Las Vegas Gladiators game notes
March 22, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Las Vegas Gladiators News Release
SOUL @ DESPERADOS: THE FACTS
Date: Saturday, March 25, 2006
Kickoff: 8:00 PM ET
Site: American Airlines Center
Officials: Referee: Pat Garvey, Umpire: Al Granado, Head Linesman: Rod Pearson, Line Judge: Art Luckey, Back Judge: Scott Helverson
THE GAME CAN BE HEARD...
On Sportstalk 950 in Philadelphia with Ari Wolfe handling the call. Also, online at www.philadelphiasoul.com.
THE GAME CAN BE SEEN...
This week's game will be televised on Comcast Sportsnet tape delay (10:30 p.m. ET) with Kevin Eschenfelder doing the play-by-play and Gary Reasons providing the color commentary.
THE SERIES - SOUL VS. DESPERADOS
This will be the fifth meeting between the Soul and Desperados. Dallas leads the series 3-1 and won both meetings last season. In Week 17 in Dallas, the Soul lost 77-63 to finish the season with a 6-10 overall record.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
If the Soul win, it would
- Give the Soul a 2-3 record vs. Dallas
- Give the Soul a 5-4 overall record
- Give the Soul a 2-3 road record
THE SOUL'S GAME vs. COLUMBUS
Offensive Player of the Game: Mike Brown (PHI)
ADT Defensive Player of the Game: Jerald Brown (CMB)
Ironman of the Game: David Saunders (CMB)
COLUMBUS, Ohio - John Kaleo threw for 302 yards and five touchdowns to lead the Columbus Destroyers to a 53-20 triumph over the Philadelphia Soul.
Winning for the third time in four games, Columbus (4-4) moved into a third-place tie with Philadelphia in the Eastern Division, one-half game behind New York.
Kaleo completed 26-of-35 passes, including TD strikes to Carl Bond, David Saunders and Thabiti Davis on consecutive second-half possessions after the Soul got within 23-20 in the third quarter.
Jerald Brown scored on a five-yard interception return for the Destroyers, who set a season low for points allowed.
Tony Graziani was 16-of-31 for 225 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Mike Brown caught nine passes for 117 yards for Philadelphia (4-4), which has dropped three of four.
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 FINAL
Philadelphia 10 3 7 0 20
Columbus 13 7 10 23 53
THE COACHES
Bret Munsey (First Season)
Bret Munsey becomes the third head coach for the Philadelphia Soul, as the organization heads into its third season in 2006. With an extensive coaching background, this will be Munsey's first head coaching position in the League.
Munsey, 37, joins the Soul after serving on Orlando's staff for three seasons under Jay Gruden. After joining the Predators in 2003 and serving as the team's offensive coordinator and wide receivers/defensive backs coach, he was promoted to assistant head coach in August of 2003. This role also included his director of player personnel and defensive coordinator roles throughout the last two seasons.
In 2005 the Predators finished with a 10-6 regular season record and lost in the conference finals to the Georgia Force. The team ranked third in the League in scoring defense (47.2 ppg), fifth in total defense (269.2 ypg) and second in pass rating defense (98.9).
In his role as defensive coordinator, Munsey organized Orlando's defensive game plans and served as defensive backs coach. His 2004 defense ranked first in the league in scoring defense (43.1), total defense (236.8 ypg) and pass rating defense (95.7).
The Soul look to capitalize on Munsey's defensive knowledge. Philadelphia was the worst in the League against the run last season, allowing 576 yards. They also allowed the second most touchdowns in the League and made the least amount of tackles. Cutting down on stats like these are Munsey's top priority.
In his role as assistant head coach, Munsey handled several administrative duties for the Predators - including planning and conducting training camp, tryouts and player housing. He was also in charge of recruiting and handled contract compliance with the League.
In his first season with the Predators, Munsey served as offensive coordinator and coached the wide receivers and defensive backs.
Munsey came to the Predators from the Carolina Cobras, where he served as defensive coordinator. Under his guidance, the Cobras were ranked in the top five in the Arena Football League in many defensive categories and came within one play of earning a spot in the semifinals.
Prior to his stint in Carolina, Munsey served as head coach and director of football operations for the Tennessee Valley Vipers of the af2. During his first season as a head coach, Munsey led his team to a 14-2 regular season record (15-3 overall). His defense ranked in the top five in all major categories and three defensive players were named to the "All-af2" team.
Following that outstanding season, Munsey was named "af2 Coach of the Year" in a vote by his peers.
Will McClay (Third Season)
Will McClay begins his third season at the helm of the Dallas Desperados. McClay was named the Desperados head coach on Feb. 5, 2004 - just three days prior to kicking off the 2004 season - after former head coach Joe Avezzano announced his resignation to return to the NFL. In McClay's second season leading the Desperados, he improved the club's 6-10 finish in 2004 to 8-7-1 last season and will continue to work to bring the club the successes they had in their first two seasons in the league.
In addition to his head coaching responsibilities, McClay was the club's defensive coordinator. His defense finished the 2005 season with the league's stingiest defense in opponents completion percentage, allowing just 58.0% of opposing quarterbacks to complete passes. His defense finished second in the league in passing yards-per-game allowed (238.3) and third in the league in yards-per-game allowed (261.8).
Before taking on the role of head coach, McClay spearheaded Dallas's defensive attack. He was hired as the team's inaugural defensive coordinator in 2002, and his work helped the club make two playoff appearances and win a division title in its first two years of existence. He remained the team's defensive coordinator after taking over as head coach and, for the first time in club history, enjoyed stability in the defensive backfield.
McClay's first two seasons leading Dallas's defensive charge were riddled with injuries and personnel movement, forcing him to piece together new defensive units on a regular basis. With a more stable defensive corps in 2004, the defense witnessed improvements in total yards per game allowed (288.7 in 2003 to 260.1 in 2004) and passing yards per game allowed (267.9 - 2003, 238.4 - 2004) while holding steady in rushing yards per game allowed (21.6 - 2003, 21.8 - 2004). The defense also saw an increase in sacks as they finished third in the league with 19. McClay's project for the 2004 season was to introduce former Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Colston Weatherington to the rigors of the AFL. Under McClay's watch, Weatherington was named to the AFL's All-Rookie team, finishing eighth in the league in sacks (5.5), while leading the team with 7.5 tackles for losses, five blocked kicks and five quarterback pressures. In 2003, the Desperados defense consistently came up big at key moments in games. McClay had to work defensive specialist Jermaine Jones into the lineup when he came off the exempt list four weeks into the season, and Jones responded with a team record 73.5 tackles to earn selection to the AFL All-Rookie team. Will Pettis also made his indoor debut and earned second-team All-Arena and All-Rookie honors for his twoway performance, while lineman Tom Briggs earned first-team All-Arena, All-Ironman and AFL Lineman of the Year honors after finishing with career-high numbers in sacks (10.5), tackles (43.5), forced fumbles (four) and pressures (eight).
2006 SEASON
Offensive Player of the Game
Week Opp. Player
1 TB Tony Graziani (PHI)
2 LA Matt Sauk (PHI)
3 @ ORL Jerrian James (ORL)
4 NY Tony Graziani (PHI)
5 COL Damian Harrell (COL)
6 @ LV Jason Fife (LVG)
7 @ KC Tony Graziani (PHI)
8 @ CMB Mike Brown (PHI)
ADT Defensive Player of the Game
Week Opp. Player
1 TB Kevin Gaines (PHI)
2 LA Ernest Allen (PHI)
3 @ ORL Jermaine Mays (ORL)
4 NY Ernest Allen & EJ. Burt (PHI)
5 COL Delvin Hughley (COL)
6 @ LV Steve Konopka (LVG)
7 @ KC Eddie Moten (PHI)
8 @ CMB Jerald Brown (CMB)
Ironman of the Game
Week Opp. Player
1 TB Sean Scott (PHI)
2 LA Kevin Ingram (LAA)
3 @ ORL Clif Dell (ORL)
4 NY Sean Scott (PHI)
5 COL Ahmad Hawkins (COL)
6 @ LV Joe Douglass (LVG)
7 @ KC Sean Scott (PHI)
8 @ CMB David Saunders (CMB)
MILESTONE WATCH
PLAYER MILESTONE CURRENT NUMBER TO GO
Tony Graziani 400 Touchdown Passes 382 18
1,500 Completions 1,388 112
Sean Scott 200 Receptions 159 41
100 Total Tackles 81.5 18.5
Kevin Gaines 500 Total Tackles 458.5 41.5
Reggie Doster 300 Total Tackles 274.5 25.5
Ernest Allen 200 Total Tackles 182 18
Steve Smith 300 Receptions 286 14
4,000 Receiving Yards 3,559 441
Also:
-Kevin Gaines is fifth all-time in interceptions (38) and needs five more to be tied for fourth.
SOUL'S NOTES AND TRENDS
MO MOTION
In Saturday's game at Columbus, Soul DS Eddie Moten picked off his fourth pass of the season, tying his total for last year. He now leads the team, but DS Kevin Gaines is right on his heels with three interceptions this season.
THE LONE SOUL FROM THE LONE STAR
Moten will return home to the Lone Star State on Saturday when the Soul take on the Desperados in his hometown of Dallas. He played at Texas A&M-Kingsville for his junior and senior years. He recorded 61 total tackles, nine interceptions and 17 pass break ups in his two seasons.
TODD DE FRANCE
Soul Kicker Todd France was 2-for-2 on Saturday, hitting a long of 25 yards. He has become the best-rated rookie kicker in the League and has the impressive numbers to prove it. France is currently third in the AFL for touchbacks with 18 on the year. He has completed 42-of-45 extra point attempts.
THE LONGEST YARD-AGE
Soul WR/DB Mike Brown put up his second 100-yard game of the season versus Columbus last week. The Soul have had three 100-yard games thus far, including one from former Soul and current Destroyers OS Marcus Knight.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Soul QB Tony Graziani has faced Dallas QB Clint Dolezel five times in his prolific career, with a record of 4-1. The first and only loss to Dolezel came last season when the Philadelphia fell to the Las Vegas Gladiators in Week 12 after a heart-breaking 27-yard touchdown completion with just one second left on the clock.
COMEBACK KID
The Blue and Grey re-acquired OS Steve Smith this week in a trade with the Kansas City Brigade. The Soul traded WR/DB Aaron Boone and OL/DL Cyron Brown for Smith to spark the offense. He was a member of the Soul for the 2005 season and led the team with 107 receptions for 1,443 yards with 28 touchdowns. He also returned 69 kicks for 1,429 yards with three touchdowns.
REMEMBER ME
Smith will be reacquainted with his college teammate starting this week when he suits up with Soul backup quarterback Matt Sauk. The two played football together at Utah State and led the Aggies to the Humanitarian Bowl in 1997.
LUCKY 13?
The Soul are second in the League for both sacks and interceptions with 13 each.
KUKIAK THE QUARTERBACK...
Soul Offensive Coordinator Jim Kubiak played quarterback for the Dallas Desperados for two seasons and received second team All-Arena honors in 2003. He finished his career completing 816-of-1,237 passes for 9,961 yards with 188 touchdowns despite 36 interceptions in four seasons.
THE MIDWAY BATTLE
The Soul has hit the .500 mark at 4-4 halfway through the season. This is the best record in franchise history at this point Soul franchise history.
TAKEN A BEATING
The Soul's 53-20 loss at Kansas City last week marks the biggest margin of loss the Soul have suffered in franchise history. Prior to last week, the Soul's worst loss came to Dallas in 2005 when the Desperados crushed the Soul by a margin of 29.
TWENTY SPOT
The 20 points Philadelphia scored in Week 7 against the Brigade marks the lowest point total the Soul have put up in its three-year history. The prior low was 26 points at San Jose last season.
THE GOOD OL DAYS
Soul OL/DL Cecil Caldwell and Dallas OL/DL Larrell Johnson played college ball together at South Carolina for two years. Caldwell was voted Gamecock team captain when Johnson was a sophomore.
GOING-GOING BACK-BACK
Philadelphia OL/DL's Mike Mabry and Dwayne Missouri are no strangers to Texas. Mabry was born in Houston and was raised in Dayton. During the off-season, he resides in Dayton. Missouri stared at Theodore Roosevelt High School in San Antonio before going on to college at Northwestern.
YESTER-YEAR
Dallas OS Terrill Shaw started the first three games for the Soul last year before being put on injured reserve and eventually released. The seven-year veteran signed with the Desperados as a free agent in January. He recorded 10 catches for 94 yards on offense and recorded three tackles on defense in the first three games for Philadelphia last season.
FORMER LEADER
Desperado WR/DB Coach James Fuller served as defensive coordinator for the Soul in its first two seasons. Fuller also became Philadelphia's interim head coach for the last 11 games of last year, posting a 4-7 record.
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