Firebirds second half surge fly's them past Liberty

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- The Albany Firebirds punched their ticket to Arena Bowl 33 after defeating No. 3 Salina 80-59 in the semifinals. The 80 points scored is a new season-high point total for Albany.

Head Coach Damon Ware said after the game that winning is not uncommon inside MVP arena.

"The thing is we expect to win around here. I mean, and 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," Ware said. "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, two interceptions, and rushed for two scores in the win. Wide receivers Darius Prince and Marquel Wade caught a pair each and newly acquired receiver Isiah Scott had a touchdown catch and run in the first quarter. Medlock also rushed for two scores in the win.

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

"I just think, like Coach said, we have always 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," Prince said. "So, you know, Coach was calling the plays. Coach Hollin's 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 and the defense recorded two sacks and came away with a pic six with less than eight minutes to go in regulation. Defensive back Markus Smith had all 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, everything we've been through," said Prince. "So, you know, I think we set out to make this about the ownership, you know, 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 the winner of top-seeded Billings vs No. 6 Nashville in the championship next Friday, July 19 at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, NJ. Kick-off is set for 5:30 pm.