By DAVID MEISTER
Sports Editor
You couldn’t have written this script any better. 20 years after the city of Albany hoisted the ArenaBowl title with the FireBirds, the Albany Empire have done it and brought the trophy back home to the capital of New York.
Their opponent for ArenaBowl XXXII was the Philadelphia Soul who are no strangers to Arena Football League (AFL) championships after winning it all in both 2016 and 2017. The Empire came out of the gates flat after giving up a touchdown on their first stint on defense and then a fumble on Albany’s first offensive possession by the AFL’s Offensive Player of the Year, wide receiver Malachi Jones. The Empire defense responded in a big way with an interception by Maurice Leggett in the endzone which he returned 54 yards for a touchdown to get Albany on the board. That INT set an ArenaBowl record. Philadelphia got the ball back and scored again on their next drive to retake the lead 14-7.
The Empire answered right back on offense thanks to a one handed circus catch by wide receiver Quentin Sims in the back corner of the endzone to knot it up at 14.
All of that was just in the first quarter alone. The game looked like it was going to be a back and forth affair with each team answering the other right back and it would come down to who blinked first. The Soul blinked on their next drive. After what looked like another scoring opportunity for Philadelphia, their QB Dan Raudabaugh had four straight incomplete passes to turn the ball over on downs. The Empire scored quickly after quarterback Tommy Grady hooked up with Sims again for another touchdown to give Albany their first lead of the game 21-14.
Philadelphia would tie the game back up on their next drive thanks to a catch by WR Darius Prince. The Soul tried to break the stalemate by attempting an onside kick which they did recover to gain an extra possession but it did not last long. Raudabaugh threw a pass to Prince again but this time he fumbled it and it was recovered by Leggett at midfield to turn the momentum right back to the Albany side. Riding that momentum, it only took one pass from Grady to Sims to get another TD and put the Empire back up 28-21. Albany then took a page out of Philly’s playbook to try to get a two score lead headed into the half by trying an onside kick and it worked as it was recovered. The Empire marched down the field into the red zone and Grady found Sims yet again for his fourth touchdown of the half to put the Empire up 35-21 with only 22 seconds left until halftime. The Soul could not score on their ensuing possession and that’s how they went into the half.
The Empire started the second half with the ball and did not look back from there. Another successful drive for Albany was capped off by a Grady TD pass to running back Mykel Benson to open up a 42-21 lead on the Soul. That touchdown was the only score of the third quarter. Philadelphia marched down the field in what looked like another sure TD for the Soul, but the Albany defense stood up. With the ball on the Empire two yard line, the defense snuffed out any momentum Philly had and forced another turnover on downs after four failed attempts by the Soul to get into the end zone.
Looking to capitalize on their defense’s goal line stand, the Empire got to just shy of the 20 before the offense sputtered and turned the ball over on downs themselves. The Soul took over possession shortly after the beginning of the fourth quarter and found the endzone for the first time since the second quarter thanks to an over the wall catch by Lonnie Outlaw to close the gap a little but Soul kicker Kenny Spencer missed the extra point so the score stood at 42-27 with 13 minutes to go in the game.
The Soul tried to claw their way back by going for another onside kick but the Empire recovered it however the team could not get a touchdown and had to settle for an Adrian Trevino field goal from 31 yards out to add three points to the score and make it 45-27 with ten minutes to go. Philadelphia drove back into Empire territory and got down to the two yard line but the Empire defense rose up yet again and shut down the charging Soul. On fourth and goal from the two, Raudabaugh found Prince but Tevin Homer of the Empire wrapped him up before he could cross the goal line to force a turnover on downs and give Albany the ball back.
The Empire took over and gained a first down after chewing some clock and forcing Philadelphia to use all three of their timeouts. With 30 seconds left to go, Grady took a knee from victory formation and the confetti started to fly in the Times Union Center as the Albany Empire, in only their second season of existence in the AFL, were crowned ArenaBowl 32 champions.
Grady took home ArenaBowl MVP honors after finishing the night with 200 yards passing and five touchdowns. Sims won the Offensive Player of the Game with nine catches for 93 yards to go along with his four receiving touchdowns. Leggett won Defensive Player of the Game after his pick six in the first quarter and his fumble recovery.
This game helped to put Albany on the map nationally as the game was televised on ESPN2 and according to the broadcast, the local crowd was out in force as just over 12,000 people packed the Times Union Center.
This championship was a long time coming for the local community as the AFL made its return to the Capital Region last year with the creation of the Albany Empire. The city has had a long history with the sport dating back to the 1990’s with the aforementioned FireBirds and in the mid 2000’s with the Conquest which were based out of the now defunct af2 which was a development league to the AFL.
The Empire came close in 2018 to making the ArenaBowl only to fall in the semifinals in an upset to the two-win Washington Valor. Since that loss, the team had adopted the mantra, “Unfinished Business” for the 2019 season and even wore that on the back of their helmets throughout the campaign.
This season for Albany finished just like last season, with the team clinching the number one overall seed in the playoffs after finishing the regular season with the best record in the league at 10-2 and headed into the semifinals against the fourth seeded Baltimore Brigade. But this time, with a chip on their shoulder after last year’s disappointment, the Empire made sure they wouldn’t repeat history. They defeated Baltimore in the two-game aggregate score playoff 123-47 to secure their spot in ArenaBowl XXXII.
The Empire also had numerous year-end award winners to cap off their championship campaign. Center Ryan Cave took home Offensive Lineman of the Year. the O-Line for Albany only allowed Grady to be sacked twice all year. Defensive End Joe Sykes won Defensive Lineman of the Year after finishing 2019 with six and a half sacks. Sykes is also the all-time AFL leader in sacks with 67.5.
Wide Receiver of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year went to Malachi Jones. He led all receivers in the AFL with 1,440 yards and finished second in receiving touchdowns with 25. Adrian Trevino won Kicker of the Year honors with a near perfect make percentage on extra point attempts, 80/83 which is 96.4 percent. The AFL’s League MVP award went to quarterback Tommy Grady for a second year in a row. Grady led all QB’s in the league in many different categories including passing touchdowns, passing yards, and completion percentage to name a few.
The awards also extended to the sidelines too as the Empire’s management team took home Front Office Staff of the Year after Albany finished with the best attendance in the league for two straight years. Les Moss won Assistant Coach of the Year. He also serves as the Empire’s offensive coordinator.
The Albany Empire have taken care of their “unfinished business” and now is their time to shine and to celebrate. The party continues for them on August 17 with a block party outside of the Times Union Center from 3-7 p.m. in which the players and coaches will be on hand to celebrate with their fans. The team will have the ArenaBowl trophy and championship belt there too and fans will be able to take pictures.
The one question now on the minds of many, can the Empire go back to back?
