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Philadelphia Soul game notes

May 23, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Philadelphia Soul News Release


NATIONAL CONFERENCE DIVISIONAL ROUND GAME
SOUL @ PREDATORS: THE FACTS

Date: Sunday, May 28, 2006
Kickoff: 3:30 PM ET
Site: TD Waterhouse Center (Orlando, FL)
Officials: Referee: Bill LeMonnier, Head Linesman: Kelly Saalfeld, Line Judge: Bob McElwee, Back Judge: Billy Beckett, Umpire: Rick Lowe
THE GAME CAN BE HEARD...

On SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia with Ari Wolfe handling play-by-play and OL/DL Donny Klein adding color analysis.

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

THE SERIES - SOUL VS. PREDATORS

This will be the third meeting between the teams since and both teams have won a game a piece. Earlier this season, in Week 3, the Predators came out victorious with a 47-33 win in Orlando.

WHAT'S AT STAKE

If the Soul win, it would
- Give the Soul its second career playoff victory
- Advance the Soul to the National Conference Championship Round
- Give the Soul a 2-1 record vs. Orlando
- Give the Soul a 11-7 overall record
- Give the Soul a 6-4 road record
- Give the Soul a four game winning streak

THE SOUL'S GAME vs. Orlando
Offensive Player of the Game: Jerrian James (ORL)
ADT Defensive Player of the Game: Jermaine Mays (ORL)
Ironman of the Game: Clif Dell (ORL)

ORLANDO - Joe Hamilton threw four touchdown passes and also ran for a score in the Orlando Predators' 47-33 victory over the Philadelphia Soul on Saturday night in the Arena Football League.

Hamilton was 11-of-20 for 225 yards, and Jerrian James led the Predators (2-1) in receiving with four catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns.

Matt Sauk was 32-of-49 for 271 yards and four TDs for the Soul (2-1).
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 SCORE
Philadelphia 0 10 15 8 33
Orlando 0 17 16 14 47

LAST WEEK'S GAME @ AUSTIN
Offensive Player of the Game: Tony Graziani (PHI)
ADT Defensive Player of the Game: Sean Scott (PHI)
Ironman of the Game: Mike Brown (PHI)

AUSTIN, TX - Tony Graziani's four touchdown passes and a staunch defense lifted the Philadelphia Soul past the Austin Wrangers 52-35 in the Arena Football League playoffs Sunday.

The Soul advanced to play at Orlando next Sunday.

Graziani completed 22 of 33 passes for 316 yards for Philadelphia (10-7). Sean Scott intercepted a pass and returned it for a touchdown for the Soul.

After the game was tied 21-21 at halftime, Philadelphia took charge by outscoring Austin 21-7. Scott's 7-yard interception capped the scoring in the period.

Austin (10-7) was held to only 214 yards of offense and John Fitzgerald completed 21 of 37 passes for 198 yards and five touchdowns.

Austin's Derrick Lewis had eight receptions for 108 yards and four touchdowns for the Wranglers.

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 FINAL
Philadelphia 14 7 21 10 52
Austin 7 14 7 7 35

THE COACHES
Bret Munsey (First Season)

Bret Munsey became the third head coach for the Philadelphia Soul and has led them to their first victory in the postseason for the in three seasons. He has compiled a 10-7 record this season and has received a two-year contract extension through the 2008 season. This is 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.

Jay Gruden (16th Season)

Fifteen seasons in the Arena Football League. Fifteen seasons in the playoffs. Seven trips to the ArenaBowl. Six championship rings. An average of 10.8 wins per season. Whether as a head coach, player or offensive coordinator, Jay Gruden's name has been synonymous with success in the Arena Football League.

Gruden began his AFL career as a quarterback with the Tampa Bay Storm in 1991. In six seasons as a starter, he led the Storm to an unprecedented four ArenaBowl titles under three different head coaches. A two-time All-Arena selection and the 1992 MVP, Gruden would throw for more than 15,000 yards and 280 touchdowns in leading the Storm to six consecutive playoff appearances.

After capturing his second consecutive championship and fourth title overall with the Storm in 1996, Gruden abruptly retired to enter the coaching ranks. Working as offensive coordinator for the expansion Nashville Kats, Gruden helped that first-year team to playoffs while the team compiled an impressive 10-4 regular season record. It was the first time in league history that an expansion team won 10 games.

SOUL'S NOTES AND TRENDS

DON'T I KNOW YOU FROM SOMEWHERE?
Head coach Bret Munsey will challenge his former team, the Orlando Predators, for the first time this Sunday, February 11 at the TD Waterhouse Center. Coach Munsey was on the Predator's active roster in 1991 and spent the next four seasons (1992-1995) on Orlando's practice squad. He ended up joining the team's coaching staff in 2003 and was with them until 2005. As a member of the active roster in '91, he caught two passes for 29 yards.

HOMECOMING
Headed to their old stomping grounds of Orlando are current Soul players OL/DL Earnest Allen (2000-03), WR/DB Michael Brown (2004-05), OL/DL EJ Burt (2003-05), OL/DL Cecil Caldwell (2004-05), DS Reggie Doster (2002-03, 05), DS Kevin Gaines (1998-99) and QB Connell Maynor (1998-2000, 2002-2004).

EDDIE THE CRUISER
DS Eddie Moten tied a League record with 13 interceptions during the regular season and was named to the All-Arena First Team. In the first six games of the season, he picked off only one pass (Week 2 vs. Los Angeles). He had 12 in the next 10 games to finish out the regular season. In the Wild Card Playoff Game last week, Moten led the Soul in tackles with 7.5 to go along with two pass breakups.

TURN THAT INTO POINTS
With 1:08 on the clock in the third quarter last week, OL/DL Ernest Allen went in to hit Austin quarterback John Fitzgerald before he threw the ball up for desperation. Sean Scott found himself under neither the ball and took it in for a score. Philadelphia has recorded seven touchdowns this season off either interceptions or fumbles.

PHILLY GUYS
FB/LB Kevin Nagle and OL/DL Jim Sodano of the Orlando Predators are two teammates who are graduates of East Strausburg that will face the Soul this Sunday in Orlando.

ARENABOWL DAYS
The Soul have five members of former ArenaBowl championship teams on their roster. Kevin Gaines and Ernest Allen each won titles while with the Orlando Predators (Gaines - '98, Allen - '00). Connell Maynor has been a part of four championship teams (Tampa Bay - '95, '96, Orlando - '98, '00). Donny Klein and Chad Dukes were on the Colorado Crush last season.

IN A RUSH
The Blue and Grey ruled the ground game last week against Austin totaling two rushing touchdowns on 16 carries. The Soul ran the ball for a total of 45 yards to take the win over the Wranglers. They finished the regular season with 194 carries for 502 yards with 31 scores.

PICKING A WINNER
The Soul picked off the most passes during the regular season in the League with 28 and ranked second all-time in League history (29-Orlando - '92). In their first playoff appearance last week, the Soul managed another interception at Austin. WR/LB Sean Scott picked off QB John Fitzgerald in the third quarter and ran it in for a score.

MILESTONE
Soul OS Steve Smith caught two passes for 22 yards last week against Austin. Sunday's performance helped Smith reach 4,000 receiving yards for his career. This season, Smith has caught 85 passes for 975 yards with 14 touchdowns.

PLAYOFF PHEVER
Philadelphia has compiled a 6-4 regular record against the other 11 teams who made it into the playoffs. Their six victories have came against Chicago, Dallas (twice), Georgia, Nashville and New York. On the opposite side, their losses have come against Austin, Colorado, New York and Orlando.

FIVE HUNDO
The Blue and Grey finished the regular season with 513 yards on the ground and rank third on the League's all-time rushing yards list. They set the record last season with 576 yards.

THE FOUR HORSEMEN
Wes Ours (132), Sean Scott (115), Mike Brown (105) and Chad Dukes (104) each tallied more than 100 yards rushing on the ground this season.

GREAT SCOTT
After finishing the regular season just one yard shy of 1,000 for the season and catching 87 passes with 17 touchdowns, Sean Scott had no receptions on Sunday against the Wranglers in the Soul's first-ever playoff appearance. Scott, however, did have one interception resulting in a seven-yard touchdown run. It marked the first time this season he did not record a reception in a game. Scott has been honored by the League twice this season as the Ironman of the Week and in the Soul's 10 wins this season, Scott has been named Ironman five times, Offensive Player of the Game once and Defensive Player of the Game once.

CENTURY MARK
For the first time all season, the Philadelphia Soul had two players, Mike Brown and Rob Milanese, with more than 100 yards receiving in the same game. Brown caught eight passes for 109 yards with one touchdown and Milanese went for 107 yards on eight receptions with two scores.

THREE IS A CHARM
With Sunday's win over the Wranglers, the Philadelphia Soul have won three games in a row for the first time this season. This is only the second time in franchise history the team has been able to pull out three straight wins (2005-Week 8-10).

RUN TO VICTORY
When Philadelphia runs the ball more than 10 times a game, they have compiled a 9-3 record. When they don't run the ball at least 10 times, they have suffered defeat four times with one victory.

NOT-SO-TYPICAL PHILLY TEAM
The Soul are the only professional sports team in Philadelphia to make it to the second round of the playoffs this year. The Flyers made it into the NHL Playoffs, but lost in the first round to the Buffalo Sabers 4-2 in a seven game series.

REDEMPTION TOUR
The Soul finished the regular season with a 3-2 record against teams in the Southern Division. Their only losses came to the Wranglers and the Predators. Last week, the Soul avenged their loss to the Wranglers and have the same opportunity this week against Orlando.

GRAZ VS. PREDS
Soul QB Tony Graziani will face the Orlando Predators for the first time this season. When the two teams met in Week 3, Graziani was out with an injured index finger on his throwing hand.

APRIL SHOWERS...
The Philadelphia Soul have managed a 3-0 record thus far for the month of May. A lot is at stake as Philly tries to push it to four against the Predators.

DWAYNE WAYNE
OL/DL Dwayne Missouri had his first career receiving touchdown pass against Orlando in Week 3. The one-yard touchdown pass occurred in the third quarter with 5:10 to go. This is Missouri's fourth season in the AFL and third with the Soul.

STICKEM
Philly fumbled the ball eight times in the first meeting with Orlando in Week 3 and lost four of them in the 47-33 loss.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 23, 2006


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