Philly Sports Jabronis
Report From PhiladelphiaSoul.com
PHILADELPHIA (April 27, 2014) – The Philadelphia Soul (3-3) hang onto a 60-55 victory over the Iowa Barnstormers (3-3) at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday afternoon in front of 10,062 fans, bringing the team up to a .500 record for the 2014 season. A solid offensive performance from veteran QB Dan Raudabaugh gave the Soul enough energy to finish the game strong.
“That was a classic Arena Football game,” said Soul head coach Clint Dolezel. “It was a little closer than I would have liked, but what was important is that we got the win. We still need to continue to get better. We are not satisfied with where we are and will have a tough one next week in Pittsburgh.”
Anthony Jones and Ryan McDaniel led Philadelphia receivers with seven receptions. Jones had a total of 52 yards and five receiving touchdowns. Ryan McDaniel added 152 yards for the Soul. J Lewis Small AFL Playmaker of the Game, V’Keon Lacey added five receptions for 65 yards and three touchdowns. Derrick Ross led the ground game with 44 yards on 10 carries.
Russell AthleticOffensive Player of the Game QB Dan Raudabaugh finished the night by completing 26-of-35 passes for 283 yards and nine touchdowns and an interception.
Defensively, T.J.Langley, Riddell Defensive Player of the Game, added 6.0 total tackles and 2.5 sacks. Rayshaun Kizer had 7.0 total tackles and a fumble recovery to help lead the defensive secondary. Second-year standout, James Romain, played a solid defensive game with 6.0 total tackles and a fumble recovery which sums up the main part of Sunday’s defense.
Iowa’s Carson Coffman finished by completing 21-of-31 passes for 306 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. Marco Thomas, had eight receptions for 158 yards and two touchdowns, while Darius Reynolds finished with seven catches for 79 yards and two touchdowns.
Iowa started the game off strong by scoring the first touchdown with a one-yard run by Steiner. The Soul quickly answered back with a six-yard completion from Raudabaugh to Jones, but were unable to gain the extra point. With 7:19 left, a 34-yard pass from Coffman to Thomas was completed, giving Iowa their second touchdown. Lacey’s eight-yard touchdown, which earned “Catch of the Game”, brought the fans to their feet and made the game 14-13. A little over a minute later, Thomas caught a 41-yard reception and scoring his second touchdown. With only nine seconds left, Raudabaugh’s nine-yard completion to Tribue made the game 21-20 going into the second quarter.
Coffman’s 18 yard completion to Lester put Iowa on top 28-20. About halfway through the second quarter, the Soul responded with back-to-back touchdowns by Lacey, finally giving them the lead. Iowa finished the half with Gornall’s 25 yard field goal, making the half time score 34-31.
Once again, Iowa scored the first touchdown of the quarter with a 12-yard pass to Reynolds from Coffman. Philadelphia regained the lead after Jone’s one yard touchdown reception with 4:31 left to play. Iowa’s Coffman ran the ball in from a yard out to finish the third and put the Barnstormers back up 45-41.
Raudabaugh’s 14-yard completion to Jones allowed the Soul to score the first touchdown of the fourth quarter. With 5:11 remaining, Reynolds’ 10-yard reception putt Iowa back on top, 52-48. Jones gave the Soul a 54-52 lead after his nine-yard reception. With only 43 seconds left in the game, Iowa scored a field goal and went back up 55-54. Philadelphia clinch the win with an exciting six-yard touchdown completion from Raudabaugh to Jones. Jones scored a game high five touchdowns and the Soul win with a 60-55 final score.
The Philadelphia Soul will face the Pittsburgh Power for Week 8 on Saturday, May 3 at 7 p.m at the CONSOL Energy Center. The game can be seen on The Comcast Network.
Russell Athletic Offensive Player: Philadelphia’s Dan Raudabaugh
Riddell Defensive Player: Philadelphia’s T.J. Langley
J Lewis Small AFL Playmaker: Philadelphia’s V’Keon Lacey
Cutter’s Catch of the Game:Philadelphia’s V’Keon Lacey eight yard touchdown reception
Spalding Highlight of the Game:Iowa’s Darius Reynolds 12-yard diving reception
