Notes
The passing attack from both offenses saw their fair share of struggles throughout this game. Grant Russell completed 59% of his passes, but threw three interceptions and was sacked once. While that sounds like a rough day at the office, Russell’s two hundred and thirty-seven yards and five touchdowns were better than Dan Raudabaugh’s production. Raudabaugh completed 61% of his passes but was intercepted twice. He may have barely protected the ball better than Russell this game, but his two hundred and twenty-seven yards and four touchdowns were just behind. In the AFL, many games are about who scores last, which was exactly how this game was portrayed.
The turning point was the play of the defenses. For the Columbus Destroyers, Varmah Sonie was flying around the ball all day long. Forcing a fumble and intercepting two passes, he put out a defensive effort that just simply wasn’t matched by his supporting cast. James Romain, Dwayne Hollis, and Jameer Outsey had the biggest roles in winning the turnover battle on defense this game. Winning the turnover battle ultimately meant winning this game, which is why the Philadelphia Soul only helped themselves in the playoff hunt this week. Romain was around the ball all night long, also recording ten tackles for the stat book.
Largely, Kenny Spencer has been improving with his accuracy in extra point attempts. Clint Dolezel a few weeks ago mentioned Spencer was playing for his job following a loss to the Washington Valor where Spencer made every kick. Since then, Spencer has made a high percentage of his conversions, even getting in on a few tackles against key returners. He had a keeper against the Columbus Destroyers, tackling Fabian Guerra. Dan Raudabaugh converting on a pass to Lonnie Outlaw in the fourth quarter was very important to make up for the one extra point that Spencer had missed in the second quarter.
This week, the Philadelphia Soul (5-4) prepare for their last home game of the 2019 AFL regular season as they host the Albany Empire (8-1) once again. The first matchup this season, the Empire defeated the Soul, 57-48. Before the Soul kicked off against the Columbus Destroyers on Saturday, the Empire just survived the Atlantic City Blackjacks, 63-61. Recently, the Soul allowed a season-low in points against the Blackjacks. Against a lethal offense like the Empire, the Soul is going to have to keep up this quality level of defense. The Empire’s only loss this season came from the hands of the Baltimore Brigade. Every team wants to take down the top dog. Philadelphia once again assumes their favorite role; “the underdog.”
The Philadelphia Soul host the Albany Empire at 3:30 pm on Saturday, June 29th on NBCSP+ or ESPN3. You can also listen to all of the action live on 97.5FM The Fanatic.
