Sam Castronova: The Quarterback With Faith Fueling His Game

If you have watched the Albany Firebirds this year, you know their quarterback. If you haven’t watched a game yet and plan on tuning in for the first time for Saturday’s Arena Football One's Championship Game, The Arena Crown, get ready to know their quarterback. Sam Castronova is known quite well in arena ball, where his journey feels like it’s just getting started.

When I talked with Sam, multiple things stood out: His passion for the game, his strong faith, and his dedication to his family. All of these things continue to guide him as he strives for greatness both on and off the field.

Castronova has been succeeding at the professional level for the past handful of years. Going from the 2023 Arena League MVP to last year’s IFL Offensive Player of the Year, he now finds himself as a finalist for the Arena Football One’s MVP award. 

“First and foremost, I credit my success to God for giving me the abilities and blessing me with the ability to play this game,” Sam said. “After that, it’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of support from my family, and being able to look in the mirror and have constructive criticism. Also being able to learn from other guys along the way”.

For a guy who led the league in touchdown passes, with 48, and led his team to a 10-0 regular season record, Sam is humble, respectful, and thankful. Faith is a big part of Sam’s life both on and off the field.

“Faith is a huge part of every game for me. Right about an hour before every game, I do a little devotional, and this year it’s been cool because I brought in a lot of the guys on the team. We’ll do just a five-to-ten-minute devotional about an hour before each game. Going over bible verses and then praying together,” Sam said. As I gathered information and talked with Sam, I really realized how much faith plays an impact on the leader he is on the field and in the locker room. He hopes to show that on the field as well.

“I feel like the Lord is my strength, to be honest with you, and I can always be in contact with him and pray and ask him for help and guidance and strength for me to see the field.”

Sam’s faith wasn’t born on the field or in the game of football, but it had been instilled in him even at a very young age and in relation to football.

“My mom prays before every game that I’ll be able to see the field well and see the defense. So, from a young age, I’ve had that instilled in me, and that’s just what I’m trying to continue to do. I feel like every night when I go out there and play, I’m asking God to show other people Himself through me. That’s my goal out there.”

When you hear Sam speak about his faith and his family, it’s not hard to see why people like this guy. All year, his coach Damon Ware has praised him. As I talked with guys like Ezekiel Rose, Duane Brown, and Darien Townsend, all of them had so many good things to say about their quarterback. If you tune in to a game, you can also see the fans love this guy.

Castronova and the Firebirds have been on an epic run all season, outscoring their opponents 750 points to 320. Few of their games were close, though the closest game was one of Castronova’s favorite moments of the season.

“Favorite game this season would have definitely been the second time we played Salina. It was just a back-and-forth shootout. We were scoring, they were scoring, and it ended up being 54-54 and went into overtime. Our defense got a huge stop on fourth down. On the very first play, we scored a touchdown. I ran off the field, jumped right into the stands, and hugged my wife and kids. That was probably the best game and coolest moment because there was just so much hype, and being undefeated was our whole goal.”

Their goal was met, with Sam leading the team on the field. He’s impressed his teammates, who have all told me how great it is to work with him. He’s impressed the fans, who have embraced him in their community. Sam has also impressed his head coach, Damon Ware, in their reunion. I asked Coach Ware if he could say one thing about Sam, what would it be?  

“His character. He’s a phenomenal young man with a good heart, supportive family, and genuine faith. Working with someone like him is rewarding because he’s highly personable and selfless,” Coach Ware said. Ware and I have talked all season, and he is always praising the way Sam approaches the game and the way he approaches being a leader. The two have an excellent coach-player relationship and even golf together.

“He has gotten a ton better,” Ware said. “Golf is a tough game, and having people from the organization participating is fulfilling. It’s a great way to bond outside of football, and I’ve enjoyed continuing conversations on the golf course since we started playing together in 2022.” Ware wasn’t the only person handing out compliments, however.

“He’s such a great coach. He’s a player’s coach, too, so he knows what we need and he’ll listen to us if we have something or have input on things,” Castronova said. “I can’t give him enough credit for that.”

As Sam and I talked about life and football, our conversation moved to the NFL. It wasn’t intentional, but Sam was such an approachable and easy person to talk to. It was fun talking about all forms of professional ball with him. Sam is a big Buffalo Bills fan and a huge Josh Allen fan. While talking about the Bills and his desire to see them win a Super Bowl, we couldn’t help but also talk about the Chiefs. More specifically, how well-coached they are and how they’ve been a thorn in the Bills’ side.

“You brought up Andy Reid and Patrick Mahomes,” I said to Sam, “so, question for you. Coach Damon Ware and Sam Castronova, is that more of a Brady-Belichick situation or Mahomes-Reid?”

“I would say Mahomes and Reid, mainly because Belichick was more of a defensive coach. Whereas Coach Ware has always been the offensive guy. So yeah, I would definitely lean to that one.” Coach Ware had some thoughts on that, too.

“I agree with that analogy. I like to be innovative and find new strategies. Sam was perfect for trying new approaches, much like Mahomes was for Reid, and we’ve hit success with it. I’m constantly pushing for evolving strategies.”

Sam has played in professional arena ball for multiple years now, and each one has been slightly different with slightly different experiences. He was with Coach Ware in a previous Arena League, where they won a championship together in 2023. He played in the IFL in 2024 before reuniting with Coach Ware for the Arena Football One league. I asked Sam about the AF1 and what he has enjoyed most about it.

“It’s super exciting to be in this form and back in this brand of football. Nothing against the others, they were great leagues. But the one man in motion, jack linebacker in the box, traditional arena football that Kurt Warner did, that brand of football is my favorite personally. That’s what this is, and I think it’s how it was meant to be. To be under center, drop back, pass. There were a couple of teams in our league this year that ran shotgun. However, both teams that are in the championship go under center. So I think you see that the traditional arena game is alive and well,” Sam said, pointing out how the AF1 showcases those traditional aspects of the game. “It’s super fun to watch, it’s high scoring, and with the kicking nets too, it makes the kickoff so exciting. That’s all been great, and the AF1 has done a great job of all of that this year.”

Castronova has played with a talented receiving corps this year. I asked about Duane Brown, who led the league in receiving touchdowns. Sam spoke of him, but also about the other receivers. You could tell as he talked about them that he thoroughly enjoys playing with and throwing to each one.

“Duane, I tell him he’s like my son all the time, because at the beginning of the year in camp, he had only ever played one year of arena ball. I was showing him some different things because he had only run high motion about five or six times last year, and he’s our main high motion guy. It was definitely an adjustment for him, but he’s obviously done a phenomenal job doing that. The sky’s the limit for that kid. He’s super talented, and it’s been a bunch of fun to grow this year, and I feel like we’re still getting better,” Sam said.

“And then obviously Isaiah Scott is just a monster. He’s six feet two, like 220 pounds, and can fly. People don’t want to tackle him either, but he can also run by people. He is great. (Darien) Townsend could make somebody miss in a phone booth. And Wade, he’s been doing it for a while, and he’s done so well too.”

In last week’s playoff game, each of his receivers had two receiving touchdowns. Sam threw for eight touchdowns and also ran for two touchdowns. It was his first 10-touchdown game.

Like every Firebird player I’ve talked to, Sam showed his appreciation to the fans and the support that they give. The fans do "adopt a player" bags every other week, where they have a bag for every single player, full of stuff.

“The fans have done it for me, and then they’ve gotten bags for my kids. It’s like they’ve adopted us. They really have treated us like we’re their own kids, and it’s awesome. It was from the get-go, the first or second week of camp, that they had stuff for us. They love the team out here, and we love the fans. They’re super supportive, and they would do pretty much anything for the players, which is awesome.

Off the field, Castronova lives a life defined by faith and family. He, his wife, and two boys go on a walk almost every day. “We have a bunch of fun,” he said. Sam has a beautiful family, and his pride was shining through as he talked about them.

He continues to like to play golf with Coach Ware and some others from the Firebirds, as well as some friends. He also plays basketball for conditioning since it’s more enjoyable than just running to run.

“Basketball was actually my first love. I thought I was going to be the next Steve Nash, so I was always playing basketball. I scored a thousand points in high school, but then reality set in that I’m six-foot-one and I can’t guard the point guards in Division 1, so I might have to try and maybe go with football,” Sam said with a laugh.

Castronova will look to lead the Firebirds to the first-ever Arena Crown in the Arena Football One league. After spending twenty or so minutes with him, there are several things I’m certain of. I’m certain you will find a player who leaves it all out on the field for his teammates. I’m certain you’ll find someone whose faith shines through in the arena and outside of it, and I’m certain he will be ready to jump in the stands and celebrate with his family.