Philly Sports Jabronis
Report From Philadelphia Soul
PHOENIX— The Philadelphia Soul (9-3) fell to the Arizona Rattlers (9-3), with the score 80-63 in front of 11,067 fans at the Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, AZ on Friday evening.
“This was not our best performance,” said Soul head coach Clint Dolezel. “We fell into a hole that we could not dig out of. We have time to fix our mistakes and prepare for the next match-up.”
Soul WR Darius Reynolds led the receivers with ten receptions for 171 yards and three touchdowns. Soul receiver Shaun Kauleinamoku added eight receptions for 76 yards and Ryan McDaniel tallied five receptions for 38 yards and one touchdown. Rattlers’ WR and Under Armour Offensive Player of the Game Chase Deadder caught five receptions for 74 yards and four touchdowns.
Philadelphia QB Dan Raudabaugh completed 28-of-43 passes for 372 yards and seven touchdowns. Rattlers’ QB Nick Davila completed 17-of-27 passes for 201 yards and seven touchdowns.
The Arizona Rattlers won the coin toss and elected to kick off to the Soul. On the first play of the game WR Chris Duvalt returned the kick for 54 yards and the Soul quickly took the lead, 7-0. Davila connected with Deadder for the first Rattlers’ touchdown of the night, but the kick was no good. With 12:12 to play in the first quarter, the Soul led 7-6. Raudabaugh connected with Reynolds for 11 yards and another Soul touchdown. Kick was good and with 8:01 to play in the first, the Soul remained in the lead, 14-6. The Rattlers’ responded with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Davila to Deadder again for a touchdown. Kick was good and the Soul led 14-13 with 5:29 remaining in the first quarter. Money caught his second touchdown of the night with 3:28 to play and the kick was good, increasing the Soul’s lead 21-13. With no time left on the clock, Mykel Benson ran in for a 1-yard Rattlers’ touchdown and at the end of the quarter, the Soul led 21-20.
The Soul started the second quarter off with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Jeramie Richardson. The kick was good and with 10:20 to play in the first half, the Soul continued to lead 28-20. Shortly after, Davila found Deadder again for a 35-yard touchdown pass. The Rattlers’ kick was good and with 8:58 to play in the half, the Soul still led 28-27. On the next play, Frevert’s kick bounced off the cross bar and was recovered by Arizona’s Dan Buckner, giving the Rattlers their first lead, 34-28 with 7:50 remaining in the half. The streak of bad luck continued as Raudabaugh’s pass was intercepted by Kellem for a 26-yard touchdown run. The kick was good and with 4:41 the Soul trailed 41-28. On the Soul’s next possession, Raudabaugh’s pass was intercepted again, this time by Arkeith Brown for a 21-yard Rattlers’ touchdown. With 2:35 to play in the half, the margin widened as the Soul trailed 47-38. Raudaugh finally connected with McDaniel for a 3-yard touchdown and the kick was good, with the Soul closing in 47-35 with 45 seconds to play in the second quarter. Frevert’s onside kick attempt was recovered by Purify for another Rattlers’ touchdown. At the end of the first half, the Soul trailed 53-35.
To kick-off the second half, Davila connected with Purify again for a 17-yard touchdown pass. Kick was good and with 11:41 to play in the third quarter, the Soul still trailed 60-35. In an attempt to close the gap, Raudabaugh connected with Richardson for a 12-yard touchdown. The kick was good and at the end of the third quarter, the Soul remained behind 60-42.
At the top of the fourth quarter, Davila connected with Windsor for a 15-yard touchdown pass. With 14:52 to play in the game, the Soul trailed 67-42. The Soul responded as Raudabaugh found Money for a 12-yard touchdown and with a failed two-point conversion, the Soul fell behind 67-49 with 10:33 to play. Davila’s pass was intercepted by Dwayne Hollis, giving the Soul another chance to bounce back. Raudabaugh’s pass to Money was fumbled and recovered by Arizona. Again, Davila’s pass was intercepted, this time by Tracy Belton. The Soul capitalized when Raudabaugh found Duvalt for a 26-yard touchdown. With 5:44 remaining, the Soul were down 67-55. The Rattler’s continued strong down the field when Purify found his second touchdown of the night, increasing their lead, 74-55. One final attempt to close in on the Rattlers when Raudabaugh passed to Duvalt for an 11-yard touchdown with 2:48 to play, bringing the score to 74-63. The Rattlers finished the game with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Deadder. At the end of the game, the Soul fell 80-63.
Next week, the Soul will travel to Portland to face off against the Steel on Monday, June 27 at the Moda Center in Portland, OR. The game will be broadcast on Univision, TCN and 97.5 The Fanatic. Kick-off set for 8 p.m. EST
Under Armour Offensive Player: Rattlers’ WR Chase Deadder
Riddell Defensive Player: Rattlers’ DB Jeremy Kellem
J Lewis Small AFL Playmaker: Rattlers’ LB Dan Buckner
Cutter’s Catch of the Game: Rattlers’ WR Murice Purify’s 4th quarter touchdown
AFL Highlight of the Game: Rattlers’ DB Jeremy Kellem’s 26-yard interception return in the 2nd quarter
