WR Darius Reynolds hauls in one of his ten receptions for 141 yards and three touchdowns. Photo by Todd Bauders /contrastphotography.com

By SPENCER GROSSINGER

The alternative home arena in Trenton took some time breaking in, but after an hour of mediocre football, the Soul flexed their muscles en route to a 73-37 thrashing of the LA Kiss.

Soul WR Darius Reynolds tallied ten receptions for 141 yards and three touchdowns. FB and Under Armour Offensive Player of the Game, Jeramie Richardson added eight rushes for 22 yards and two touchdowns. KISS WR Donovan Morgan led the offense with seven receptions for 103 yards and two touchdowns.

Philadelphia QB Dan Raudabaugh completed 20-of-23 passes for 261 yards and six touchdowns. KISS QB Pete Thomas completed 22-of-40 passes for 259 yards and five touchdowns.

The Soul defense allowed the LA kiss to score on three out of their first 4 drives, however after the Soul misfired on an outside kick, LA obtained the ball down by three points inside the Soul’s five yard line.

With under two minutes to play in the first half the underdog Kiss could etch within three of the Soul and put a scare into the Trenton faithful. However Pete Thomas overthrew WR Donovan Morgan and the ball caromed off the netting into the arms of Soul cornerback Tracy Belton’s hands.

Standout cornerback James Romain who is likely to join Coach Clint Dolezel in the opening of the
Chinese Arena Football league had four solo tackles. Quarterback Dan Raudabaugh turned in one of his most efficient outings to date as he showed off his touch connecting for six touchdowns on 20/23
throwing. Raudabaugh has a great ability to throw to a spot with the right amount of touch as his
anticipation is his best attribute.

In the smaller confines of the inner game, throwing receivers open and throwing to a spot on the field is very important. Dan explained that field position and feeding off the defense success was a huge advantage in the indoor game and that his success against the Jacksonville Sharks a week prior was due to field position awarded to him by the Soul’s defense.

In Saturday’s game there was no shortage of gifts. The Soul held a 36-19 halftime advantage and thanks to two consecutive turnover on downs the Soul were able to capitalize and score two crucial touchdowns to put the game Wide receivers Shaun Kauleinamoku and Darius Reynolds got in on the fun all afternoon.

With the Soul up three, late in the first half Kauleinamoku hauled in a twenty nice yard touch down pass from Raudabaugh thrown in the left corner of the end zone. The 6-foot-2 new comer Darius Reynolds
continues to impress as he caught ten passes for over 141 yards and three touchdowns. Reynolds is
considered one of the more talented pass catchers in the Arena League and might even be rewarded a
tryout with NFL teams this summer. Ryan McDaniel a resilient and determined WR who begged his way
into a tryout turned out a very productive day of 5 catches and 52 receiving yards.

“Both sides of the ball played well tonight,” said Soul head coach Clint Dolezel. “We started off sluggish in the first quarter, but once we caught momentum, there was no stopping us. We have a short week ahead of us as we head out to Arizona but we have to keep pushing because ArenaBowl is still the end goal.”

Fullback Jeramie Richardson turned out one of his best performances of the season as he rushed for 2 TDs and caught a 20-yard TDs reception while weaving through defenders and putting a hefty stiff arm into an LA Kiss defender. The LA Kiss relied on their new coming QB Pete Thomas who once again had an inconsistent day.

The NC State alum showed flashes of brilliance with his big arm and his 6 foot 5 frame, however his
footwork and reads left some to be desired. The Kiss found the end zone just half the time converting
touchdowns on just fifty percent of their drives. The Soul continue their winning ways as they advance
to 9-2 and flyout to face the Arizona Rattlers this weekend for a late 10 pm affair airing on ESPN2 in the Valley of the Sun.