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Philadelphia Soul game notes

April 25, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Philadelphia Soul News Release


SOUL @ DRAGONS: THE FACTS
Date: Saturday, April 29, 2006
Kickoff: 7:30 PM
Site: Nassau Coliseum (Uniondale, NY)
Officials: Referee: Steve Pamon, Umpire: Wes Fritz, Head Linesman: Neil Brunner, Line Judge: R.G. Detillier, Back Judge: Tony Lombardo

THE GAME CAN BE HEARD...

On SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia with Jacob VanRyan handling the play-by-play. Also, online at www.philadelphiasoul.com.

THE GAME CAN BE SEEN...

This week's game will be televised on OLN with Ari Wolfe (Play-By-Play), Charles Arbuckle (Color Analyst) and Bill Osborn (Sideline Reporter) handling the game. The game will be on tape delay for Sunday, April 30 at 1:00 p.m.

THE SERIES - SOUL VS. DRAGONS
2-3
This will be the sixth meeting between the Soul and Dragons. New York has won three of four meetings against Philadelphia including a two game sweep last season.

WHAT'S AT STAKE

If the Soul win, it would
- Give the Soul a 3-3 record vs. New York
- Give the Soul a 8-6 overall record
- Give the Soul a 4-3 road record

THE SOUL'S LAST MEETING vs. New York (WEEK 4)
Offensive Player of the Game: Tony Graziani (PHI)
ADT Defensive Player of the Game: Ernest Allen & E.J. Burt (PHI)
Ironman of the Game: Sean Scott (PHI)

PHILADELPHIA, PA - The Philadelphia Soul registered a 75-59 win over the New York Dragons at the Wachovia Center on Sunday in front of 15, 563.

QB Tony Graziani led the way completing 19-of-27 passing for 282 yards with six touchdowns despite one interception. New York QB Aaron Garcia completed 30-of-40 passing for 367 yards and eight touchdowns with two interceptions.

WR/LB J.J. McKelvey led the way for Philadelphia with three receiving touchdowns and WR/LB Sean Scott recorded two touchdowns receiving and one rushing. He also had one interception on defense.

New York turned the ball over four times, including an interception by Philadelphia DS Kevin Gaines which ties him for fifth all-time in the AFL with 37 career interceptions.

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 FINAL
New York 6 21 12 20 59
Philadelphia 14 21 27 13 75

LAST WEEK'S SOUL GAME vs. Columbus
Offensive Player of the Game: Darcey Levy (CMB)
ADT Defensive Player of the Game: Brandon Hefflin (CMB)
Ironman of the Game: Mike Brown (PHI)

PHILADELPHIA - John Kaleo threw for 315 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Columbus Destroyers to a 46-45 victory over the Philadelphia Soul.

Completing 28-of-44 passes, Kaleo connected with Darcey Levy and David Saunders for second-half TDs and scored a one-yard touchdown with 40 seconds left for Columbus (6-7).

Philadelphia (7-6) had one final opportunity to win the game but Todd France's 42-yard field goal attempt was no good as time expired.

Mike Brown returned two kicks for touchdowns in the first half and caught a pair of TD passes for Philadelphia, which built a 31-17 halftime lead.

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 SCORE
Columbus 0 17 14 15 46
Philadelphia 14 17 7 7 45

THE COACHES
Brett Munsey (First Season)

Bret Munsey became the third head coach for the Philadelphia Soul and had posted a 7-6 record through the first 13 games. With an extensive coaching background, this is Munsey's first head coaching position in the League.

Munsey, 37, joined 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.


Weylan Harding (Second Season)
Weylan Harding is in his second season as the head coach of the Dragons in 2006. In his rookie season last year, he took the Dragons to their third consecutive Eastern Division Championship with a 10-6 record. He was also a runner up for Coach of the Year honors and mentored All-Arena and All-Rookie sensation DS Billy Parker. Running the Dragons' defense, Harding's defensive backs led the league in interceptions with 28.
Before joining the Dragons in August 2005, Harding has spent the previous three seasons as the Columbus/Buffalo franchise's defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach. After his career as an AFL player concluded, Harding took his first coaching assignment with the Destroyers as their defensive backs coach for the 2000 season. Under his direct guidance, DS Prentice Taylor was an All-Rookie selection. The following season he mentored the defensive backs for the Rochester Brigade of arenafootball2, including former San Francisco cornerback Dwaine Carpenter who later followed him back to Buffalo. The Destroyers brought Harding back as their defensive coordinator in 2002. In 2003 the Destroyers' defense finished as the top-ranked unit in the AFL, allowing only 219.1 yards per game. His unit also finished second in the league in total defense with 238.5 yards per game, four in scoring defense with 46.9 yards per game and fourth in team interceptions with 21. He made the move with the franchise to Columbus for the 2004 season.
As a player, Harding was a defensive specialist for the Iowa Barnstormers - now the Dragons - Nashville and Portland before retiring as a player with Buffalo in 2000.

SOUL'S NOTES AND TRENDS

BROKEN RECORD
At the first Soul-New York face-off, Philadelphia passed their franchise best for most points scored in a single game with 75. The previous record of 69 was set last season against Tampa Bay.

LOST SOUL
Starting Dragons quarterback Nick Browder will be facing-off against the very team he helped launch. Browder was signed to the Soul roster on November 11, 2003 and played in 10 games. He started in the first Soul game in team history and finished with a 3-4 record as a starter. He completed 145-of-243 passes for 1,685 yards with 31 touchdowns despite seven interceptions.

AT THE BEGINNING
In Week 4 when the Soul took on the Dragons at the Wachovia Center in Philly it was the first game televised on the OLN network and saw Philadelphia come away victorious 75-59.

WHERE ARE THE HEADLINERS?
Starting quarterbacks Tony Graziani and Aaron Garcia both find themselves missing this week's game do to injuries. Graziani suffered a torn muscle in his hamstring in Week 11 vs. Chicago and Garcia went down with a fractured tibia in Week 5 vs. Orlando.

FAMILIAR FACES
Soul FB/LB Wes Ours will be seeing a familiar face this week when New York hosts the Soul. Dragon WR/DB Angel Estrada is a former college teammate of Ours. Both played college football at West Virginia. This game will mark the second time that Ours and Estrada will face one another on the field in the AFL, the first time being in Week 4.

NY vs. PHILLY, PART III
While the Soul head to New York this weekend, it will be the third time this season they have faced the Dragons. The two teams faced off in a pre-season match up at the Wachovia Spectrum in mid-January where the Soul dominated on defense, holding the Dragons to just 20 points, ending with an unofficial final score of 59-20. In the regular season, the Soul hosted the Dragons in Week 4, defeating them 75-59.

STRONG ISLAND
The Soul have yet to pull out a victory against the Dragons in Long Island. They have traveled out there twice and have come back to Philadelphia unsuccessful both times. In 2004, New York defeated the Soul in Week 16 69-54 and in 2005 in Week 13 by a final of 51-37.

MAYNOR IS CATCHING ON
Back-up quarterback Connell Maynor caught his first pass since 1996 when he played for the now defunct New York Cityhawks catching 42 passes for 623 yards with 15 touchdowns. At last week's game against the Columbus Destroyers, Maynor caught two passes totaling 24 yards.

SOUL SCORING STREAK
Soul WR/DB Mike Brown has caught a touchdown pass in each of the last six games. On the season he has caught 11 touchdowns.

RETURN TO SENDER
A season-first was recorded during last week's Soul game against the Columbus Destroyers, when Mike Brown ran back a kick return for a touchdown, not once, but twice. Brown returned six kicks gaining 196 yards.

THREE IS NOT A CHARM
In the 2006 season, the Soul have yet to score more than seven points in the third quarter since Week 4 against the New York Dragons when the Soul tallied 24 points in the beginning of the second half.

IT'S A CELEBRATION
Mike Brown will be turning 28 years old this Saturday, April 29 when the Soul travel to New York to take on the Dragons.

TEMPLE TEAMMATES FACE OFF
Soul OL/DL Donny Klein will face his old college teammate Joe Laudano, now a Dragon, this week in New York. However, they'll be on the opposite sides of the football. Klein and Laudano played football together at Temple University for four years, where they both started. This will be the third meeting between the two as opponents.

PICK A WINNER
The Soul have picked off the second most passes in the League with 19 through 13 weeks (Eddie Moten - 9, Mike Brown - 4, Kevin Gaines - 3, Sean Scott - 2, Reggie Doster - 2, Raheem Orr - 1). Philadelphia is second to this week's opponent, the New York Dragons, who have tallied 23 interceptions.

RUN TO VICTORY
When Philadelphia runs the ball more than 10 times a game they have compiled a 7-2 record. When they don't run the ball at least 10 times they have suffered defeat four times without a victory.

MAN OF HONOR
The League has honored WR/LB Sean Scott twice this season as the Ironman of the Week. The first time came in Week 4 vs. New York. Also, in the Soul's seven wins this season, Scott has been named Ironman five times and Offensive player of the Game once.

LET'S JUST SAY
At this point in the season, if the playoffs were to begin today, the Soul have the sixth seed in the National Conference and would travel to New York to face the Dragons. The Soul have yet to make the playoffs in their two-year history.

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