Conquest Roster Enters Double Digits
Friday February 22, 2008
DeRosia, Sullivan, Biondi Assigned To Albany
ALBANY, NY - The Albany Conquest announced today that defensive tackle Damion DeRosia, left guard Leo Sullivan and kicker Luke Biondi have been assigned to the Conquest by the af2 for the 2008 season, bringing the Conquest's announced roster up to eleven players.
DeRosia, 23, comes to the Conquest looking to make his af2 debut. The 6'6", 325 lbs defensive tackle from Flint, Michigan most recently attended the Minnesota Vikings mini camp in May of 2007. DeRosia played four years of college football for Division II Saginaw Valley State University (2003-2006), totaling 164 career tackles (78 solo, 86 assisted), 13.5 tackles for a loss, two and a half sacks and two blocked field goals. As a junior he help lead SVSU go deep into the playoffs, reaching the Division II National Quarterfinals before losing to the eventual champions Grand Valley State (Michigan) University.
"Damion brings us NFL experience having worked out at the Minnesota Vikings mini camp last year," said Conquest Head Coach Jeff Hoffman. "He has a ton of talent and if he can make the transition to the indoor game he could be a dominant factor on our defensive line."
Sullvian, 23, adds more arena football experience to the Albany roster, having played for the Bakersfield Blitz during the 2007 af2 season. The 6'4", 320 lbs native of Bellmore, New York played in seven games as an offensive lineman for Bakersfield last season (four starts) and in his very first af2 game he caught a three-yard touchdown pass against the Tri-Cities Fever. Sullivan finished the season two catches for 29 yards, one receiving touchdown and averaging 14.5 yards per catch. He also made three solo tackles on the defensive side of the ball. Sullivan was a four-year starter at left guard for Division I-AA Stony Brook University (2002-2005), starting in every possible game, 41 total in his college career. In 2005, his senior season, he helped Stony Brook win a share of the Northeast Conference Title, the first in school history, and he was selected to the first-team all-NEC. Sullivan became the third offensive lineman in school history, and the second in Division I-AA, to be selected to the 2005 Don Hansen I-AA Mid-Major All-America First Team.
"Leo has a year of af2 experience under his belt, which is a huge advantage to us," said Coach Hoffman. "He has good size, knows the game very well and we expect him to be a productive force on our offensive line."
Biondi, 24, also has Division I-AA experience, playing two seasons for Northern Illinois University (2005-2006). The 5'11", 185 lbs kicker from Sioux Falls, South Dakota was a member of the NIU special teams unit, playing in 13 career games after transferring before his junior year. Biondi began his college career at Division II Augustana (South Dakota) College (2002-2003), where he was the starting punter, kicking 65 career punts for 2,297 yards, averaging 35.3 yards per kick with his longest kick going 63 yards.
"The kicking game is so important in our game and Luke should be a major factor for our special teams," said Coach Hoffman. "He demonstrated his stellar talent at Northern Illinois and we look forward to having him as a big contributor for our team."
Albany is hosting an Open Tryout this weekend, Sunday February 24th at the Center City Arena in Schenectady, NY. For more information or to pre-register please contact Assistant Coach/Football Operations Assistant Justin Polizzi in the Conquest office at (518)-487-2218 or via email at coachjpolizzi@hotmail.com.
The Conquest will begin their 2008 season on the road at the Mahoning Valley Thunder on Saturday, March 29th at 7:05 pm. The Conquest's home opener will be on Sunday, April 13th at 4:00 pm against the Peoria Pirates at the Times Union Center.
Full and partial season ticket packages are now on sale for the 2008 Albany Conquest regular season. For more information please contact the Conquest at (518) 487-2244 or online at www.albanyconquest.com.
