Philly Sports Jabronis
Report From Philadelphia Soul
ANAHEIM, CA (June 20, 2015) – The Philadelphia Soul used a strong defensive second half and Dan Raudabaugh continued his MVP-type season by leading the offense to outlast the Los Angeles KISS in front of 6,122 fans at Honda Center on Saturday night. Philadelphia now stands at 11-2 and lead the American Conference, while also holding a four-game advantage over the Cleveland Gladiators in the East Division.
“We’re just happy to get a win,” Soul head coach Clint Dolezel offered. “Any time you come out from the east coast to the west coast, it’s hard. We’re starting the game at 11 p.m. our time and finishing up past 1:30 a.m. I’m proud of our guys though. They fought hard. L.A.’s a good football team. They’re going to give them a good run out here.”
Marco Thomas led the Soul (11-2) receivers with eight catches for 100 yards and three touchdowns. Ryan McDaniel had five receptions for 67 yards and one touchdown, while Harvey Binford had three receptions for 59 yards and one touchdown. Lonnie Outlaw chipped in with two catches for 34 yards and one touchdown. Tommy Taggart added 39 rushing on eight carries and one rushing touchdown for the Soul on offense.
Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game, Raudabaugh finished the night completing 19-of-30 passes for 268 yards, six touchdowns and one interception. Los Angeles’ Danny Southwick completed 18-of-33 passes for 241 yards, six touchdowns and one interception.
Donovan Morgan led the KISS (2-10) receivers with six receptions for 107 yards and four touchdowns, while Demarco Sampson added six catches for 80 yards and one touchdown.
Goosby led the defense with 5.0 total tackles and recovered an onsides kick, while Riddell Defensive Player of the Game Kent Richardson had 5.0 total tackles and had a 46-yard interception return for a touchdown, while James Romain had 3.0 total tackles and two pass breakups. Teddy Jennings had two sacks in his season debut with the Soul, while Bryan Robinson added one sack for the night.
The Soul opened by taking the first drive 36 yards on three plays and capped it with a Raudabaugh to Binford touchdown pass to take the early 7-0 lead. The KISS answered when Southwick connected with Sampson for a 37-yard touchdown pass to tie it at 7-7 with 10:22 left in the quarter. Raudabaugh then found McDaniel on a 12-yard scoring strike to take a 14-7 lead at the 6:48 mark. Kent Richardson then returned a 46-yard interception for a score to end the first quarter with the Soul leading 21-7.
The KISS started the second quarter when Southwick found Morgan on a 4-yard touchdown to narrow it to a 21-14 Soul advantage. After stopping the Soul on downs, Southwick connected with Morgan again when he hauled in a 42-yard deflected pass to tie the score at 21-21 with 6:37 remaining in the first half. Raudabugh got his team back on track with a 20-yard scoring toss to Outlaw to regain a 28-21 lead with 2:01 remaining in the second. The KISS got the final score of the half when Southwick hit his Tight End Anthony Parker on a 5-yard touchdown to bring the halftime score to a 28-28 tie.
The Soul defense came out strong and forced a turnover on downs on the KISS’ first drive. Taggart capped the Soul first drive with a 4-yard touchdown run to make it 35-28 for Philadelphia. The next possession, Southwick found Morgan for the third time for 33-yard score, but the missed extra point still had the Soul leading, 35-34. Momentum shifted to Los Angeles when Josh Victorian return a Raudabaugh interception 52 yards for a score and gave the KISS their first lead, 41-35. The Soul bounced back when Raudabaugh hit Thomas on an 8-yard touchdown that gave the Soul a 42-41 lead at the end of the third quarter.
The Soul defense answered the call again when Teddy Jennings recorded his first sack of the season and Romain deflected a fourth-down pass to get a turnover on downs on the KISS’ first drive of the fourth quarter. Raudabaugh capped a 5-play, 36-yard drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Thomas to push the Soul lead to 49-41 with 7:38 remaining in the game. The Soul’s Tommy Fervert, again adding to his case for All-Arena, executed another perfect onsides kick that was recovered by Joe Goosby. The following drive ended with a 10-yard score from Raudabaugh to Thomas for a 56-41 lead with 3:47 left in the fourth. LA answered with another Southwick to Morgan score from six yards out to narrow the Soul lead to 56-48 with :42 remaining. After successfully recovering the onsides kick, the Soul were able to run out the clock for a 56-48 victory.
Next week, the Soul return home to face the Tampa Bay Storm at 7:30 p.m. at Wells Fargo Center on Friday, June 26. The game will be televised on The Comcast Network.
Russell Athletic Offensive Player: Philadelphia’s Dan Raudabaugh
Riddell Defensive Player: Philadelphia’s Kent Richardson
J Lewis Small AFL Playmaker: Los Angeles’ Donovan Morgan
Cutter’s Catch of the Game: Los Angeles’ Donovan Morgan 42-yard touchdown in the second quarter.
Spalding Highlight of the Game: Los Angeles’ Josh Victorian’s 52-yard interception return for a touchdown
