Albany Firebirds Complete Perfect Season
Less than 24 hours after being named AF1’s Most Valuable Player, Albany quarterback Sam Castronova added Arena Crown MVP to his list of honors. The star quarterback completed 17-of-25 passes for 233 yards and five touchdowns, and added a pair of rushing touchdowns as he won his second league championship in Albany.
Nashville (7-5) pushed Albany for 60 minutes, led by quarterback Tyler Kulka, who put up 347 yards and seven touchdowns.
A pair of fourth-down sacks allowed Albany to get two key stops in the first half, and defensive back Tre Wortham provided a four-point swing in the second quarter when he intercepted a two-point conversion pass and took it the length of the field to put two points on the board for the Firebirds, who eventually led 32-21 at halftime. Albany pushed its lead to as many as 19 points in the third quarter, but Nashville scored 16 straight points to pull within 46-43 entering the fourth.
With the Firebirds’ offense stalled, Castronova hit Isiah Scott to convert a fourth-and-15 early in the fourth quarter that extended a drive, eventually leading to Castronova finding Scott for a 10-yard touchdown pass that made it 53-43 with 8:22 to play.
Late in the game, Albany turned that into a short Castronova rushing touchdown for an 11-point lead with 39 seconds to go. Nashville did make a last-gasp comeback attempt with a Kulka touchdown pass to Robert Jones Jr. and a two-point conversion with two seconds left, but trailing by three the Kats’ only option was to have Raborn kick the ball off the end zone netting and hope for a chaotic bounce that Nashville could pounce on for a touchdown. Instead, Marquel Wade secured the kick, ran out the clock, and the Firebirds could breathe easy and celebrate.
Review of season
With the Firebirds’ offense stalled, Castronova hit Isiah Scott to convert a fourth-and-15 early in the fourth quarter that extended a drive, eventually leading to Castronova finding Scott for a 10-yard touchdown pass that made it 53-43 with 8:22 to play.
Late in the game, Albany turned that into a short Castronova rushing touchdown for an 11-point lead with 39 seconds to go. Nashville did make a last-gasp comeback attempt with a Kulka touchdown pass to Robert Jones Jr. and a two-point conversion with two seconds left, but trailing by three the Kats’ only option was to have Raborn kick the ball off the end zone netting and hope for a chaotic bounce that Nashville could pounce on for a touchdown. Instead, Marquel Wade secured the kick, ran out the clock, and the Firebirds could breathe easy and celebrate.
Review of season
- Albany Firebirds (10-0)
- Nashville Kats (6-4)
- Southwest Kansas Storm (7-5)
- Salina Liberty (6-5)
- Outlaws (formerly Billing Outlaws) (6-6)
- Oregon Lightning (5-8)
- Corpus Christi Tritons (3-7)
- Washington Wolfpack (2-10)
Semifinals
Albany 75, Salina 44
Nashville 48, SW Kansas 43
Arena Crown Final
Albany 60, Nashville 57
Future of AF1:
- Nashville Kats could move more home games to Clarksville after successful games there in the past. Look for the team to possibly make a permanent move.
- AF1 needs to find more stability with franchises including the Outlaws which formerly played in Billings.
- Consider merger with other established leagues such as the NAL or the IFL?
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