Byline: PHILLIP RAMATI Special to the Times Union
Conquest 52
Knights 37
MACON, Ga. - All it took was a slight defensive adjustment for Albany.
Conquest coach Richard Davis switched his corners to a straight man-to-man coverage, and dared the Macon offense to beat them.
The Knights couldn't.
Albany manhandled Macon on the line of scrimmage in the second half of a 52-37 victory in front of 3,105 at the Macon Coliseum.
'We got the heck beat out of us up front,' Knights coach Mike Hold said. 'We couldn't protect (quarterback Lionel Hayes). I may be wrong, and I have to check the film, but from my point of view we couldn't protect the quarterback.'
The Knights (2-4) provided Hayes some protection in the first half, and he produced. After struggling over the past two games, Hayes led Macon to a 21-20 halftime lead, completing 12 of 18 passes for 151 yards and two touchdowns.
But in the second half, the Conquest (2-3) turned up the pressure on defense. Committing the corners to single coverage was the key.
'The second half, we sucked it up,' Davis said. 'It was an unbelievably good effort. I'm pretty happy. In the first half, we were sloppy, probably from spending 10 days down here. We had a conversation in the locker room. We were going to press them. We were in pure man, and it helped our linemen' pressure Hayes.
Hayes spent most of the second half either hurried, sacked or knocked down after rushing his passes, resulting in a scoreless third quarter for the Knights in which the Conquest, which established a season high for points, put the game away.
While Macon managed a great deal of pressure on Albany quarterback D. Bryant in the first half, it evaporated in the third quarter. Bryant needed just four plays before hitting Manwel Talbert with a 6-yard scoring pass that put Albany ahead 27-21 with 12:36 left in the third quarter.
Macon never responded, and the result was Albany's second win in a row after an 0-3 start.
Obey Arah sacked Hayes in the end zone to give the Conquest a 29-21 with 9:03 to go in the period. After the ensuing kickoff, Bryant led a four-play drive that ended with a 29-yard touchdown strike to Jeremiah Pope with 5:39 left in the quarter. A field goal on the next series made it 39-21.
'I thought in the second half we really came together as a team,' said Conquest wide receiver/linebacker Jeff Higgins, named the ironman of the game. 'Everyone was winning the physical battles and we were able to stymie their offense.'
Bryant, the offensive player of the game, connected with offensive specialist Jeremiah Pope on three scoring passes.
'Things are starting to jell for us,' Bryant said. 'The defense stepped up big time in the second half and gave us a lift late in the game.'
CONQUEST 52, KNIGHTS 37
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Albany 14 6 16 16-52
Macon 6 15 0 16-37
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First Quarter
Alb-Pope 5 pass from Bryant (Samuel kick), 10:42.
Mac-Johnson 14 pass from Hayes (kick failed), 6:09.
Alb-Butler 9 pass from Bryant (Samuel kick), 1:30.
Second Quarter
Mac-Collins 1 run (Holmes, kick), 12:27.
Mac-Garman 15 pass from Hayes (kick failed), 5:14.
Alb-Butler 4 run (run fumbled), :42.
Mac-Lee fumble return, :42.
Third Quarter
Alb-Talbert 6 pass from Bryant (Samuel kick), 12:16.
Alb-Arah safety, 9:03.
Alb-Pope 29 pass from Bryant (Samuel kick), 5:39.
Fourth Quarter
Alb-Samuel 24 FG, 11:35.
Mac-Jackson 45 pass from Hayes (Jackson run), 10:52.
Alb-Pope 14 pass from Bryant (Samuel kick), 8:07.
Mac-Johnson 5 pass from Hayes (Johnson pass from Hayes), 2:36.
Alb-Thomas 9 pass from Bryant (kick failed), 1:08.
Alb Mac
First downs 18 20
Rushes-yards 9-11 6-14
Passing 205 272
Comp-Att-Int 21-43-2 23-40-1
Kickoff Returns 4-95 4-91
Interceptions Ret. 1-0 2-16
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 3-2
Penalties-Yards 4-25 6-43
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING- Albany, Bryan 3-6, Butler 2-5, Higgins 1-1, Harris 1-0, Hill 2-(minus 1). Macon, Jackson 1-11, Lloyd 1-1, Lucas 1-1, Collins 1-1, Hayes 2-0.
PASSING- Albany, Bryant 21-43-2-211, Team 0-0-0-(minus 6). Macon, Hayes 23-40-1-289, Team 0-0-0-(minus 17)
RECEIVING- Albany, Pope 7-102, Talbert 6-43, Butler 4-41, Higgins 2-11, Thomas 1-9, Hill 1-5. Macon, Johnson 8-90, Collins 5-64, LEE 5-46, Jackson 2-60, Garman 2-25, Laney 1-4.
