Philly Sports Jabronis
Report From Philadelphia Soul
ORLANDO— The Philadelphia Soul (13-3) defeated the Orlando Predators (12-4), with the score 67-59 in front of 13,827 fans at the Amway Center in Orlando, FL on Saturday night. With this victory, the Soul will have home field advantage through the American Conference Championship game.
The Soul will host the Tampa Bay Storm (2-14) next Sunday, August 7 at 6 p.m. at the PPL Center in Allentown, PA. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2. With a victory on August 7, the team will return to the PPL Center on Sunday, August 14 for the Conference Championship game. Tickets for both games are on sale now.
“We played lights out tonight,” said Soul head coach Clint Dolezel. “Both sides of the ball game out to win tonight and we definitely executed. The slate is clean now and our focus has to be on making it to ArenaBowl. We definitely look forward to returning to the PPL Center to take on the Storm next Sunday.”
Soul WR Chris Duvalt led the receivers with nine receptions for 155 yards and four touchdowns. WR Darius Reynolds added seven receptions for 83 yards and two touchdowns and Shaun Kauleinamoku chipped in four receptions for 89 yards and three touchdowns. J. Lewis Small AFL Playmaker and Orlando WR Larry Brackins led the Predators’ receiving core with 11 receptions for 114 yards and four touchdowns.
Philadelphia QB and Under Armour Offensive Player of the Game, Dan Raudabaugh completed 21-of-29 passes for 335 yards and 10 touchdowns. Orlando QB Bernard Morris completed 23-of-40 passes for 333 yards and six touchdowns.
The Predators won the coin toss and elected to kick-off by the Soul. The Soul took a quick lead when Raudabaugh connected with Duvalt for a 32-yard touchdown pass. Frevert’s kick was good and with 13:35 to play in the first quarter the Soul led 7-0. The Predators responded with a 6-yard run by Morris, tying the game at 7-7. In the final seconds of play, Raudabaugh found Outlaw for an 8-yard pass and at the end of the first quarter, the Soul led 14-7.
A 7-yard touchdown pass by Brackins kicked off the second quarter for the Predators. The kick was good and with 10:59 remaining the game was tied 14-14. SK caught his first touchdown of the night on a 17-yard pass but the kick was blocked by Monte Lewis. With 8:59 left in the half, the Soul led 20-14. Morris hit Brackins again for his second touchdown of the night, putting the Predators ahead 21-20. Duvalt caught a 32-yard pass from Raudabaugh and with another missed extra point the Soul led 26-21. An onside kick attempt by Frevert was recovered by Predators’ LB Calvin Fance and Orlando took the lead 28-26. Another onside kick attempt, this time by Orlando was recovered by the Predators and with 37 seconds remaining, K Mark Lewis chipped in a 25-yard field goal, increasing their lead 31-26. The Soul did not allow the Predators to keep their lead as Reynolds caught his first touchdown of the night on a 14-yard pass from Raudabaugh. At the end of the first half, the Soul took back the lead 33-31.
An interception by James Romain started off the second half. The Soul took advantage of this opportunity as Raudabaugh connected with Duvalt for a 27-yard touchdown. Frevert’s kick was good and with 11:48 left in the third quarter, the Soul widened their lead, 40-31. Brackins caught his third touchdown of the night on an 18-yard pass by Morris with 4:13 remaining in the third quarter. In the final two minutes of play, Raudabaugh found SK again for a 27-yard touchdown and the third quarter ended with the Soul leading 47-38.
Morris kicked off the final quarter of play with another touchdown to Brackins. The kick was good and with 12:48 to play, the Soul kept the lead 47-45. Shortly after, Raudabaugh passed to Duvalt for a 35-yard touchdown with another extra point attempt blocked by the Predators. Brandon Thompkins caught his first touchdown of the night on a 40-yard pass and the Predators tied up the game 53-53 with 9:06 to play. Kauleinamoku caught a 31-yard pass from Raudabaugh and the Soul took back the lead 60-53. In an attempt to again tie up the game, Morris found LaMark Brown on a 28-yard touchdown pass. The kick was no good and the Soul kept their lead 60-59 with one minute remaining in the game. The Soul finished the game on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Raudabaugh to Reynolds with 34 seconds left in the game. The Soul defeated the Orlando Predators for the second time this season with the final score, 67-59.
Under Armour Offensive Player: Philadelphia QB Dan Raudabaugh
Riddell Defensive Player: Philadelphia DB Tracy Belton
J Lewis Small AFL Playmaker: Orlando WR Larry Brackins
Cutter’s Catch of the Game: Philadelphia WR Shaun Kauleinamoku’s 27-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter
AFL Highlight of the Game: Orlando WR Brandon Thompkins 40-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
