Soul get revange on San Jose, move closer to wildcard seed

The Philadelphia Soul defeated the San Jose SaberCats 42-20 on Sunday, July 19 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia to extend their win streak to three games and help increase their playoff chances.

Philadelphia’s defense was the story of the game, as Rayshaun Kizer put up a stellar performance with nine tackles, two interceptions and three broken up passes. San Jose quarterback Nathan Stanley was 17-40 in the game, throwing for one touchdown and three interceptions.

The Soul defense held the SaberCats to just one touchdown in the second half.

Dan Raudabaugh went 21-36 in the game, throwing for 240 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. Derrick Ross had 109 all-purpose yards on the evening with three rushing touchdowns. Markee White brought in two touchdowns and 71 yards on seven receptions, while Emery Sammons had 82 yards on eight receptions.

The highlight of the game came with four minutes remaining in the first half when Raudabaugh found Ross at the Soul 18 yard line, where he had a number of SaberCats on him as he reached midfield but was somehow able to pull the pile of players 32 yards for a Soul touchdown.

The win brought the Soul above .500 at 9-8, and more importantly puts them in the final wildcard spot for the time being, pending the outcome of the Tampa Bay Storm-Spokane Shock game tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m. in Spokane.

As the Soul will prepare to travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Power at 5 p.m. Saturday, July 26 at the Console Energy Center, Soul fans will be keeping both eyes on the Tampa Bay Storm throughout the next week. After Monday night’s game in Spokane, the Storm will return home to take on the 16-1 Cleveland Gladiators at 7:30 p.m. Here’s how the playoff picture is looking as of 7/20:

If the Storm lose to Spokane, the Soul will be able to clinch a playoff spot with a win against the Power.

If the Storm miraculously find a way to beat the reigning MVP in Erik Meyer in Spokane, than Philadelphia will need to defeat the Power AND need the Gladiators to beat the Storm on Saturday to make the playoffs.

If the Storm somehow beat the Shock on the road than come home to beat the Gladiators in the season finale, they will be the final wildcard in the playoffs.

If the Storm lose both of their final two games, than the Soul will move on to the American Conference playoffs.

Whichever team receives the final wildcard seed in the American Conference will go on the road to play the Gladiators in Cleveland in the opening round of the playoffs at 7 p.m. Saturday, August 2 on CBS Sports Network.

Here are some things to think about with both teams while looking ahead:

Philadelphia beat a quality San Jose team that was riding a five game win streak that included blowing out the than undefeated Arizona Rattlers, and this matchup was as one sided as the blowout the ’Cats handed the Soul back in March. Redemption is sweet, and although the SaberCats had essentially nothing to play for, they still had their starters on the field competing hard. San Jose might not have thrown their entire playbook at the Soul Sunday, but Philadelphia should have their heads up high after this win.

The Soul will run into a team with a similar situation next week in Pittsburgh, where the Power have locked up their playoff seed and already know their playoff opponent. I would assume the Power will have their starters going in the season finale as well, but like the SaberCats they will not throw every play at us they can. Still, the Power are a talented team that cannot be overlooked no matter what the situation is, and they don’t want to give their cross-state rival anything easy.

Tampa Bay will be running into two similar situations as the Soul this week, as both Spokane and Cleveland have clinched their playoff seed and are just waiting for the rest of the playoff picture to work itself out. It’s going to be tough traveling across the country for the Storm and playing one of the greatest quarterbacks in the game in Meyer. Their finale at home against the Gladiators might be an easier situation for them, but a 16-1 team should never be considered an easy opponent either.

There are still three more games left that will decide the fate of the Soul’s playoff chances. The Storm may control their destiny, but after Philadelphia’s huge victory Sunday night, the Soul should be the ones feeling better right now.  

Philly rematches against the SaberCats, continues late playoff push

In the final home game of the 2014 campaign, the Philadelphia Soul will take on the San Jose SaberCats while hoping to take a strangle on the last wildcard spot in the American Conference playoff picture.

Kickoff between the two will be at 4 p.m. Sunday, July 20 at the Wells Fargo Center in South Philadelphia.

The Soul (8-8) will face the SaberCats (12-4) for the second time this season. The two teams met back in week two on Sunday, March 23 when there SaberCats handed the Soul a 70-33 beat down in San Jose. The ball clubs have changed over the last four months, but San Jose has maintained their level of play throughout the entire season.

The SaberCats are the hottest team in the AFL right now, riding a five game win streak which included beating the than undefeated Arizona Rattlers 62-33 on Friday, June 27 in San Jose, along with dismantling the LA Kiss on the road and handling the Storm last weekend.

Quarterback Nathan Stanley has a 106.9 quarterback rating on the season, going 161-265 with 1,930 yards, 43 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Stanley was sidelined with injury when these two clubs faced each other in week two, when Russ Michna had a career performance against the Soul.

Rodd Harper is leading the receiving core in yards with 1,004 and 18 touchdowns on 97 receptions, while Reggie Gray is leading the ’Cats in touchdowns with 26 and 930 yards on 77 receptions. Jason Willis has caught 11 touchdowns with 854 yards, and Dominique Curry has 22 touchdowns and 522 yards.

On the other side of the ball, defensive back Clevan Thomas has brought in eight interceptions on the season, while Ken Fontenette and David Hyland have brought in three each. Defensive lineman Jason Stewart and Francis Maka have put up double-digit sacks.

This will definitely be one of the tougher teams the Soul will have played all year, but although the Soul have had some heartbreaking losses and rough stretches, they have been pretty consistent with playing up to the level of their tougher opponents…with the exception of these San Jose SaberCats.

Sunday will have to be seen more as a golden opportunity to put themselves in a wildcard spot than it will as a redemption for what happened months ago in California. The Predators appear to be running away with the South Division, and if the Soul happen to lose this game Sunday and the Tampa Bay Storm go on to win one of their final two games, the Soul will be eliminated from the playoffs for the first time in three years. However, the Storm will kick off in Spokane against the Shock Monday, July 21, and will return home to take on the 16-1 Cleveland Gladiators on Sunday, July 27. This means a win in either of Philadelphia’s last two games will probably give them a good shot at making the playoffs. Two wins will all but lockup a ticket to compete in the playoffs.

If the Soul are going to make noise in the playoffs if they happen to reach the postseason, they will have to face quality teams such as the SaberCats if they plan on advancing anywhere. This is an opportunity to give yourself a good chance at making the playoffs while at the same time showing what your truly are capable of.

At the same time, you do not want to have to rely on other teams any more than you already are, and if you’re going to get at least one win in your final two games, it would be better to do so on your home field than traveling to Pittsburgh with the uncertainty of your team’s future surrounding your must-win situation. 

We know the 'Cats will show up ready to play Sunday, but hopefully the Soul will prove that Philly really has the eye of the tiger. 

The Soul sweep Orlando, keep playoff hopes alive

                                                                                                                              Photo from Philly.com

      

 The Soul put on a show for ESPN2’s Monday Night Arena Football with a 42-35 win over the Orlando Predators Monday, July 7 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

The win gets the Soul back to .500 (8-8) and keeps Philly in the hunt for the final wildcard seed in the American Conference playoff race, now sitting a half game and a tiebreaker behind the (8-7) Tampa bay Storm.

Dan Raudabaugh continued to lead the Soul to victory with another stellar performance, going 14-25 with 193 passing yards, four touchdowns and one interception for a 103.8 quarterback rating in the game.

Tiger Jones put up 108 yards in the game with one touchdown on seven receptions. Markee White had five receptions for 64 yards and three touchdowns. Derrick Ross had six rushing attempts, earning 18 yards and one touchdown. Ross also had two receiving receptions for 13 yards.

The Soul defense got to Orlando quarterback Jason Boltus early and often Monday night, sacking him a total of four times in the game for 24 yards. Boltus went 22-42 on the night with 308 passing yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

Rayshaun Kizer led by example for the Soul defense Monday, breaking up six passes at crucial moments and recording 10.5 tackles.  

LaRico Stevens opened the scoring in the game, bringing the opening kickoff to the house for a Soul touchdown. The Soul defense stood strong on the next drive, sacking Boltus twice and forcing a turnover on downs at midfield. Raudabaugh found Markee White on his first drive of the game for a 19 yard touchdown to extend Philly’s lead to 14-0.

In the second quarter, with the Soul leading 21-14, a Raudabaugh pass was intercepted by former Soul cornerback Eddie Moten, a member of the Arena Bowl XXII team, the Soul’s first turnover of the night. However, the Predators were unable to capitalize on the turnover and the Soul took over deep in their own territory.

    

        With a little over a minute remaining in the half, Jason Boltus once again cut the Soul lead to one score, this time rushing for a touchdown himself. Momentum seemed to change after the touchdown when Orlando attempted and recovered an onside kick, the demon that has haunted this Soul team all season long. The Predators ran down the clock, burning up the Soul’s timeouts and scoring a one yard Gregg Carr touchdown in the final seconds of the half to tie the game at 28 apiece.

       

     Whatever momentum Orlando had heading into the second half was stolen away by a Brandon Perkins interception off Boltus at the Philadelphia two yard line on the first drive of the half. Both teams played sloppy football throughout the third quarter and neither team was able to put anything up on the board until Philadelphia broke the scoreless drought with a 20 yard Tiger Jones touchdown with 11 seconds remaining in the quarter.

      

      Philadelphia was able to continue to hold Orlando scoreless for the majority of the second half, and Orlando’s only score was a Greg Carr touchdown with 1:22 remaining in the game, cutting the Soul lead to 42-35. Fans were on the edge of their seats during the highly-anticipated onside kick, but the Soul special teams finally caught a break as Orlando’s kicker Mark Lewis kicked the ball past both teams and out of bounds at the 21 yard line. Philly was finally able to run the clock down and secure a win to get them one step closer to the American Conference playoffs.

   

         There were deals of concern for this team’s offense throughout the entire third quarter and times in the fourth, and the special teams went another game without showing us they can recover an onside kick. We can all breathe a sigh of relief the next couple of days that Orlando kicked the ball out of bounds the last time they touched it Monday, but coach Dolezel will have a lot to work on with his team during their bye week over the next couple of days.

We will take a closer look at the playoff picture later in the week, but the short rundown is Monday’s win puts the Soul at 8-8, right behind the Tampa Bay Storm who sit at 8-7 and will play three tough opponents the rest of the month. Philadelphia does not have an easy path by any means, but the Soul’s schedule has a slight advantage over Tampa’s. Philadelphia would still need to win one more game than Tampa due to tie breaking procedures if they were going to pass the Storm for the final playoff spot. There’s still a chance both Philadelphia and Tampa Bay can make the playoffs, if the Storm beat out the Orlando Predators (8-7) for the East Division title and the Soul have the same or better record as Orlando’s.

    

        First things first, the Soul will need to take care of their own business healing up and correcting their mistakes throughout the bye week and returning in two weeks to take on the San Jose SaberCats at 4 p.m. Sunday, July 20 for the regular season home finale. After the last time these two teams met up in week two on Sunday, March 23 (a 70-33 San Jose win), I think the Soul will be feeling like they owe the ’Cats one.

Soul hope to distance themselves from the Storm in Tampa Bay

                                                    courtesy of csnphilly.com 

The Soul begin the most crucial part of their season tonight as they face the Tampa Bay Storm for the third time this season at 5 p.m. in Tampa.

The two teams are battling for the second and final wildcard spot in the American Conference playoff push. The Soul (6-5) sit one game in front of the Storm (5-6) in the standings, but after the teams split the previous two meetings this season, a victory in tonight’s game will give the winner the season tie-breaker.

These teams met up in Tampa Bay in the first game of the series on Friday, April 4 when the Storm defeated the Soul 63-49. Philadelphia had two of their near-obvious touchdowns from Tiger Jones and Ryan McDaniel taken off the board after controversial decisions by the officiating crew on the evening.
After the victory however, the Storm suffered a five game losing streak, with the final loss a 62-34 loss to the Soul on Saturday, May 17 in Philadelphia. Since then, the Storm have put together two victories, defeating the Jacksonville Sharks 56-35 on Saturday, May 24 and a 62-48 road win in New Orleans Friday, May 30. Tampa is still alive and well in the South Division title race, sitting only a game behind the first place 6-5 Orlando Predators.

The division title is seemingly out of reach for the Soul, who are 3.5 games behind the first place Cleveland Gladiators (9-1) with only seven games remaining in the regular season. The Pittsburgh Power  (8-3) are in second place of the division and hold the first wildcard seed, two games ahead of Philadelphia. While the Soul still have time to cover ground on their cross-state rivals, with two of their last seven against the Power, it’s clear that the fourth seed in the conference playoffs will be their best chance at making the postseason.

The Soul are hoping to ride a 76-40 victory over the San Antonio Talons last Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center, which was a contest that was not nearly as competitive as the scoreboard showed in the end. The Soul scored the first 35 points in the contest on Sunday, and Dan Raudabaugh was substituted for safety before the fourth quarter.

Philadelphia is hoping that receiver Ryan McDaniel will return to the lineup after missing the last few weeks due to a leg injury. McDaniel was leading all receivers on the squad on offense before going down, putting up 17 touchdowns and 906 yards on 69 receptions. Emery Sammons has come in and played well in his absence the last few weeks, catching three touchdowns with 196 yards on 11 receptions. Tiger Jones has still been Tiger Jones, adding 24 touchdowns with 941 yards on 68 catches on his year. Their leader Dan Raudabaugh is adding up great numbers to season as well, going 216 for 318 for 2,676 yards with 56 touchdowns and 9 interceptions for a 121.5 quarterback rating.

The Storm’s quarterback Randy Hippeard is just a tear under Raudabaugh, as he’s 208 for 355 so far for 2,690 yards, 59 touchdowns and 14 interceptions with a 105.6 quarterback rating. Tampa Bay has a pretty good wide receiver trio of their own this season, with Amarri Jackson, Joe Hills and Justin Hilton all have double digit touchdowns and stand as a viable threat down the field.

These two teams have played pretty nasty against each other through the first two matches, and the Tampa Bay personnel has not had their class in check at time either when the Storm’s radio announcing crew Jack Harris and Darek Sharp referred to Tiger Jones as a sphincter in the first meeting. There is a lot of fuel on the fire between these two ball clubs, so expect to see the intensity through the roof tonight.

The real story for the Soul tonight should be trying to find their game on the road. Philadelphia is a perfect 5-0 in their home confines of the Wells Fargo Center, but are an underwhelming 1-6 on the road this season including a loss in Tampa. That defeat did come on the Soul’s rough three game road stretch to start the season, and despite the loss, the Soul looked to be the better team many times throughout the game.

If the Soul are going to make the playoffs and show the league that they are still a team to be reckoned with, they are going to have to start beating teams that they could potentially face in the playoffs, and show that they can win on the road. The rest of their schedule gives them more than enough opportunity, facing the Gladiators and Power who are in front of them in the division race, the Barnstormers who are tied with them for the fourth seed (Philly holds the tie breaker), the San Jose SaberCats and the first place Orlando Predators.

This may be the easiest opponent the Soul will face from here on out, and you cannot fall out of that final seed now with their tough schedule coming up. The players know this, and with everything to prove, hopefully they will continue to dominate the Storm and bury them two games behind themselves for the wildcard run.

Soul look to continue success at Console Energy Center in Pittsburgh

The Soul will seek their fourth straight win this weekend when they hit the road to take on their cross-state rival Pittsburgh Power at 7 p.m. Saturday, May 3 at the Console Energy Center in Pittsburgh.

The Philadelphia Soul have never lost at Console Energy Center, winning all three contests they've played in the Steel City. However, this is a different Power team than Philadelphia has ever faced in the past. After some major reconstruction to the roster in the off season, Pittsburgh has compiled a team built to compete for an Arena Bowl, and for portions of the season the Power have done just that.

But for as much success the Power have experienced through the first portion of the season, they’ve faced just as much adversity in many different forms.

The Pittsburgh Power are heading into the weekend with a 3-3 record, tied with the Soul and the Iowa Barnstormers for second place in the East Division of the American Conference. The Power have lost their last two contests, their most recent a 55-28 whomping from the Cleveland Gladiators on Saturday, April 26 in Cleveland.  

Former league MVP quarterback Tommy Grady has appeared to revive his career to an extent from his disastrous season with the Utah Blaze last year. Grady has completed 137 passes on 243 attempts, putting up 32 touchdowns and six interceptions through the first six games of the season.

Grady could be hitting the field without his two best receivers in Aaron Lesue and Prechae Rodriguez this weekend. Lesue, who joined the Power from Utah this past offseason as well, has 592 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns on 57 receptions this season. Lesue left last week’s game against Cleveland with what appeared to be a serious knee injury, and while there hasn't been any official statement regarding his status, it’s unlikely we will be seeing him on the playing field for some time.

The Power have already been playing without receiver Prechae Rodriguez the past four weeks, who has been suffering from a foot injury since the second game of the season for Pittsburgh. Rodriguez had 185 and seven touchdowns on only 17 receptions through his first two weeks to start the season. The Power have seen Shaun Kauleinamoku step up play in the absence of their receivers, as Kauleinamoku has brought in 485 yards and eight touchdowns on 42 receptions for Pittsburgh.

        

      The Soul offense will face a great challenge with a familiar face that they know all too well in defensive back Virgil Gray, who played a contributing role on the Arizona Rattlers defense that rolled past the Soul in the last two Arena Bowls. Gray has brought in six interceptions for the Power for 110 yards this season.

        

 Hopefully Dan Raudabaugh will be able to cool down Gray’s hot streak while keeping a few of his own team’s streaks alive.

The Soul are coming off a 60-55 win over the Iowa Barnstormers on Sunday, April 27 in Philadelphia. The win was the first division game for the Soul on the season, and their third straight win. A win on Saturday would be the fourth team victory on the season and at Console Energy Center, an arena that Philadelphia teams have strived in since it opened in 2010 and has been referred to as “Wells Fargo West” by many sports fans in this rivalry.

In fact, the road team has won all but one of the six games these two teams have played over the last seasons. The only home team to win a game in the series was the Soul in 2012. Philadelphia leads the all-time series against the Power 4-2 as well.

        

      In a rivalry game such as this, it’s going to be a defensive battle that will determine who comes out on top and sits in second place of the division. It may be the first time suiting up in the black and yellow against the Soul for many players on the Power, but it never takes long for anyone to understand the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh rivalry in any sport.

     The Soul have the slight edge heading into this game, with all the struggles and injuries that have been piling on the Power the past few weeks. Philly will need defensive back Rayshaun Kizer and lineman TJ Langley to continue their play that has stepped up and improved the Soul defense the last few games if they are going to shut down a former MVP in Tommy Grady, with or without his biggest playmakers.

Philadelphia will play the Power three times this season, with the next two coming Saturday, June 14 in Philadelphia and Saturday, July 26 back in Pittsburgh to end the season. There are no easy games in professional sports, but one would have to think that this one will be the easiest game in the season series for the Soul to win. Bragging rights in the state of Pennsylvania are on the line, and hopefully we’ll be able to continue to own them after Saturday. 

Raudabaugh finding his game, earns weekly honors

           In Arena Football, it’s no secret that the most important position is the quarterback. And for the past three seasons, Philadelphia has greatly benefited in having one of the league’s elite quarterbacks, Dan Raudabaugh.

      

      Raudabaugh’s performance in the Soul’s 60-55 win over the Iowa Barnstormers on Sunday, April 27 earned Raudabaugh the league’s Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Week award for the second time in three weeks. Raudabaugh was 26 for 35 on his passes Sunday, throwing for 283 yards and nine touchdowns in the victory.

After throwing a tipped interception on the first play of the game, Raudabaugh showed his resilience by constructing a near-flawless performance throughout the remainder of the game.

The Soul offense had an answer for nearly every situation that was thrown at them in the second half of Sunday’s game, trading touchdowns with the Barnstormers on every possession and the lead on each score. The game came down to the final two drives of the game, and Raudabaugh was handed a golden opportunity to win the ball game when the Soul defense forced the Barnstormers to kick a field goal, giving Philly the ball down by one point.

        

      In the final minute of the game, Raudabaugh was able to lead his offense 32 yards down the 50 yard field, and hook receiver Tiger Jones up with a six-yard touchdown with three seconds remaining to win the game.

      Despite the recent success on the Soul’s three-game win streak, it’s been far from a perfect season for Raudabaugh and his team. After the first three games of the season, Raudabaugh had the worst quarterback rating of all 16 starting quarterbacks in the league, and his team was winless to start the season. However, the following week Raudabaugh made AFL history against the Orlando Predators, setting the highest quarterback rating for a single game at 154.36 as he completed 20 of 22 passes for 254 yards and seven touchdowns, earning him the Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Week that week as well.

It’s no secret that the Philadelphia Soul go as Raudabaugh goes, as the success of the team’s leader has reflected the wins and losses of the team dating back to early 2012.

The former Miami Redhawk quarterback joined the Philadelphia Soul in 2012, along with a cast of players and coaches from the Dallas Vigilantes when the club folded at the conclusion of the 2011 season. Raudabaugh has brought the Soul to the past two Arena Bowls, looking magnificent more often than not on his paths to the championship games. The one argument that naysayers have brought up against Raudabaugh’s play has been his inability to seal the victory in the championship game, as his Soul have come home empty handed from the Arena Bowl the past two years. But there's no question that Raudabaugh has the ability to perform in the playoffs, as his 4-3 record in the playoffs shows he has the success to win against tough opponents. If Raudabaugh continues to lead his team to Arena Bowls, he's bound to finish the task and quiet those who may be critical to his game.

    The Soul still has a lot of work to do if they are going to return to their third straight championship game, but the turnaround of Raudabaugh and his teams play is a great sign of optimism for this team moving forward. They've proven their ability to make it through an 18-game season and reach the playoffs, and their performance in the postseason makes them a viable threat to any opponent they meet in August. The American Conference is tighter than ever this year, with the Cleveland Gladiators sitting atop the East division at 6-0, the Orlando Predators leading the South division at 5-2 and three teams tied with the Soul in the wildcard race with three wins.

There’s still 13 weeks left for Raudabaugh to lead his team to another Arena Bowl push, and despite the struggles we've seen from this team and the scrutiny it has received, it’s clear that the team is finding their game and a way to string together some wins. If this continues, I’ll take my chances on the arm of Dan Raudabaugh than any other quarterback in this conference the rest of the way.

No Fly Zone: The Soul win a Barnburner over Iowa on ESPN

The Philadelphia Soul welcomed ESPN back to Arena Football with a thrilling 60-55 win over the Iowa Barnstormers on Sunday, April 27 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

The team's third straight win improved the Soul to 3-3, putting them in a three-way tie for second place of the East Division with Iowa and Pittsburgh.

Dan Raudabaugh was 26 for 35 on the day, throwing for 283 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception.

 Tiger Jones caught the game winning touchdown in the final seconds of the game, and finished the night with five touchdowns and 52 yards on seven receptions. V’Keon Lacey had an impressive game, filling in the role at the third wide receiver position and coming up with three touchdowns and 63 yards on five receptions. Ryan McDaniel racked up 107 receiving yards on seven receptions. Derrick Ross ran for 36 yards, but was unable to find the end zone on Sunday.

Defensive lineman TJ Langley sacked Iowa quarterback Carson Coffman three times for 14 yards. Linebacker Brandon Perkins had one sack for five yards in the game.

It was a rough start to the game for Raudabaugh, who was picked off on the first play of the game on a tipped-pass that ended up in the hands of defensive back Ter’Ran Benton. Carson Coffman marched his Barnstormers down the field to the one yard line on the next drive, setting up the short touchdown for fullback Derik Steiner.

The Soul defense came out flat for the majority of the first quarter, as the teams continued to traded touchdowns throughout the first half of the game.

Late in the second quarter, Rob Redd returned a kick to midfield for the Soul, setting up a touchdown from Raudabaugh to receiver V’Keon Lacey, cutting the Iowa lead down to 28-26.

On the next drive, reciver Darius Reynolds would fumble the ball for Iowa deep into Soul territory, which was recovered by Philadelphia’s James Romain at the three yard line with five minutes remaining in the half. The Soul would capitalize on the turnover, finding Lacey for his fourth touchdown of the game and putting the Soul on top for the first time in the game, 34-28.

Head coach Clint Dolezel caught the Barnstormers special team by surprise on the kickoff calling for an onside kick, which was recovered by Bryan Randall for Philadelphia.

With momentum on Philly’s side, however, they were unable to capitalize on the possession, going four and out with a fourth-and-three incompletion to give Iowa the ball with 15 seconds remaining in the half. A field goal from Ross Gornall cut the Soul lead to 34-31 heading into the half.

        

      Early in the third quarter, TJ Langley earned his second sack of the game on Coffman, bringing up a third-and-eleven for Iowa. The secondary would break down on the next drive for the Soul however, letting Coffman find Darius Reynolds at the five yard line, who was just barely able to extend the ball into the end zone with the tip of his fingers and give his team a 38-34 lead.

          

    The Soul defense was unable to come through and stand tall on third and fourth downs, and the two teams traded touchdowns throughout the third and the majority of the fourth quarter, with the lead changing on every score.

Down 52-48 with three minutes remaining, AFL fans throughout the Delaware Valley were holding their breath when Derrick Ross fumbled a Raudabaugh hand-off deep in Iowa territory. Ross was able to recover the fumble, bringing up a crucial third down late in the game. Tiger Jones found a laser pass from Raudabaugh to give the Soul a six point lead, but another missed kick from Carlos Martinez kept the Soul lead at two points.

The Barnstormers recovered a Soul onside kick, and continued their drive with intention to run out as much clock and Soul timeouts as possible. Their game plan didn't go accordingly however, and Iowa was forced to kick a field goal that gave them a 55-54 lead with 43 seconds remaining in the game.

That was just enough time for Dan Raudabaugh and the Soul offense to keep their rhythm going, as Raudabaugh and his receivers made it look easy marching down the field, burning time on the game clock away. With three seconds remaining in the contest, Raudabaugh found Tiger Jones who ran six yards for the game winning touchdown.

      

       It wasn't the prettiest win for the Soul, but ESPN and the Soul fans certainly got their money’s worth in one of the most exciting games for the AFL this season. The Soul certainly faced adversity throughout the game, and while it was troubling to see the defense continue struggles with the secondary, penalties and third/fourth downs, the team still found a way to get a huge win in the Eastern Division race.

Raudabaugh was able to shake off his interception on the first play of the game, and converted for the Soul on nearly every possession, including the final drive of the game which was the biggest one of the season through the first six games.

      

       The intensity of play will only get bigger from here, as the Soul will look to continue their win streak on Saturday, May 3 when they hit the turnpike to take on the Power in Pittsburgh, a city the franchise has never lost in. The ‘Battle of Pennsylvania’ is a matchup fans around the league have been looking forward to all season.

         

    This young Soul team with key veterans has gotten thrown into a lot of tough situations the first month of the season, and with the 0-3 start the team went through to open the year, it certainly feels great to be back at .500 as we are a third of the way through the season. This team is getting a lot of great experience under their belts, now let’s see what they can do with it the rest of the way.