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Philadelphia Soul game notes

February 11, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Philadelphia Soul News Release


QUICK FACTS
Philadelphia Soul (0-1)
At Dallas Desperados (0-1)
Site: American Airlines Center (15,978)
Officials: Referee: David Lambros, Umpire: Al
Granado, Head Linesman: Mike McCabe, Line
Judge: Arthur Lucky, Back Judge: David Cutaia

TUNE IN
TV: UPN-57 Philadelphia
Play-by-Play: Ari Wolfe
Color: Darrin Kenney
Sideline: Rhea Hughes
RADIO: WNJC (1360-AM)
Play-by-Play: Jacob VanRyn
Color: Brian Gowins

THE MATCHUP
Both teams are looking to avenge disappointing
week one losses. Dallas is coming off a 67-41 loss
to the Carolina Cobras while the Soul dropped
their inaugural season opener to the New Orleans
VooDoo 34-42.

NEXT UP
The Soul will return home to face the Columbus
Destroyers on Saturday, February 21st at 7:30 p.m.
at the Wachovia Spectrum. The Desperados will
travel to New York to take on the Dragons,
Sunday, February 22nd at 3 p.m.

2004 SOUL SCHEDULE/RESULTS
(All times Eastern)
Date Opponent Time Result
Feb 8 NEW ORLEANS 3 p.m. L 34-42
Feb 15 @ Dallas 4 p.m.
Feb 21 COLUMBUS 7:30 p.m.
Feb 29 @ Tampa Bay 3 p.m.
Mar 7 CHICAGO 12 p.m.
Mar 13 @ Columbus 7 p.m.
Mar 21 COLORADO 12 p.m.
Mar 28 @ Austin 3 p.m.
Apr 4 DALLAS 12 p.m.
Apr 17 @ Carolina 7:30 p.m.
Apr 24 NEW YORK 7:30 p.m.
May 2 @ Colorado 3 p.m.
May 8 LAS VEGAS 7:30 p.m.
May 15 CAROLINA 7:30 p.m.
May 22 @ San Jose 10:30 p.m.
May 30 @ New York 4 p.m.

PRACTICE AND MEDIA SCEDULE
Monday, February 9, 2004
Players Off
Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Players Off
Wednesday, February 11, 2004
1:45-3:45 p.m. - Practice
3:45 p.m. - Player and coach availability
Thursday, February 12, 2004
1:45-3:45 p.m. - Practice
3:45 p.m. - Player and coach availability
Friday, February 13, 2004
1:45-3:45 p.m. - Practice
3:45 p.m. - Player and coach availability
Saturday, February 14, 2004
1-2 p.m. – Walk through
Soul Practice Facility
Tri State Sports
63 Concord Road
Aston, PA 19014

Direct Connections

• Soul head coach Michael Trigg and Desperados
head coach Will McClay coached together with
the Grand Rapids Rampage. McClay served as
Trigg's defensive coordinator/director of player
personnel

• Trigg, a native of San Antonio, Texas and
graduate of East Texas State University, was the
head coach of the Fort Worth Cavalry in 1994

• Soul OL/DL Dwayne Missouri and Trigg also
attended Theodore Roosevelt High School in San
Antonio, TX

• Dallas offensive coordinator Steve Thonn also
served under Trigg in 1996 as the offensive
coordinator with the for the Milwaukee
Mustangs, helping set the AFL record for singleseason
turnaround as the club went from 4-8 in
1995 to 10-4 in ‘96

• Soul OL/DL Patrick Scott was acquired by the
Soul in a trade with the Desperados for OL/DL
Jeff Chase. Scott spent 2002 and 2003 with the
Desperados and recorded 20 total tackles and one
sack in his Desperados career

• Soul FB/LB C.J. McLain and Desperados WR/LB
Sparky Hamilton were teammates at Arkansas

• Soul DS DeAuntae Brown and Desperados
WR/LB Jason Shelley were teammates at Central
State (OH).

The Coaches Corner

MICHAEL TRIGG: Hired to guide the expansion
Philadelphia Soul, Trigg (70-67 reg. season, 3-7 post
season) spent the last six seasons with the Grand
Rapids Rampage. Trigg has led his teams to eight
playoff appearances and an ArenaBowl in 2001,
when he was also named AFL Coach of the Year. A
veteran of expansion endeavors, Trigg spent 1994 as
the head coach and general manager for the
expansion Fort Worth Calvary (1994) and as head
coach of the Milwaukee Mustangs (1995-97) he
turned a 0-12 team into a two-time playoff
participant and set the AFL record for single-season
turnaround as he guided the Mustang's from 4-8 in
1995 to 10-4 in 1996.

WILL McCLAY: McClay (0-1) took over the reigns
of the Desperados on February 5th following the
resignation of Joe Avezzano. McClay has been the
defensive coordinator of the Desperados since the
club's inception and will continue to hold that title.
McClay is in his 14th season associated with the
Arena Football League and made his indoor debut
as a wide receiver/defensive back with the Detroit
Drive in 1989. In 1993 he became the Drive's
secondary and special teams coach. He has served
as a defensive coordinator in the AFL with the
Florida Bobcats (1996), Milwaukee Mustangs
(1995), Anaheim Piranhas (1997) and the Grand
Rapids Rampage (1998-99). He also served as the
player personnel director of the XFL's Orlando
Rage before joining the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars
in 2001 as Assistant Director of Pro Scouting.

Head-To-Head AFL Rankings

SOUL DESPERADOS
Total Offense 2 9
Rushing Offense 2 17
Passing Offense 3 5
Total Defense 13 18
Rushing Defense 17 10t
Passing Defense 8t 18
Head-To-Head AFL Rankings

Tale of the Tape
SOUL DESPERADOS
Scoring Off. 34.0 41.0
Scoring Def. 42.0 67.0
Off Yds/Game 296.0 245.0
Pass Yds/Game 251.0 238.0
Rush Yds/Game 45.0 7.0
Def Yds/Game 254.0 312.0
Def Pass Yds/Game 206.0 282.0
Def Rush Yds/Game 48.0 30.0
Kickoff Returns 26.0 25.2
MFG Returns 7.0 0.0
Turnover Margin -2 -5
Penalties 12 7
Penalty Yards 88 36
Opp. Penalties 5 5
Opp. Pen. Yds 36 43

Trigg's Soldiers

Soul Head Coach Michael Trigg didn't need a lot of
time learning the names on the Soul roster, he's
spent time with most of them in the past. The Soul
have 13 players on the active roster that have spent
time with Trigg, and all three members of the
injured reserve are also Trigg veterans.

Here's a breakdown of Trigg's following:
#1 Ricky Ross
#4 Gary Compton
#5 Todd Hammell
#10 DeAuntae Brown
#12 Nick Browder
#13 Brian Gowins (IR)
#21 Joe Todd
#33 Lavante Epson
#36 Chris Ryan
#44 Travis McDonald
#50 Madison Johnson (IR)
#73 Michael Harrison
#75 Eric Gohlstin
#81 Derin Graham
#90 Patrick Scott
#91 Corey Mayfield (IR)

"Say What?"

Head Coach Michael Trigg on the VooDoo game:
"We've got a lot of work to do this week. A lot of it
is just drill work. You take a lot of things for
granted as a coach. You get out here in front of this
many people – it's exciting. As a staff, we've got to
do a much better job than we did today."

On the fans support today: "I hope they [the fans]
give us a second chance. I wanted this to be more of
an exciting game. I wanted us to have a little bit
more fire power offensively, and cut down on some
of the mistakes. One thing you don't want to see
when you come to a professional sporting event is
seeing the referee's on the field making all of the
plays. It's frustrating."

WR/DB Keita Crespina:
On the outcome of the game: "It would have been
magnificent if we would have won, there definitely
was a lot of energy, a lot of emotions, and I really
had a great time out here. Just having fun in front of
my home fans."

QB Nick Browder:
On the fan support: "We appreciate the fan
support; we always want to win one for the fans.
We've come together as a family here, and it hurts
that the Soul didn't win. We had enough support,
they were great, and it was loud. We hope they
come back and we give them a good show the next
time. It hurts me that our team didn't win. It was an
excellent atmosphere, fans cheering, screaming, and
booing at the right times. Making noise on third,
fourth downs. They did their part; we just have to
do our part."

WR/LB Ricky Ross:
On the crowd support: "It was unbelievable. I
mean, it was everything that they said it would be
and more. I just hope that they continue to come
out here and support us. We'll be better."

On playing in a city like Philadelphia for Coach
Trigg: "Trigg has been my man from day one. I've
been with him for four years. He's been loyal to me,
so I'm going to be loyal to him. It's just a great place
for us to have an opportunity to come and show our
skills. Tonight we came up short, but we'll be
better."

Here Comes "Soul Train"

One of the most conspicuous players in the Arena
Football League at 6-0, 315, Chris "Soul Train" Ryan
leads the AFL in third-and-one rushing, converting
two attempts for first downs. Ryan rushed for 17
yards on four carries against the New Orleans
VooDoo for one TD.

The Ratings Are In...

As the Philadelphia Soul filled the Wachovia
Center with 17,484 fans, those fans who were not
fortunate enough to have a ticket tuned in. Ratings
for the AFL were up 132% from Week 1 in 2003.
The Philadelphia Soul-New Orleans VooDoo game
registered a 5.8 rating in Philadelphia. The "AFL on
NBC" received an all-time high 2.5 national
overnight rating in Week 1, up 14% from the 2.2
overnight rating for the first week of 2003.

2004 Record When...

Wachovia Center 0-1
Wachovia Spectrum 0-0
On the Road 0-0
Saturday 0-0
Sunday 0-1
On NBC 0-1
On UPN-57 0-0
Vs. East 0-0
Vs. Central 0-0
Vs. West 0-0
Vs. South 0-1
February 0-1
March 0-0
April 0-0
May 0-0
Score first 0-1
Opp Score first 0-0
Plus turnover ratio 0-0
Even turnover ratio 0-0
Minus turnover ratio 0-1

Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive
Player of the Game

2/8 NEW ORLEANS Aaron Bailey (NO)

ADT Defensive Player of the Game

2/8 NEW ORLEANS Monte Montgomery (NO)

US ARMY Ironman of the Game

2/8 NEW ORLEANS Keita Crespina

Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive
Player of the Week

Week 1 Matt Nagy (Car QB)

ADT Defensive Player of the Week

Week 1 Omarr Smith (SJ DS)

US ARMY Ironman of the Week

Week 1 Will Holder (NYD WR/DB)

Desperados Schedule and Results

2/8 CAROLINA COBRAS 41-67
2/15 PHILADELPHIA SOUL 3 p.m.
2/22 at New York Dragons 3 p.m.
2/29 at Columbus Destroyers 3 p.m.
3/6 GRAND RAPIDS RAMPAGE 7:30 p.m.
3/14 at Carolina Cobras 3 p.m.
3/21 LOS ANGELES AVENGERS 3 p.m.
4/4 at Philadelphia Soul 12 p.m.
4/10 SAN JOSE SABERCATS 7:30 p.m.
4/18 at Arizona Rattlers 3 p.m.
4/25 at Orlando Predators 12 p.m.
5/2 NEW YORK DRAGONS 3 p.m.
5/9 at Austin Wranglers 3 p.m.
5/16 at Chicago Rush 3 p.m.
5/22 COLUMBUS DESTROYERS 7:30 p.m.
5/30 TAMPA BAY STORM 3 p.m.

That's a First...

First coin toss (2/8/04) – Soul won, elect to receive
First kickoff return – Ricky Ross, 28-yard return
First play – Derin Graham, 8-yard rush
First pass – Complete to Derin Graham for 9-yards
First TD – Nick Browder to Tyronne Jones for a 7-yard
TD with 11:29 left in the first quarter
First rushing TD – Browder 1-yard run with 13:11
remaining in the 4th quarter
First tackle – Mike Harrison and Travis Seaton stop
VooDoo kick returner Aaron Bailey after a 19-yard
return
First FG Attempt – Ken Hinsley's 25-yard attempt
blocked by Gaylon Hyder
First TD against the Soul – Four-yard rush by Dan
Curran with 13:45 left in the second quarter. Brian
Schmitz point after attempt failed.
First turnover – Browder's pass intercepted by Monte
Montgomery at the New Orleans 2 yard-line

Tricky Ricky

One of the first players acquired by head coach Michael
Trigg was one of his most familiar faces... and hairdos.
The dreadlocked WR/LB Ricky Ross was picked up by
Trigg on November 7, 2003, less than two months after
the launch of the Philadelphia Soul and in the first game
of the Soul's inaugural season, Ross proved to be a sound
investment.

"Trigg has been my man from day one," said Ross. "I've
been with him for four years. He's been loyal to me, so
I'm going to be loyal to him. It's just a great place for us
to have an opportunity to come and show our skills.
In his first game in gunmetal grey, Ross had a team-high
nine receptions for 95 yards and one TD and returned
two kickoffs for 44 yards.

T-Mac Attack

"I think Travis is one of the most unheralded, big
play, full back/linebackers in the league." Those
were the words of Soul head coach Michael Trigg
on FB/LB Travis McDonald.
After numerous shots at the National Football
League to no avail, McDonald thought it was time
to try something else and along came the Arena
Football League.

"The league [AFL] is the basics of football," said
McDonald. "It's blocking, tackling, running the ball,
catching, [and] and throwing. It's different in the
way that you have to play on both sides of the ball.
Not everyone can do it. And me being an Arena
Football player, I take pride in that."



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from February 11, 2004


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