Albany Firebirds ArenaBowl-bound after sinking Salina with second-half surge

ALBANY, N.Y. ( NEWS10 ) — The Albany Firebirds punched their ticket to ArenaBowl 33 after defeating the third-seeded Salina Liberty 80-59 Saturday afternoon in the Arena Football League semifinals. The 80 points scored is a season-high point total for Albany.

Performances such as that have not been uncommon inside MVP Arena over the last few years. The Firebirds have an opportunity to bring a fourth arena bowl championship back to the Capital Region since 2019 following the Albany Empire’s AFL title in 2019 and two NAL titles in 2021 and 2022.

“The thing is, we expect to win around here. That’s why we get everybody’s Super Bowl effort every week and that’s why we’ve had such a tough schedule; tough season,” said head coach Damon Ware. “Everybody gives us their best effort and so, Salina did that again tonight. They gave us their best effort and put together a great game plan against us but ultimately, we believe that there’s nothing less but championships got to be won here in Albany.”

Firebirds quarterback Jake Medlock threw for 269 yards, five touchdowns and rushed for two scores in the win. Darius Prince and Marquel Wade were each on the receiving end of two of those TD passes, and newly-acquired receiver Isiah Scott hauled in his first score with the team in the first quarter.

An eventful second quarter saw 58 combined points and ended with the Firebirds taking a 44-42 lead at halftime. Albany made some defensive adjustments at halftime and held the Liberty offense to just five points in the third quarter.

“I just think…we have been a second-half team all season, so we went into halftime and we knew that we were going to come out and play Firebird football the second half,” said Prince. “So, you know, Coach was calling the plays. Coach Hollis’ defensive guys make some plays, man, and we just we just started to roll.”

The Firebirds kept their foot on the gas in the fourth quarter with the offense scoring 21 points, while the defense recorded two sacks and came away with a pick six with less than eight minutes to go in regulation. Defensive back Markus Smith had three interceptions for the Firebirds and returned two for touchdowns.

For Prince, this win wasn’t just about the players on the field.

“Going back to the dance this year, it just feels great [with] everything we’ve been through,” said Prince. “I think we set out to make this about the ownership. I mean, they take care of us, man. We wouldn’t be here without them guys from the office and this community that embraces how everything that happened last year. So, it really is a great feeling to do that for them.”

The Firebirds will face off with the top-seeded Billings Outlaws in the championship game Friday, July 19 at American Dream in East Rutherford, N.J.; part of the Meadowlands Sports Complex. Kick-off is set for 5:30 p.m.

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