Philadelphia Falls to Cleveland, 68-62, in Home Opener
Published on April 1, 2012 under Arena Football League (AFL)
Philadelphia Soul News Release
PHILADELPHIA (April 1, 2012) - Cleveland's John Dutton passed for 305 yards and nine touchdowns and the Gladiators (2-1) defeated the Philadelphia Soul (2-1), 68-62, in front of 15,328 fans on Sunday night.
"It was a disappointing loss, especially for a home opener," said Soul head coach Doug Plank. "We will watch the film and make the necessary changes, but this was definitely an unacceptable performance this evening."
Philadelphia quarterback Dan Raudabaugh finished by connecting on 19-of-29 passes for 207 yards, seven touchdowns and two interceptions. Jeff Hughley had six receptions for 91 yards and one touchdown, plus seven kick returns for 137 yards and one touchdown. Tiger Jones had eight receptions for 141 yards and two touchdowns, while Larry Brackins added four receptions for 18 yards and one touchdown. Donovan Morgan added three receptions for 15 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensive back Keon Perry had five tackles and Kent Richardson had 6.5 plus a 47-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Cleveland's Dutton led the Gladiators by connecting 29-of-39 passes for 305 yards, nine touchdowns and one interception. Wide receiver Dominick Goodman was Cleveland's leading receiver with 11 receptions for 121 yards and five touchdowns. Robert Redd added 11 receptions for 102 yards and two touchdowns, plus four kickoff returns for 99 yards.
The scoring started with Dutton's 8-yard pass to Goodman during Cleveland's first possession followed by a successful kick by Aaron Pettrey. Philadelphia fought back with a 24-yard scoring pass from Raudabaugh to Hughley and the extra point by Connor Hughes, tying the score at 7-7. Goodman received another short pass from Dutton giving Cleveland a 14-7 lead with another successful kick by Pettrey. Hughley quickly ended that lead, running the length of the field for a 55-yard kickoff return that tied the game once again.
Cleveland started off the second quarter with two back to back touchdowns including a 31-yard pass from Dutton to Goodman. Once again, Philadelphia fought back with their own back-to-back touchdowns including a 47-yard interception return by Richardson. Cleveland scored once more in the second on a 11-yard pass from Dutton to Robert Redd, but the extra point was blocked by Dusty Bear. Philadelphia ended the quarter with a touchdown by Morgan bringing the first half to a close with the score tied at 34-34.
Jones started off the second half catching a 22-yard pass as he flipped over the endzone wall giving Philadelphia a 41-34 lead. Cleveland regained the lead after two touchdowns by Goodman. Jones ended the quarter with a 38-yard touchdown from Raudabaugh, giving the Soul a 48-47 lead.
Cleveland quarterback started off the fourth quarter by running the ball one yard for a touchdown. He then completed a 16-yard touchdown pass to Thyron Lewis and later a 20-yard touchdown pass to Robert Redd. Philadelphia fought back with touchdowns by Derrick Ross and Larry Brackins, but the game came to an end with the Soul down just one touchdown.
The Soul will face the Georgia Force in next Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the Gwinnett Center in Atlanta. The game can be heard on 950 ESPN Radio.
Arena Football League Stories from April 1, 2012
- Philadelphia Falls to Cleveland, 68-62, in Home Opener - Philadelphia Soul
- Gladiators Spoil Soul Home Opener with 68-62 Win - Cleveland Gladiators
- Blaze Turnovers Prove Costly in Loss to VooDoo - Utah Blaze
- VooDoo Earn First Win with Total Team Effort - New Orleans VooDoo
- Barnstormers Drop Overtime Heartbreaker - Iowa Barnstormers
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