ALBANY — The Albany Empire’s 68-67 win over the Jacksonville Sharks, which earned them a trip to the National Arena League championship game for the second straight season, represented their season in miniature.
The Empire got off to a flying start in the game and season. They were 4-1 in their first five games and leading the Sharks by 35-24 at halftime.
Then came adversity — a midseason three-game losing streak and a pick from Albany quarterback Sam Castronova that turned Jacksonville into a 53-49 lead in the fourth quarter, the first of the game for the Sharks.
“We knew what we had, we knew we just had to do a little bit better,” Castronova said of the midseason struggles.
After the Sharks scored, Castronova threw a pass to wide receiver Aaron Wascha for the first down and then ran in the ball for a touchdown. Kicker Marc Orozco scored the extra point and sent the ball through the post on kickoff for a two (two points) to give Albany a 58-53 lead.
“They all believed in me,” Castronova said. “I knew we would get the ball back, go down and score.”
Albany’s defense allowed Sharks quarterback Arvell Nelson to throw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Milton Williams, but forced an incomplete pass on the two-point conversion to fall 59-58 down with just a minute left.
“Of course we have room for improvement,” said coach Tom Menas. “I think we still have some things to figure out at the back end of our defense.”
“It’s about what you do after that type of game. Do you go backwards or do a big play afterwards?” said lineman Brandon Sesay.
The Empire offense had short field after Jacksonville attempted an onside kick, and Castronova took it in for another touchdown and then found wide receiver Darius Prince in the end zone for the two-point conversion. Prince had seven catches for 99 yards and four touchdowns.
“We got into a little dogfight there, but nobody gave up, nobody thought negatively at any point,” Sesay said.
Orozco hit a two with less than a minute left and the Sharks ran out of time to make a comeback.
Menas described Orozco’s performance as “amazing,” adding, “I wish he hadn’t waited until fourth quarter and given me a heart attack.”
Similarly, the Empire ended its losing streak at Columbus on June 26 and hasn’t lost since.
“My whole plan was to win July and August. I really don’t care about June, May and April,” Menas said.
The championship game, played August 13, is Menas’ second with the Empire. It’s Sesay’s third because he played for the Arena Football League Empire when they won the ArenaBowl in 2019.
“Every time I go there’s always something nice,” Sesay said. It’s really hard to do. So it doesn’t need words to explain it one by one.”
Two weeks before the championship, Menas gave his team a week off, just like he would any other bye week.
“We’re not moving because of the importance of the game,” he said. “This is no different than the fourth game of the season. We should prepare as well.”
The Empire welcomes the Carolina Cobras, who beat the Columbus Lions 65-51 in the other playoff game. Albany is 0-3 against Carolina this season.
“We respect these guys, but we fear nothing,” Sesay said. “We have to finish what we started and it’s not finished yet. I don’t get complacent at all. We’re back to work. We’ve been given a great team and we have to do what we have to do for our family and friends and the Albany community.”