Arena Bowl Champions: Soul prove they're the best team in the AFL in championship game

The Philadelphia Soul are world champions of Arena Football.

Let that sink in a bit. It’s been a long time coming, and it’s been well-deserved by the faithful players and fans of this organization.

In a game that so many had counted them out in, traveling to the Snake Pit (part II) of Glendale, Arizona, against a team who historically did not lose at home, the Soul pulled off the upset that quieted the Kevin Guy-Nick Davila era of dominance in the AFL and entrenched themselves as one of the greatest in league history.

And when the Soul celebrate their championship parade and center city rally this afternoon, they know they are the best Arena Football team in the world.

It took all three phases of the game to earn the 56-42 win, with all three sides stepping up early on in the game.

Daris Reynolds was red hot from the first drive, opening the game’s scoring with a 16-yard touchdown to close a drive that faced some testy third downs.

Arizona made their first mistake of the title game when Rattlers’ running back Mykel Benson was pushing his way through a line of defenders at the goal line. The ball slipped out of his hands on the last second, however, where Dwayne Hollis found the gift and ran 50 yards back for a touchdown, putting the Soul up 14-0.

With the Soul sideline amped up, Tommy Freevert’s kickoff on the next play hit the uprights dead-on, dropping the ball on the field and into the grasp of Philly’s Tracy Belton, the season’s AFL Defensive player of the year, who recovered for the easy score to suddenly put Philly on top 21-0.

The Soul knew from their previous two losses in Arena Bowls to Arizona that to win the big game, they would need to limit their turnovers on offense and create as much pressure as possible on Davila, and both units did just that.

The game was not without any adversity for the Soul, however.

Raudabaugh was nearly lights out in the first half, but late in the first half when the Soul defense stopped the Rattlers on downs to give the offense an opportunity to go up by four scores heading into the half, the Soul offense couldn’t deliver and were stopped on downs.

Two straight Arizona touchdowns, coming at the end of the first half and the beginning of the second, put the Rattlers down by just a touchdown early in the third.

The Rattlers defense appeared to be coming alive, and got their next break of the game when Ryan McDaniel was the victim of a forced fumble in the final two minutes of the third quarter, giving Arizona another pair of straight-scores to tie the game 42-42 later in the fourth quarter.

It was a moment where the Soul could have laid down and failed, knowing they had blown an opportunity to run away with the match, and were sitting in a hostile environment where the home team had all of the momentum.

But the Soul never backed down.

Less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Raudabaugh found Shaun Kauleinamoku for an 11-yard touchdown, his second of the night.

Freevert gave the Rattlers hope in the game however, missing the extra point to keep Philly only on top by six points.

This gave Arizona and the league’s MVP quarterback, Nick Davila, the chance to march his team down the field and take their first lead of the night. And most teams would love their chances in that situation, with the three Arena Bowl championships Davila has threw on his resume the past five seasons.

But Jake Metz had a different idea in mind.

With Davila marching his team to midfield, he dropped back in the pocket to look for a receiver in the endzone, when Metz pounded his way to the quarterback and forced a strip, recovering the ball to give possession back to the Soul with under 10 minutes remaining in the game.

Four players later, Kauleinamoku caught his third touchdown pass of the night, and a two-point conversion from a Ryan McDaniel rush put the Soul up by two scores once again.

With the grasp of a dynasty run slipping away, the Rattlers had one more attempt at getting themselves in the game, hoping to score two quick touchdowns with just over a minute in the game.

With 48 seconds remaining in regulation, Davila aired a pass deep into the endzone intended for his receiver Anthony Amos, but James Romain read Davila perfectly and intercepted the ball in the endzone to put the championship on ice for Philadelphia.

When Raudabaugh’s offense ran out the clock and after final play was snapped, the Soul bench barricaded the field as a weight had been lifted off their shoulders. They finally put away the Rattlers in the championship game.

In a fitting frame, assistant coach Phil Bogle, who caught the game winning catch for Philly in Arena Bowl XXII, hugged head coach Clint Dolezel with tears in his eyes. Raudabaugh made his way through his teammates with what had to be one of the biggest smiles of his life, making his way toward Dolezel, capping off an amazing run the two have went through the past five seasons in Philadelphia.

Shaun Kauleinamoku, the game’s MVP winner, grabbed a Hawaiian flag and spread it across his shoulders as he celebrated across the field.

The Soul defeated the Rattlers in all three phases of the game, holding an Arizona offense that averaged 42 points per half to that in the entire game.

They did so against the hardest team to beat, in the hardest place to win. But they prevailed.

They quieted the critics, earned their spot in history and quieted the past.

Raudabaugh, who had the knock of not playing well in the biggest of games, proved to be the better of the two quarterbacks with no turnovers in an Arena Bowl for the first time in his career. Davila could not live up to the hype of an Arena Bowl at home, throwing two interceptions in a game where his team lost by two scores.

The championship cemented Raudabaugh and Dolezel’s legacy in the history of both the franchise and Philadelphia sports. The two have brought us on a remarkable ride since both joined the franchise under Doug Plank in 2012, and the team has been one of the most dominant in the league even through Dolezel’s takeover in 2013.

Though they struggled in Arena Bowl XXV and XXVI, the losses made them stronger and hungrier, which equated to the second championship in franchise history this year.

And when you become a champion, you are a champion for life, and that’s what this entire team has become.

Enjoy every bit of it you can Soul fans. This was arguably the greatest season in Soul history, and we were treated to one of the greatest Arena Bowls in league history. And at the end of the day, your Philadelphia Soul are champions of the world.

Revenge paves the road through Arena Bowl XXIX for the Soul

Championship gameday.

We’ve been waiting two long weeks for this day to arrive, but the Arena Bowl is finally here.

Tonight, the Philadelphia Soul will face the Arizona Rattlers with the title on the line, for the third time in five years.

Tonight, the Soul can rewrite history, avenging their foes from the West that have caused so many nightmares for Philadelphia since they returned to the league half a decade ago.

There is so much riding for the Soul and the entire league when the teams kick off against each other, on a national ESPN audience, that it cannot be summed up in a short amount of words.

The bottom line is, with one win tonight, through 60 minutes, four quarters, the Philadelphia Soul can become world champions of Arena Football.

It’s by no means an easy task in front of them, heading into Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.

The stadium is not the usual home for the Arizona Rattlers, but is just a short 18.5 mile trip from their confines of Talking Stick Arena in Phoenix. The Rattlers have become custom to Gila River, holding practices in the facility the past few weeks, anticipating a home match in the Arena Bowl.

And homefield advantage means a lot to this Rattlers team. Arizona has been 48-4 at home the last few seasons, and you have to go back to May 2nd, 2015 to find their last home loss, which was against the mighty San Jose Sabercats.

The Rattlers’ last playoff loss at home was in Arena Bowl XXIV, when Aaron Garcia threw a game winning touchdown on the last play of the game to escape with a victory in 2011, which was also the last time the Rattlers hosted the title game.

So there is a history of Arizona losing at home in the Arena Bowl.

One of the biggest keys for the Soul to win in the desert will be to make Arizona uncomfortable on their own turf.

It’s already going to be a bit uncomfortable for the fans aside from the change of venue, as the game will start at 4 p.m. MST time (7 p.m. Philly time), on a Friday afternoon. But the faithful will still be out, cheering on their MVP quarterback Nick Davila who has gotten the best of the Soul in both Arena Bowls he’s faced them in.

The Soul need to get pressure on Davila and his receivers. It’s easier said than done, but still one of the most crucial parts of the game. He has three wide receivers that are over 6 feet tall, in Rod Windsor, Maurice Purify and Anthony Amos that make up the best receiver trio in the game. The Soul have done a decent job containing these guys in the first two meetings this season, but the game plan needs to be amped by Tracy Belton and Dwayne Hollis.

Philly stood as the best defensive backfield in the league with those two, who led the league in interceptions, and they need to show that defense still wins championships if they’re going to finally win one.

The single most important key to the Soul earning their second Arena Bowl win in franchise history will be the play of Dan Raudabaugh. He has been stellar for the Soul the past five seasons, leading them to their third championship game. However, in the previous two title games, No. 5 threw five interceptions in the games combined, which heavily cost his team in the end.

When the Soul finally beat the Rattlers for the first time in franchise history back on May 14, Raudabaugh was nearly flawless, completing 14 of 23 passes with six touchdowns and no interceptions.

However, when Philly traveled to Arizona on June 17, three early interceptions hit the Soul hard and made a late comeback fall short, as Philly lost the game 80-63, giving the Rattlers the point differential tiebreaker in the series to host the Arena Bowl.

Turnovers need to work in the Soul’s favor, and both teams are capable of stepping up and winning that battle.

Philly's wide receivers in Ryan McDaniel, Shaun Kauleinamoku and Darius Reynolds need to step up for the biggest game of their careers.

The Soul have not played the greatest the last few weeks in the postseason, but they need to focus on playing at the top of their potential. That may be the only way they can beat the Rattlers, but it's certainly possible.

A huge beneficial for the Soul will be playing with the revenge factor.

Arizona has won three championships with this core, and it’s been pointed out many times that two of those championships were against Philly.

Raudabaugh still needs a ring, and it’s in the mind of him and many others on the team that the opponent in front of them has held this franchise back from their second trip to the promise land. That can be just as hot and dangerous as Arizona’s eight-game win streak or Philly's six-game win streak heading into the game.

So buckle up and great ready for a Friday night championship thriller.

The chance for a taste of sweet champagne revenge from the Foster Trophy is on the line, in a game that could forever be entrenched in the history of Philadelphia sports and Arena Football history.

Dolezel, Belton earn league honors at media day

On the eve of Arena Bowl XXIX, the American Conference champion Philadelphia Soul were honored for their standout performances that have landed them in the championship game at the Arena Bowl media day.

Philadelphia head coach Clint Dolezel led his team to a share of the league’s best record at 15-3, tied with of course the Arizona Rattlers.

It was only fitting then that Dolezel and Kevin Guy from Arizona split the voting for coach of the year for the first time in league history.

For Dolezel, this was the second straight time he has won the award.

The Soul’s defensive back Tracy Belton also recognized for his outstanding season, receiving the season’s Riddell Defensive Player of the Year award.

His resume for the 2016 campaign included nine interceptions (a league high), 90 sacks, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble and 20 pass-breakups.

Former soul great Donovan “Captain” Morgan also earned the league’s first commissioner award, after a season with the L.A. Kiss where he put up 1,426 yards and 41 touchdowns.

The key man standing in Philly’s way of a championship Friday night, Nick Davila, was awarded the league’s Most Valuable Player for the third time as the Arizona Rattlers’ quarterback.

For much of the season, it was a three-way hunt between Davila, Dan Raudabaugh and Randy Hippeard for the MVP race, but Davila clearly ran away as the favorite in the second half of the season.

While the Rattlers’ leader earned the league’s top player award, the Soul will be hoping that defense really does win championships with their awarded performances on the other side of the ball.

Grudge match: Soul host Sharks in American Conference Championship

Philadelphia.CBSlocal.com

One game.

That’s all that stands between the Philadelphia Soul and Arena Bowl XXIX.

The confetti will be sitting ready in the rafters of the PPL Center Sunday night, hoping to shower the fans and players to top off the season run that’s landed the Soul in the conference championship game for the fourth time in five years.

The opponent standing in their way is the same one they’ve faced in all four of those conference championships.

The Jacksonville Sharks are no stranger team to the Soul, and a few familiar faces on the teams have turned this matchup into the AFL’s most competitive standing rivalry.

And with a win on Sunday, the Soul could get a little revenge added on with a conference title.

While the Soul have had their hopes set high at an Arena Bowl berth all season and have followed them up with a tie for the league’s best record, the Sharks are in the midst of a similar run to their road to the Arena Bowl last season, when they upset the Soul in the conference championship.

The Sharks fired their only coach in franchise history Les Moss in mid-July, then went on to win their last two games of the regular season to finish the year at just 7-9 and third place in the American Conference.

The L.A. Kiss and Tampa Bay Storm didn’t put up much of a fight in those last two games against the Sharks, and they haven’t been exactly the toughest competition in the league this season.

But the Sharks road their win-streak to Orlando last weekend, where they faced the 12-4 Predators who were down to their backup quarterback Bernard Morris, the man who led the Sharks to a pair of conference championships in 2012-13. In a back-and-forth battle, the Predators scored a touchdown to tie the game as regulation expired, but missed the extra point attempt that would have won them the game, sending the teams to overtime.

Orlando got the ball to start overtime, and scored a touchdown on their first drive to take the lead.

However, Jacksonville responded on their next drive with a touchdown of their own, and rather than tying the game and putting the pressure on their defense, they elected to go for two and try to win the game.

A Tommy Grady pass fell incomplete, but the referees called pass interference on the play to give the Sharks another shot. Derrick Ross took advantage of the opportunity, rushing past a line of defenders seemingly untouched to complete the improbable upset and advance to the conference title game.

Both teams are entering the conference title game hot, as the Soul are winners of their last five games, and defeated the Tampa Bay Storm last week in the opening round of the playoffs 63-41 at the PPL Center.

The defense was the storyline in the win, forcing five turnovers, one being a James Romain interception off Jason Boltus. Justin Lawrence recorded two sacks on Boltus as well.

Raudabaugh threw for 224 yards and eight touchdowns in the win, as he has seemingly returned to the elite form we saw from him play the majority of the season early on.

If the Soul are going to defeat the Sharks, they’ll need near-perfect play from Raudabaugh and a strong supporting performance from the defense once again.

The Soul have split the two games they’ve played against the Sharks this season. Philly’s only home loss of the year came against Jacksonville in the home opener, where Raudabaugh struggled early enroute Jacksonville’s 59-41 win.

Jacksonville has won four of the last five meetings in this series, but Philadelphia got the best of their rivals in the last matchup in June. The Soul defense took over the second half on June 4, and Raudabaugh’s 21 completions on 25 attempts equated for six touchdowns and a strong Soul win in Jacksonville.

It goes without saying at this point that the players have strong feuds for one another, dating back to when the Soul beat up the Sharks in both the 2012 and 2013 conference championship games to advance to the Arena Bowl. The tension grew even stronger when the Soul let go of some of their greatest players in franchise history, Derrick Ross and Tiger Jones, who went on to team up in Jacksonville, and they have seemed to play their best games of the year against their former squad the past two years.

Despite Jacksonville’s struggles that have stretched through most of those last two seasons, they are definitely a dangerous team when the playoff race is heating up.

Tommy Grady is just barely the league’s leading passer with 4,495 yards, a hair above Raudabaugh’s 4,303 yards.

Grady’s favorite target, Joe Hills, leads the league in yards with 2020, as well as touchdowns at 58.

Both teams have the strongest run games in the league as well, as Ross has brought in 399 yards with 20 touchdowns, while Philly’s Jermaine Richardson has brought in 320 yards with 20 touchdowns.

On defense, Jacksonville’s Greg Reid is leading the league in tackles with 101.5. However, the Soul edge the Sharks overall on the defensive side of the ball, with Jake Metz leading the league in sacks with eight, and Tracy Belton leading the league with nine interceptions. Dwayne Hollis is just behind Belton, tied for the second most with eight interceptions.

Taking care of the ball, and making sure they take control of the ball on special teams will equate in a championship win for the Soul Sunday night.

There’s no need for any more motivation than Philly probably has, as they’ve sat back for almost one year to the date since the Sharks upset the Soul on the final play of the conference championship in their own building last season.

And to be honest, there probably isn’t a team that it would feel better to defeat to move on to the Arena Bowl.

Wildcard playoff picture: Taking a look at the opening round matchups

The road to Arena Bowl XXIX starts this weekend, with all eight teams competing in the opening wildcard round and hoping to reach their conference championships. While we’ve already dissected the Soul’s matchup with the Tampa Bay Storm this Sunday, let’s take a look at the other three matchups that are slated for this weekend.

Jacksonville Sharks at Orlando Predators

7 p.m. Saturday, August 6th

This is probably the most intriguing matchup of the opening round, and has the most immediate significance for the Soul.

The defending conference champion Jacksonville Sharks have struggled all season long, just as they did last year before going on a two-game playoff run that brought them to the Arena Bowl.

They’ve taken their losing ways to a new level this season though, resulting in the firing of the franchise's first and only head coach, Les Moss, in the tail end of their 7-9 season. Since his firing however, the Sharks have won two straight games.

With talented names still on the roster such as Tommy Grady, Derrick Ross, Joe Hills and Prechae Rodriguez, can lightning strike twice in Jacksonville and send the Sharks to another conference title game?

They’ll have their hands full Saturday night in the Jungle, facing a Predators team who’s had problems of their own as of late.

Randy Hippeard appeared to finally be playing like the quarterback Orlando’s been long awaiting for through the first 12 weeks of the season, as he led his team to a 9-2 record in the span. However, a season ending injury against these same Jacksonville Sharks in week 12 didn’t cost his team a win that night, but the Predators have been just 2-2 since Bernard Morris took the starting job in week 13. Morris had the opportunity to silence the critics and clinch the top seed over the Soul last week, but B-Mo just didn’t look the same as Hippeard at any point at the end of the year, costing them a chance to host the entire playoffs.

That said, Morris’ two losses came against the top two teams in the league, with the first being against the Arizona Rattlers and the other against Philly. Morris has two playoff victories in his career, both coming during the opening round of the playoffs in 2012 and 2013.
Both teams are limping into the playoffs, but Orlando has to be feeling better of the two when they walk into the Amway Center come Saturday night.

Winner of the match will head to Philly next week for the conference championship, as long as the Soul can also take care of business against the Storm.

Portland Steel at Arizona Rattlers

10 p.m. Saturday, August 6th

Every team outside of Arizona is cheering for the Steel Saturday night, and we’ll all be hoping we can believe in miracles when the 2-14 Steel travel to the 13-3 Arizona Rattlers.

Playoff miracles are not out of the question in Arena Football.

n 2007, the Columbus Destroyers finished the regular season 7-9 and found themselves facing the greatest regular season team in AFL history, the 15-1 Dallas Desperados, who were led by hall of fame quarterback Clint Dolezel. The Destroyers wrote their name into the history books with a 66-59 win over the Desperados, handing them their first home loss of the season.

Even looking back at the Rattlers earlier this season, they were upset at home by the Tampa Bay Storm in week nine. That was, however, their last loss of the season, as they’ve won seven straight and have captured control of Arena Bowl homefield. All you need to know is Nick Davila and coach Kevin Guy are stepping on the field, and you know Portland will more than have their hands full.

Cleveland Gladiators at Los Angeles Kiss

6 p.m. Sunday, August 7th

This might be an overlooked matchup, especially considering it’ll be kicking off at the same time as the Soul will be.

Nonetheless, it’s still a historic game for the league in that it’s Gene Simons’ and Paul Stanley’s first playoff game, and they’ll get to host it at the Honda Center in L.A.

The Kiss won both matches against the Gladiators in the regular season by less than one score, which proved to be enough as both teams finished the regular season under.500 at 7-9. One of the two teams will enter the conference championship next week just one game under the .500 mark.

Pete Thomas has taken the nod at quarterback in L.A. from Nathan Stanley, and has put together a quarterback rating just under 103 compared to Stanley’s 95 rating.

Donovan Morgan is the best receiver on either team heading in, who’s scored 41 touchdowns on 113 receptions.

The Kiss have lost two straight heading into the playoffs, while the Gladiators hit the road for a seventh straight week and are losers in their last three games.

Arvell Nelson is taking the snaps at quarterback for the Gladiators, with a 59.5 completion percentage and a 113.28 quarterback rating.

With a probable trip to Arizona for the conference title game next week awaiting the winner of this matchup, we’ll see how much the Gladiators have in them to try and earn their eighth straight road trip.

And that’s what the playoffs look like this weekend. All eight teams are in, and four will be left standing and will be knocking on the door of the Arena Bowl.

Soul host last place Storm with conference title game on the line

ESPN.Go.com

The Philadelphia Soul are one win away from the American Conference Championship game, as they prepare to host the Tampa Bay Storm in the wildcard round of the playoffs this weekend.

Philly is on four-game winning streak and are winners in six of their last seven games heading into the playoffs, with their most crucial win of the season coming last week with a down-to-the-wire victory over the Orlando Predators in Florida to secure homefield throughout the conference playoffs.

Their reward is hosting the last place Tampa Bay Storm, who finished with the league’s worst record as they struggled through just two wins this season at 2-14.

They have been no sludge against the Soul this season however, as their flashes of potential showed in both matches back in May and July. The Storm jumped out to a 10-0 lead in Philadelphia on a Monday night showdown on May 9, only to see the Soul score 47 of the next 54 points enroute Philly’s 54-17 win.

In their second match in Tampa on July 16, the Storm took advantage of costly mistakes by Dan Raudabaugh and carried a two-point lead into the fourth quarter, before quarterback troubles of their own from Adam Kennedy gave control back to the Soul.

The Storm still made it interesting in the closing minutes with onside kicks and special teams plays, but in the end the Soul were able to complete the comeback win and stay in the top seed hunt.

Now the Soul have to weather the Storm one more time Sunday night to set up a championship game one week later at PPL Center against the winner of the Orlando/Jacksonville game.

The key for the Soul to reach the second round will be to score early and often. The matches against the Storm were only as close as they were because of offensive turnovers and flat efforts on special teams, a key trend they’ve been battling for some time now.

With the game having much more meaning than any they’ve faced this season, Raudabaugh should come out sharper than he did in Tampa. The receivers will still have single battles with the Storm’s secondary, as Cortez Stubbs and James Harrell are the leaders on their defense.

Stubbs is leading Tampa in interceptions and tackles, and Harrell picked off Raudabaugh in both games this season.

Offense has been the real challenge for the Storm all season, as their inefficiency at quarterback between Jason Boltus and Adam Kennedy has produced the lowest scoring offense in the league, average just over 35 points per game.

Boltus is Tampa’s first option, and ranks sixth among the 10 qualifying AFL quarterbacks this season with a 55.2 completion percentage, the lowest in the league, with 42 touchdowns and 14 interceptions.

If Jake Metz and Teddy Jennings get their opportunities to get to Boltus early and often, we could see Adam Kennedy inserted for Boltus, who’s not much better with a 57 completion percentage, 14 touchdowns and six interceptions.

The Soul have an experienced roster in all phases of the game in terms of playoff experience, and with a home crowd behind them in Allentown they should be able to get up for the game as soon as the ball is kicked off.

They got the right matchup to open up with, and as long as they keep pushing until the horn sounds at the end of the game, they’ve proven they can beat anyone they line up against in the league. But there’s no room for error anymore, and everyone knows it’s win or go home from here on out.

If they play up to their potential on Sunday, they will be one win away from Arena Bowl XXIX.