Soul Falls to 0-2 With Loss to San Jose

The San Jose SaberCats (2-0) offense clicked on all cylinders with solid quarterback play from rookie QB Nathan Stanley and never looked back as they defeated the Philadelphia Soul, 70-33, at the SAP Center on Sunday night in front of 10,721 fans.  The SaberCats outscored the Soul 35-6 in the second half.

“We were beat in every phase of the game,” said Soul head coach Clint Dolezel.  “We will have the bye week to re-group and get healthy, but we are clearly not happy with the performance tonight.”

Ryan McDaniel led all Philadelphia receivers with seven receptions for 89 yards and two touchdowns.  Tiger Jones added five receptions for 63 yards and two touchdowns.  Larry Brackins had three catches for 34 yards, while V’Keon Lacey and Derrick Ross each added a reception for nine yards.  Ross, who left the game in the third quarter, finished with 37 yards and a rushing touchdown on seven carries.

Soul QB Dan Raudabaugh finished the night by completing 11-of-27 passes for 131 yards and three touchdowns and an interception.  Bryan Randall, who came in the fourth quarter, completed 6-of-11 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Rayshaun Kizer finished with 4.5 total tackles, Joe Goosby had 4.0 total tackles and Brandon Perkins added 1.5 total tackles and a sack.

RussellOffensive Player of the Game, Nathan Stanley finished completing 18-of-28 passes for 249 yards and six touchdowns.  Rod Harper had six receptions for 77 yards and two touchdowns, while J Lewis Small Playmaker of the Game, Reggie Gray finished with five receptions for 77 yards and three touchdowns.

Philadelphia opened the scoring when Ross took an 18-yard hand-off for a touchdown.  Carlos Martinez added the extra point to make it 7-0.  San Jose answered with a Stanley to Harper 22-yard scoring strike to make it 7-7.  The Soul gave up the next possession on downs and Stanley plunged in from a yard out to give the SaberCats a 14-7 lead after the first quarter of play.

Raudabaugh got on track when he connected with Jones on a 28-yard touchdown pass to make it 14-14 to open the second quarter.  San Jose got back to back possessions again in which Stanley found Harper and Huey Whittaker on 32 and 10 yard scoring plays, respectively.  Raudabaugh answered with a 30-yard touchdown connection to McDaniel to make it 28-20 after the missed extra point.

Stanley found Gray on a 24-yard touchdown pass to make it 35-20 with 45 seconds left in the half.  The Soul ran the clock down and scored on the last play of the half on a Jones 2-yard score to make the score 35-27 at the half.

Third quarter was all San Jose as they outscored the Soul 21-0.  Touchdowns by Gray and Willis on offense were coupled with the Spalding Highlight of the game – Clevan Thomas’ a 31-yard interception return for a touchdown to end the third quarter with the SaberCats leading 56-27.

San Jose added two more touchdowns in the fourth from Gray and Willis, while Randall threw his first touchdown of the season for the Soul to McDaniel to cap all scoring and made the final 70-33.

The Philadelphia Soul will have a bye week and then travel to play the Tampa Bay Storm on Friday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m.   The game can be seen on ESPN3.

Russell Athletic Offensive Player: San Jose’s Nathan Stanley

Riddell Defensive Player: San Jose’s Ken Fontenette

J Lewis Small AFL Playmaker: San Jose’s Reggie Gray

Cutter’s Catch of the Game:San Jose’s Reggie Gray second quarter TD

Spalding Highlight of the Game:San Jose’s Clevan Thomas’ 31-yard interception return for a TD