the past three weeks. Against Roanoke, Kibble was 0-1; against Rochester, he went 1-2; and against New Haven, Kibble went 2-3.
Advantage: Is there a pattern in Kibble’s kicking game? Regardless, Kibble will have success against the Conquest and then must prepare to return home to the First Union Arena for next week’s game against the Brigade. After kicking in Rochester, the First Union Arena should be a cakewalk.
Speaking out: Pioneers head coach Terry Karg talks about Albany and quarterback Ryan Vena: “Right now they’re 4-1, leading our division, and doing a great job taking advantage of their opponents mistakes and capitalizing on them and not making very many [mistakes] themselves.” On Vena: “He’s a savvy little guy. Kind of the guy who likes to run around a little bit and makes plays on his feet.”
What to expect
Now that the Pioneers know what the taste of victory feels like, they will be looking to seek revenge on the Conquest for their 28-34 defeat earlier in the season. However, standing in the way of the Pioneers are Albany quarterback Ryan Vena and receiver Corey Hill. Both Vena and Hill are big time playmakers; with each having the power to single handily change the outcome of the football game. If the Pioneers can contain both Vena and Hill, then Wilkes-Barre/Scranton should be able come out of this battle with a ‘W’. However, should either Vena or Hill overcome the Pioneers’ defense, then the Conquest may be able to post another victory against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
Prediction: It’s always been said that two is better than one, and Albany has just that, two playmakers in Vena and Hill. The Pioneers should be able to shutdown one of them, but to contain both may be impossible. This game will definitely be closer than what the records indicate, however it will be Albany sneaking by in the end, 40-34.
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.
