Soul Lose to Close out Season in San Antonio

SAN ANTONIO – The Philadelphia Soul (12-6) jumped out early, but the offense sputtered in the second half in a 42-28 loss to the San Antonio Talons (10-8) in front of 9,112 fans at the Alamodome on Saturday night.  With the loss, the Soul drop to the No. 2 seed for the American Conference playoffs that will begin next week when No. 3 Orlando Predators come to Wells Fargo Center on Saturday, August 3 at 7 p.m.

“I think we got caught looking toward the playoffs too early,” said Soul head coach Clint Dolezel.  “Give credit to San Antonio.  They are a good team and we probably underestimated them.  I was pleased with our defense.  They really came to play tonight, but we have to stay focused as an entire group if we want to make this run at the title.”

Dan Raudabaugh finished his night by connecting on 22-of-37 passes for 281 yards and four touchdowns with five interceptions.

Tiger Jones led all Soul receivers with nine receptions for 93 yards and one receiving touchdown, while Andrae Thurman had seven catches for 102 yards and one touchdown.  Larry Brackins added two receptions for 19 yards and a touchdown and Emery Sammons added four catches for 67 yards a touchdown.

Defensively, LaRico Stevenson tallied 5.5 total tackles and two interceptions, while Brandon Perkins recorded 7.0 total tackles and a sack.  Joe Goosby had 5.5 total tackles and Calvin Fance added 3.0 total tackles and split a sack with Ko Quaye.

San Antonio was led by back up QB Marcus Jackson, who finished 9-of-15 for 117 yards, one touchdown and one interception after replacing starter Robert Kent in the second half.  Dallas Baker led the Talon receivers with six receptions for 97 yards, while former member of the Soul Brent Holmes had three catches for 90 yards and a touchdown.

The Talons struck first when Kent rushed in from five yards out, but a blocked extra point made it only 6-0.  The Soul countered with a 31-yard scoring strike from Raudabaugh to Sammons to make the score 7-6.  San Antonio got an interception, but Philadelphia got two defensive stops to end the first quarter.

The Soul added two scores from Thurman and Brackins to take a 21-6 lead with 3:34 left in the first half.  The Talons came back with a score of their own when Chad Cook rushed in from a yard out to end the first half scoring with the Soul leading 21-13.

The San Antonio defense locked down the Soul offense and held them scoreless, while adding two rushing scores from Russell AthleticOffensive Player of the Game Jackson to take a 27-21 lead after three quarters of play.

Philadelphia’s lone second half score came when Raudabaugh found Tiger Jones on a 9-yard scoring strike to take a 28-27 lead with 10:31 left in the game.  San Antonio defense stepped up, including three interceptions by Riddell Defensive Player of the Game Carlton Brown and scored the final 14 points of the came to come away with the 42-Tvictory.

The Soul will start the American Conference playoffs on Saturday, August 3 when they host the No. 3 seed Orlando Predators at 7 p.m. ET and can be seen on CBS Sports Network.

Russell Athletic Offensive Player: San Antonio’s Marcus Jackson

Riddell Defensive Player:San Antonio’s Carlton Brown

J Lewis Small AFL Playmaker:  San Antonio’s Tim McGill

Cutter’s Catch of the Game:Philadelphia’s Tiger Jones catch over the wall in the first quarter.

Spalding Highlight of the Game:San Antonio’s Carlton Brown’s interception in the end zone in the fourth quarter.