Albany Firebirds' Playbook: Striving For Perfection

The Albany Firebirds traveled to Billings to take on the Outlaws and once again came out victorious, 39-7. After taking down Billings twice, they now hit the road to take on Corpus Christi on Friday, April 25th, at 8 PM ET on ViceTV. 

Albany Firebirds 39 - Billings Outlaws 7

It was another dominant performance against the Billings Outlaws by the Firebirds. Castranova had another great performance, finishing 16 for 24 for 152 yards and four touchdowns. His favorite target was Duane Brown, who had six catches for 104 yards and two touchdowns. 

Isaiah Scott was also involved with five catches for 50 yards. The Firebirds even got offensive lineman Brandon Nicholson a touchdown reception. Their defense also played very well, sacking Billings three times. Derrick Jones also had a pick-six. 

"It's by design," Coach Damon Ware said. "We broke our game down to a science, and we wanted to prove our dominance with great game plans on both sides of the ball."

The Professor Of Arena Ball

The announcers continue to refer to Coach Ware as the Professor of Arena Ball, and his phrase of breaking the game down to a science makes the nickname seem even more fitting. Albany remains the lone, undefeated team and has been dominant through five games.

"I like the nickname," Coach Ware said. "We're a cerebral team. We like to teach and make sure we're on the same page and game plan. It's a fun little nickname that has just continued on."

Can Albany Remain Undefeated?

One of the concerns with not having lost a game is the focus that gets put on remaining undefeated. There comes a lot of pressure not to take that first loss, and the excitement builds in the locker room about potentially going undefeated. I asked Coach about this and how, if any, it affects anything.

"You want to take on every challenge that comes your way. Being undefeated is a true testament to taking every challenge in stride. Our goal is to win every single game. There's a lot that plays into that, but our goal right now is to continue to be undefeated, but also to be the best offense, defense, and special teams in the league.

On The Road To Corpus Christi

Albany hits the road again this week to take on Corpus Christi, which is now ranked as the number two power-ranked team behind Albany. It'll be another tough game for the Firebirds and another challenge.

"Playing on the road is tough, no matter where you go, but I don't think the preparation is any different. We put the emphasis on us executing good football the way we want to execute it and not necessarily who are opponent is. I think we've done a good job exerting our will on every opponent and making them adjust to us. Obviously, they've had a pretty good season this year, but we keep saying nobody has faced the kind of team we are."