The Albany Empire received in the second half since they deferred their decision after winning the coin toss. Sean Daniels became the first person to sack Tommy Grady this season on this opening drive of the second half. He was asked about sacking Grady, “it was just an adjustment we made in the locker room, just ‘run through their face, go get a sack, we need to turn it up.'” Following the Daniels sack on Grady, Grady threw an interception to Torez Jones.
Darius Prince would catch his third touchdown of the day from Dan Raudabaugh when the Philadelphia Soul came back on the field. It was a fifteen-yard reception. Prince, after the game, had this to say about motivating his own offensive production, “I told myself I got to be better. I was having decent games, but I wasn’t playing to the level I know I could play at and all week I was just on myself. I put in an extra amount of time watching film and just came out, when the ball was in the air I told myself ‘you gotta’ catch it.” He certainly did a fantastic job receiving, as he led the team against the Albany Empire. The Soul took the lead back, 27-21.
After Darius Prince’s touchdown, the Albany Empire was back on offense. Very quickly, however, the Empire turned the ball over on downs. The Philadelphia Soul took complete advantage of Albany’s turnover on downs when Adrian Ferns rushed for a two-yard touchdown, extending the Soul’s lead to 34-21. The Empire would come back out on offense and carry their next possession into the fourth quarter.
To begin the final quarter, Tommy Grady was able to break the Albany Empire out of their funk from the third quarter, throwing a touchdown pass to Malachi Jones. To close the deficit, the Empire attempted an onside kick, but Torez Jones recovered for the Philadelphia Soul. Dan Raudabaugh finished this first drive of the fourth quarter strong, throwing a three-yard touchdown to Lonnie Outlaw. The Soul lead 41-28 and Albany is back in a two-possession hole. Grady was intercepted by James Romain. Sean Daniels commented on the Philadelphia secondary, “it’s a good feeling knowing you got guys like that who are going to get you three picks a game. Even if you don’t get there, just your breath on the quarterbacks back alone is going to make him throw that up and with the DBs [defensive backs] we have, that’s all it takes.” This was an entire defensive effort that forced the interceptions to Jones and Romain, assisted by players like Daniels.
With another opportunity to add to their lead, the Philadelphia Soul took back over on offense and Dan Raudabaugh found BJ Bunn for a seventeen-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion following failed. Raudabaugh praised Bunn after the game, “he’s the type of guy who is always ready for the ball, may not do everything correctly, may run a different route, but he gives himself opportunities to be successful. He’s a playmaker.” Bunn has fit in on this field for the Soul ever since Aaron Wascha went down with an injury. He had two touchdowns in this game and this score gave Philadelphia a 47-28 lead.
Going back to find their most trusted talent, Tommy Grady and the Albany Empire scored on their next drive, connecting with Malachi Jones. The Empire went for an onside kick, but it was recovered by Torez Jones. Dan Raudabaugh found enough time to throw another touchdown to Lonnie Outlaw to secure a bigger lead. Albany head coach, Rob Keefe, sat Tommy Grady and put in Mason Espinosa at quarterback. Espinosa did throw a touchdown pass to AJ Coney. However, the game would end ten seconds later and the Philadelphia Soul would hold on to win, 54-43.
Notes
In the first quarter, the Philadelphia Soul had a rocky start on offense, but everything began to smooth out once Dan Raudabaugh and his receivers starting to play a simpler offense rather than shoot the ball for big chunk gains. “We still fouled up too much for our own liking. If it was a tighter game, it might of affected it a little more. We got to keep getting better. We got some young guys out there we are asking a lot out of and we’ll get it right. Guys stepped up and made big, timely plays tonight. That’s what it’s about in big games, you have to be good on first and second down and your situational football hast to be good,” said Raudabaugh. He also spoke highly of Jordan Williams, who had four catches of his own. About Williams, Raudabaugh stated, “Jordan Williams is really coming into his own too. His speed really takes the top off the defense or pushes the defense way back. We got playmakers and I’m not afraid to throw it to any of them.” This was evident as every receiver was in on the action for the Soul.
In this three-game winning streak, the Philadelphia Soul has been playing fantastic defense throughout every quarter of football. I would say that is the strength of this team each game, no slight to the offense at all. About the defense, Sean Daniels had this to say about their consistent play, “this is a testament to coach Bell and how great of a coach he is. When you apply pressure to your players and you make them uncomfortable, and you make practice hard and difficult, the game is easy. That’s not hard at all with the way we work.” The Soul has been an absolute terror on the field, whether it has been Thomas Dover, Daniels, Torez Jones, or James Romain. Philadelphia has been dominating on defense during this winning streak and complimenting the offense’s production. Soul head coach, Clint Dolezel, crowed Romain after the game, “he’s the best in the league. I hear sometimes on telecasts, watching other games, they might mention ‘this guy may be the best in the league.’ They know better. James is the best in the league and that pick he made tonight might be the best pick I’ve seen him make.”
Speaking with the players after the win versus the Albany Empire, you would never guess that they are on a three-game winning streak. “It’s the same feeling. It feels good, but at the same time, we got punched in the mouth. We were bleeding and that scar still hasn’t healed. We still got blood in our mouth. Nothing’s changed just because we won three. We’re still playing like we lost four. We still got that blood in our mouth and we’re still very, very angry. We still want to run this table and claim that first place playoff spot,” said Sean Daniels. This is the attitude that the Philadelphia Soul ought to have because the work is never done with the number one seed of the AFL playoffs in reach.
Doing his best not to get too far ahead of himself, Dan Raudabaugh’s approach was very humble and focused on the task at hand when we asked of his thoughts about securing an AFL playoff spot. “If we win out, Washington might need to lose one, but if we win out, I think we’re the one seed. We’re going to take it play by play, drive by drive, quarter by quarter, half by half, and game by game. We just got to keep working.” Clint Dolezel’s focus has already shifted to the first of two home games next week, in Atlantic City against the Blackjacks. “It’ll be nice to go down there. My guys are going to work, they always do. I wouldn’t have them here if they didn’t,” said Dolezel. Even though the Blackjacks play at the beach doesn’t mean this is just a trip to the beach.
Last, but certainly not least, Clint Dolezel had this to say about the Philadelphia Soul fan support, “there’s a reason they call it home-field advantage. Crowds like that are why you have it. We want that for the playoff run. Hopefully, we can get that for our next playoff game when we have one. They make a difference.” This is undisputed. The Soul fans were out in full force on Saturday and it helped Philadelphia, along with their play, get over the hump and hand the Albany Empire their second loss this season.
This week, the Philadelphia Soul (6-4) prepare to begin their two-game road trip, starting with the Atlantic City Blackjacks (4-6). The Blackjacks have yet to defeat the Soul, most recently losing to them, 54-29 in week eight. After Philadelphia defeated the Albany Empire, Atlantic City defeated the Washington Valor, 70-41 on Saturday. As of recently, the Blackjacks have shown their high octane offense with Warren Smith behind center. The Soul has yet to defeat the Valor this season like Atlantic City just did. In what is showing to be a more productive offense with Smith at quarterback, Philadelphia is going to have to keep this energy on defense on the road. The Soul are arriving with more chips to bring to the table, but the Blackjacks are all in. Who will have the best hand?
The Atlantic City Blackjacks host the Philadelphia Soul at 7pm on Saturday, July 6th on NBCSP+ or ESPN3. You can listen to all the action live on 97.5FM The Fanatic.
Video from my colleague, David Malandra, Jr:
