Post-Game
There was a moment in this game when Torez Jones went down with an injury. Clint Dolezel acknowledged that it was a concussion, “he got his bell rung. No question, he got a peel back block. They used to call a penalty for that in the last ten years. I think he’ll be okay, he’ll go through protocol. We’ll see how that works out for us with a short week.” In notable injury that was discussed was Aaron Wascha and his status, “he’s more like week to week. It’s a PCL injury, he’s getting better mobility wise.” This sounds optimistic that Wascha would be able to join the Philadelphia Soul again before the season ends. Wascha made an immediate impact early on this season and the offense has been trying to stabilize Darius Reynolds moved to linebacker.
Adrian Ferns and Dwayne Hollis both spoke about the importance of this win. Ferns stated, “it was huge. Every game’s important, but this game we were like ‘we really need to win this game and all we got to do is stay focused and play as a family.’ That’s what happened today.” It showed because the Philadelphia Soul performed in all aspects of football. Hollis stated, “in our minds, it’s ‘must win’ kind of playoff mode right now.” Especially with the playoff implications that were on the line in this game against the Atlantic City Blackjacks, the Soul must build off of this win.
Right now, the Philadelphia Soul are embarking on a short week, traveling to Columbus to take on the Destroyers, who have one win on the year. After constant changes due to injury on a banged up roster, Clint Dolezel was asked about strategizing for the Destroyers on a short week, “we’ll see who’s ready to go come Thursday and if we have to make some changes, we make some changes. We’ve been doing it all year long, so what’s one more game if we have to?” Adrian Ferns knows how dangerous the Destroyers can be, not complacent with being at a .500 win percentage. “Every team can beat every team in this league,” said Ferns. Dwayne Hollis added, “it’s ‘Us Against The World’ when we go on the road. I like playing on the road, it’s like motivation the whole game. The crowd booing you, I kinda like that.” Columbus has a lot to boo about this season and they’re going to take it out on the Soul. I’m happy to see that Hollis’ brings that mentality to the locker room.
Earlier in this Philadelphia Soul homestand, they defeated the Columbus Destroyers, 47-35. The Atlantic City Blackjacks were just coming off of a loss to the Destroyers before they visited Philadelphia. Collecting wins any way they can get them is key, which is why the importance stretches over to Thursday night against the Destroyers to claim a winning record at 5-4. If the Soul play like they just did against the Blackjacks, they will be a hard team to beat and should be neck and neck for the third playoff seed in the AFL playoffs. The Soul faces the Destroyers at 7 pm on Thursday, June 22nd on NBCSP+ or ESPN3. You can also listen to the game live on 97.5FM The Fanatic.
