ALBANY, N.Y. — A seven-touchdown effort from second-year quarterback James Pinkney drew Manchester one step closer to the arenafootball2 playoffs in a 70-49 crushing of Albany.
The streaking Wolves, who never trailed against the 5-10 Conquest, moved to 8-7 with their seventh victory in eight contests, good for second place in the East Division of the af2's American Conference. Manchester virtually locked up a postseason berth, with 16 of the league's 29 teams qualifying.
Pinkney had a virtuoso performance, connecting on 16 of 21 passes for 233 yards and six TDs while adding a rushing touchdown before leaving the contest in the fourth quarter with bruised ribs. His status for Manchester's regular season finale at home July 26 against Corpus Christi is unknown.
Wide receiver Steven Savoy hauled in half of Pinkney's completions for 106 yards and three scores. Bradley Chavez scored three times for the Wolves and recovered all three of Albany's onside kick attempts to lock down the victory.
After Pinkney's injury, rookie Ben King didn't miss a beat as he hit on 3 of 5 throws for 40 yards and two more touchdowns.
