Philly Sports Jabronis
Report From PhiladelphiaSoul.com
The Philadelphia Soul (2-3) used defense and a consistent offensive attack to win their first home opener since the 2011 season with a 54-41 victory over the Jacksonville Sharks (2-3) at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night in front of an impressive 12,311 fans.
“We were able to build off of our strong defensive effort and played a complete game,” said Soul head coach Clint Dolezel. “It was important to get a win in front of the home crowd. We still would like to clean up a few things, but we got big plays out of our defense and our offense was able to capitalize.”
J. Lewis Small Playmaker of the Game, Anthony Jones led all Philadelphia receivers with six receptions for 93 yards and three receiving touchdowns. Ryan McDaniel added five receptions for 88 yards and one touchdown. Robert Redd added two receptions for nine yards and five kick returns for 111 yards. Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game, Derrick Ross led the ground game with 58 yards and three rushing touchdowns on 10 carries.
Soul QB Dan Raudabaugh finished the night by completing 15-of-25 passes for 197 yards and four touchdowns and three interceptions.
Defensively, Rayshaun Kizer earned Riddell Defensive Player of the Game with 10.5 total tackles, three pass breakups and a forced fumble. Rookie Teddy Jennings had 3.5 total tackles and 2.5 sacks to lead the defensive pressure. Bryan Robinson added 1.5 sacks. James Romain played a solid defensive game with a 33-yard fumble recovery in the first quarter which was the SpaldingHighlight of the Game.
Jacksonville’s Aaron Garcia finished by completing 26-of-41 passes for 253 yards, five touchdowns and an interception. London Crawford, had 13 receptions for 120 yards and two touchdowns, while Jeron Harvey finished with seven catches for 60 yards and two touchdowns.
The Philadelphia Soul started off the game on the receiving end and a little less than five minutes into the game a 24-yard pass from Raudabaugh was completed to Jones to put the Soul up on the board. On defense, Romain recovered a fumble and ran the ball 33 yards for the Soul’s second touchdown and gave the Soul a 14-0 lead with 7:57 remaining in the first quarter. The Sharks answered when Harvey made the game 14-7 with 31 seconds left in the first quarter with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Garcia.
Ross started the second quarter off with a 2-yard run to give the Soul a 21-7 lead. Jacksonville then scored the next two touchdowns of the game with a 4-yard pass from Garcia to Crawford and a 40-yard interception run by Charlie Hunt. The Soul maintained the lead and once again scored with a little over 30 seconds left in the half when Ross 1-yard touchdown that gave Philadelphia a 27-20 halftime lead.
The Sharks opened the third quarter with a 10-yard touchdown from Garcia to Harvey. Moments later, the Soul answered back with a 49-yard touchdown pass to McDaniel. The Soul lead 34-27 going into the fourth.
Jones scored his second touchdown of the game with a 9-yard score from Raudabaugh. Jacksonville’s Garcia completed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Crawford to make the game 41-34. The Soul extended their lead to 48-34 with Ross’s 12-yard run. With only five minutes left to play, Jacksonville’s Jomo Wilson caught a 17-yard touchdown pass. Raudabaugh clinched the Soul’s win by throwing 15-yard touchdown pass to Jones. The final score of the game was 54-41.
The Philadelphia Soul will face the Iowa Barnstormers for their second home game of the season next weekend on Sunday, April 27 at 4 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN2.
Russell Athletic Offensive Player: Philadelphia’s Derrick Ross
Riddell Defensive Player: Philadelphia’s Rayshaun Kizer
J Lewis Small AFL Playmaker: Philadelphia’s Anthony Jones
Cutter’s Catch of the Game: Philadelphia’s Ryan McDaniel 49-yard catch
Spalding Highlight of the Game: Philadelphia’s James Romain 33-yard fumble return for a TD
