Despite a few miscues, The Soul’s defense dominated Tampa Bay in the 63-41 win that put the Soul in Conference final. Photo by Todd Bauders/ contrastphotography.com

Philadelphia Advances to American Conference Championship on August 14

ALLENTOWN— The Philadelphia Soul (14-3, 1-0) defeated the Tampa Bay Storm (2-15, 0-1), with the score 63-41 in front of 5,540 fans at the PPL Center in Allentown, PA on Sunday night. With this victory, the Soul have moved on to the American Conference Championship game.

The Soul will host the Jacksonville Sharks (8-9, 1-0) next Sunday, August 14 at 6 p.m. at the PPL Center in Allentown, PA. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2 and 97.5 The Fanatic. With a victory on August 14, the team head to ArenaBowl and take on the winner of the Arizona Rattlers and Cleveland Gladiators.

“I am excited to move on to the American Conference Championships,” said Soul head coach Clint Dolezel. “This is a great chance at redemption as we take on the Jacksonille Sharks once again. I thought we played tough in all four quarters tonight and our focus continues to stay on making it all the way to ArenaBowl.”

Soul WR and J. Lewis Small AFL Playmaker of the Game, Darius Reynolds led the receivers with seven receptions for 98 yards and three touchdowns. WR Shaun Kauleinamoku added seven receptions for 77 yards and three touchdowns and FB Jeramie Richardson chipped in 10 rushes for 28 yards and one touchdown. Storm WR Kendrick Ings led the Storm receiving core with six receptions for 115 yards and two touchdowns.

Philadelphia QB and Under Armour Offensive Player of the Game, Dan Raudabaugh completed 22-of-23 passes for 224 yards and eight touchdowns. Storm QB Jason Boltus completed 15-of-35 passes for 220 yards and five touchdowns.

The Soul won the coin toss and kicked off to start the game. A quick on-side kick gave the Soul possession and the team capitalized on this with a 1-yard rushing touchdown by Jeramie Richardson. Frevert’s kick was good and with 9:21 to play in the first quarter the Soul led 7-0. A turnover on downs gave the Soul possession again and Raudabaugh connected with Reynolds for a 5-yard touchdown pass. The Storm fired back on a 10-yard touchdown by T.T. Toliver but the first quarter ended with the Soul out front 14-7.

A 15-yard interception run by Cortez Stubbs tied the game up for the Storm, with 13:24 to play in the first half. The Soul did not allow the tie to last as Raudabaugh found Lonnie Outlaw for a 3-yard touchdown pass with 10:43 remaining. The Storm were again unable to complete the first down, giving the Soul the momentum they needed to keep their lead. Reynolds caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from Raudabaugh and with 5:44 left in the half, the Soul led 28-14. DB Dwayne Hollis caught his ninth interception of the season and the second quarter came to a close with the Soul leading 28-14.

A Soul interception followed by a turnover on downs by the Storm gave Philadelphia possession once again. Raudabaugh connected with SK on a 23-yard touchdown pass and Frevert’s PAT was good. With 10:39 left in the third quarter, the Soul led 35-14. The Storm scored again when Boltus found Toliver for a 24-yard touchdown and closed the gap 35-21. Reynolds caught his third touchdown of the night on a 30-yard pass from Raudabaugh. With 3:52 remaining in the third quarter, the Soul remained in the lead, 42-21. In the final minutes of play, Boltus passed to Ings for a 38-yard touchdown and the third quarter ended with the Soul in the lead 42-28.

SK opened up the final quarter with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Raudabaugh. Kick was good and the Soul kept their lead, 49-28. The Storm again attempted to fight back with a 47-yard touchdown pass from Boltus to Ings but the extra point was no good. A pair of turnovers by both teams, gave the Soul another chance to score and Raudabaugh found SK again for a 5-yard touchdown pass. The PAT was good and with 5:47 to play in the game, the Soul led 56-34. The Storm scored one final time on a 25-yard pass from Boltus to Rodriguez but that wasn’t enough for the team to take the lead. In the final minute of play, Raudabaugh found Outlaw one last time and the Soul defeated the Tampa Bay Storm, 63-41.

Under Armour Offensive Player: Philadelphia QB Dan Raudabaugh
Riddell Defensive Player: Philadelphia DB Beau Bell
J Lewis Small AFL Playmaker: Philadephia WR Darius Reynolds
Cutter’s Catch of the Game: Tampa Bay WR Kendrick Ings 38-yd touchdown in the 3rd quarter
AFL Highlight of the Game: Philadelphia Special Teams onside kick recovery to start the game.

ABOUT PHILADELPHIA SOUL
The 2015 Eastern Division Champion Philadelphia Soul are in their 11th Season of play. In the first ten seasons, the Soul have won four Division Championships, three Conference Championships and a World Championship. Since the inaugural season in 2004, the Soul are the winningest professional sports team in Philadelphia. Season memberships and Group tickets for the Soul’s upcoming 2016 season are on sale now. For tickets, contact the Soul sales department at (215) 253-4900 ext. 3, or request contact from a Soul representative by filling out the form on www.philadelphiasoul.com. Follow the Soul on Facebook at facebook.com/soul and Twitter at twitter.com/soulfootball.