Game Preview: Soul Looking to Storm into Iowa in Week 16
June 26, 2014 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Philadelphia Soul News Release
PHILADELPHIA (June 26, 2014) - Saturday night the Philadelphia Soul slipped in another last-second loss against the Cleveland Gladiators in their playoff spot chase. The Soul (6-8) are in need of a win this week in Iowa against the Barnstormers (6-8). The game will take place at the Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday, June 28 at 8:05 p.m. and will be broadcast on The Comcast Network.
"Luck has not been on our side recently, with all these injuries and unlucky plays in our recent last-minute losses, the only thing we can do is keep playing our best," said Soul head coach Coach Dolezel, "This is our last match-up with Iowa and they are pushing for the playoffs like us right now."
Despite the Week 15 loss, Philadelphia's offense was strong all night. Soul quarterback Dan Raudabaugh finished the night by completing 19-of-27 passes for 250 yards, had five touchdowns and one interception. For this season, he has completed 292-of-434 passes for 3,546 yards and 71 touchdowns. Barnstormer quarterback Carson Coffman had an effective Week 15 in their 57-27 loss to the Pittsburgh Power. He led his team to their second consecutive win by completing 20-of-38 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns. This season, Coffman has completed 187-of-330 passes for 2,340 yards and 40 touchdowns.
In Week 15, Philadelphia's offense was led by Derrick Ross, who had 19 rushing yards for three touchdowns. This season Ross has a league-leading 373 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns. Leading the receiving corps against Cleveland was Tiger Jones with six receptions for 139 yards and two touchdowns. The All-Arena candidate has put up 1,259 receiving yards for 28 touchdowns this season. V'Keon Lacey was also an asset against the Gladiators, finishing with six receptions for 48 yards and one touchdown. For the season Lacey has 41 receptions for 447 yards and 12 touchdowns. Jones and Lacey will matchup with Iowa defensive back, De'Mon Glanton, who has 72.5 total tackles and seven pass breakups. Another Barnstormer defensive back, Jason Simpson, will also prove to be a good competitor, adding a season total of 68.5 tackles with five pass breakups.
The Soul defense is looking to put pressure on the Iowa offense. Against the Gladiators the Soul was led by Riddell Defensive Player of the Game, James Romain who had 7.0 total tackles and two pass breakups. He now has a total of 60.5 total tackles, 14 pass breakups and four interceptions on the season. Leading Philadelphia's defense this season is Rayshaun Kizer with 71.5 total tackles, 20 pass breakups and seven interceptions. Joe Goosby is also beneficial to the Soul's defense and can help stop Iowa's drives. This season Goosby has put up 38.5 total tackles, two pass breakups and two interceptions.
The Barnstormer's offense will prove to be a bit of a challenge for the Soul defense. Fullback, Derik Steiner leads Iowa's rushing offense with 199 yards for 10 touchdowns. In Week 15, wide receiver Marco Thomas led his team's offense as Coffman's main receivers. He recorded nine receptions for 84 yards last week. For this season, Thomas is the top receiver in the AFL with 121 receptions for 1,556 yards and 33 touchdowns.
Week 17 has the Philadelphia Soul back in the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia taking on the Orlando Predators on Monday, July 7 at 8 p.m.
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