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Philadelphia Soul game notes

January 24, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Philadelphia Soul News Release


SOUL VS. STORM: THE FACTS
Date: Sunday, January 29, 2006
Kickoff: 3:00 PM
Site: Wachovia Center (Philadelphia, PA)
Officials: Referee: Bill LeMonnier, Umpire: Mike Delaney, Head Linesman: Allen Baynes, Line Judge: Dana McKenzie, Back Judge: Billy Beckett.

THE GAME CAN BE HEARD...
On Sportstalk 950 in Philadelphia with Ari Wolfe handling play-by-play.

THE GAME CAN BE SEEN...
On NBC 10 with Bob Papa, Ray Bentley and Marty Snider calling the game.

THE SERIES - SOUL VS. STORM
Tied 1-1
This will be the third meeting between the teams. The last meeting between the teams was in Week 8 of 2005, when the Soul topped the Storm at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, 69-63.

WHAT'S AT STAKE
If the Soul win, it would
- Give the Soul a 2-1 record vs. the Storm
- Give the Soul a 1-0 overall record
- Give the Soul a 1-0 home record

THE SOUL'S GAME (2005 Season Finale)

Offensive Player of the Game: Jason Shelley (WR/LB) of Dallas

ADT Defensive Player of the Game: Joe Todd (WR/DB) of Philadelphia

ARMY Ironman of the Game: Will Pettis (WR/DB) of Dallas

PHILADELPHIA - The Philadelphia Soul was defeated by the Dallas Desperados in its last game of the season in front of a crowd of 12,273 at the American Airlines Center. The Soul made a comeback in the second quarter, scoring fourteen unanswered points and bringing the game to a 35-35 tie with help from the team's rushing leader, Chris Ryan, who rushed for 14 yards and had 1 touchdown. Also, Marcus Knight took the lead in receiving with 107 yards and 2 touchdowns. Dallas' Offensive player of the game Jason Shelley helped secure the win by leading his team with 4 touchdowns and handing the Soul their 10th and final loss of the season.

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 SCORE
Philadelphia 7 28 14 14 63 (6-10)
Dallas 21 14 21 21 77 (8-7-1)

THE COACHES

Brett Munsey, Philadelphia Soul - Head Coach

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.

Dave Ewart, Tampa Bay Storm - Assistant Head Coach

Ewart began his AFL coaching career in 1994 when he was the special teams coach and offensive line coach for the Cleveland Thunderbolts. From there he moved to the St. Louis Stampede, serving as defensive coordinator in 1995 and head coach in 1996.

His second head coaching job came in 1997 when he was named head coach and general manager of the Texas Terror, improving the team from 1-13 in 1996 to a respectable 6-8 record under his guidance.

From there Ewart moved on to the Florida Bobcats, where he served as defensive coordinator and line coach in 1998, and the New England Sea Wolves, where he was the team's defensive coordinator in 1999.

Ewart landed in the AFL following a brief collegiate coaching career, where he made stops at his alma mater, East Tennessee State University, and Glennville State College. He coached the offensive line in 1992 at ETSU before being named defensive line and special teams coach at Glennville State in 1992 and 1993.

Ewart played offensive line for two seasons at Salem College (1987-88) under Terry Bowden before enjoying a successful two-year stint at East Tennessee State (1989-90). During his time at ETSU, Ewart was a two-time All-Conference selection and a Division 1-AA All-American.

MILESTONE WATCH

PLAYER MILESTONE CURRENT

NUMBER TO GO

Tony Graziani 400 Touchdown Passes 359 41

Kevin Gaines 500 Total Tackles 430 70

Also:

- Kevin Gaines is ranked ninth all-time in the Arena Football League in total interceptions and is tied for seventh all-time in interceptions with 35.

SOUL'S NOTES AND TRENDS

DONUT

The Soul is looking to start the 2006 season off on the right foot with a W at home. A possible win over the five-time ArenaBowl Champion Tampa Bay Storm would give the Soul their first season home opener victory. In the 2004 season, the Soul lost their season opener at home to New Orleans, 42-34.

FORMER EAGLE FLIES TO PHILLY

Former Philadelphia Eagle and current Tampa Bay Storm OS Freddie Solomon returns to the city where he began his professional football career. Solomon was an Eagle for four seasons (‘95-‘98) before being sent to the expansion team Cleveland Browns in 1998. All four of Solomon's NFL touchdowns were scored while he was with the Eagles. Leaving the NFL, Solomon signed with the Storm in 2002. Last season against the Soul, he recorded 10 receptions for 113 yards with two touchdowns.

KUBIAK'S GOT COORDINATION

The 2005 season will see a familiar face from around the AFL when record-setting quarterback Jim Kubiak takes over the offensive coordinator coaching position in Philadelphia. The veteran QB led the topranked offense in the AFL in 2003. Before a knee injury ended his playing career after only four seasons, Kubiak was able to put up impressive numbers by completing 816-of- 1237 passes for 9,961 yards with 188 touchdowns despite 36 interceptions thrown.

MUNSEY'S SOUL CONNECTIONS

Soul head coach Bret Munsey starts his first head-coaching job in the AFL with some familiar faces. While in Orlando as defensive coordinator and WR/DB coach, he oversaw current Soul players OL/DL E.J. Burt, OL/DL Cecil Caldwell, OL/DL Ernest Allen, WR/DB Mike Brown and DS Reggie Doster. Prior to joining the Predators, Coach Munsey held the defensive coordinator coaching position in Carolina for the 2002 season and coached DS Kevin Gaines while he was there. His connections don't end there. While in the af2 in 2001, Coach Munsey was head coach of Tennessee Valley Vipers whose roster boasted af2 Rookie of the Year, now Soul backup QB Matt Sauk.

EXPERIENCE THIS

Eleven years of experience can't be a bad thing, can it? The Soul doesn't think so and that's why they picked up 11th-season veteran Ernest Allen. He is one of the most experienced OL/DL players in the League. Throughout his career, he has played with five other AFL teams (Florida, Albany, Milwaukee, Orlando and Dallas). Allen comes to Philadelphia as one of the League's top linemen after earning secondteam All-Arena honors three of the last four seasons with the Orlando Predators and four times during his career.

SECOND IN CHARGE

Dave Ewart will take over the coaching duties for Tim Marcum this week against the Soul since Marcum is serving a two game suspension mandated by the League.

IN GRAZ WE TRUST

Philadelphia Soul QB Tony Graziani returns to the Soul for his second season. "Graz" was brought to the Soul for the 2004 season in hopes that he would help lead the young franchise to a winning year. This year, he was the focus of Coach Munsey's offensive as the coaching staff tried to fill positions to compliment the quarterback. Graziani is the only QB in AFL league history to throw 90 or more touchdown passes in three consecutive seasons (2005- 90, 2004-99, 2003-96).

GRAZIANI'S WEATHER REPORT

Graziani has faced the Tampa Bay Storm four times in the previous five years. His current record against the Storm is 1-2 in the regular season and 0-1 in the postseason. In Graziani's past four encounters with the Storm, he has completed 72-of-132 passes for 1,045 years with 25 touchdowns despite five interceptions.

BRET'S BATTLE

Entering his first game as a head coach, Bret Munsey has been a part of the Orlando Predators and the Carolina Cobras, now defunked. Against Tampa Bay, Munsey's record is 4-4 in the regular season.

DEFENSIVE STATE OF MIND

Since head coach Bret Munsey came to the Soul, the first thing he wanted to do was address the problem of years past and that was the defense. He quickly signed lineman E.J. Burt and Ernest Allen. He later acquired DS Kevin Gaines. All three defensive players have been recognized by the AFL with League honors. Burt was named to the All-Arena second team last season. Allen has been a second-team All- Arena selection four times and Gaines has been named to the second-team All-Arena for the past two seasons.

IT'S KNIGHT TIME

Marcus Knight returns to the Soul for his second season and first playing the OS position. Last season, he played the WR/LB position in 11 games during his rookie season and caught 64 passes for 886 yards with 23 touchdowns.

CAN I KICK IT

Todd France enters his first season in the AFL after spending this past season with the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He proved he could kick on the big field as he converted 6-of-7 field goals and 5-of-5 on extra points.

SENSATIONAL SCOTT

Last season, Sean Scott began the season with two of his best performances of the season as he was honored by the League as the Ironman of the Week twice. In his first game of the season, he caught six passes for 99 yards with two scores. In Week 2, Scott caught five passes for 81 yards and tied a Soul receiving touchdown record with five in the game.

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