Philadelphia Soul game notes
April 18, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Philadelphia Soul News Release
Date: Monday, April 23, 2007
Kickoff: 7:30 PM ET
Site: Nationwide Arena
Officials: Referee: Dennis Lipski, Umpire: Rick Nelson, Head Linesman: Kavin McGrath, Line Judge: Darrel Leftwich, Back Judge: Rich Wilborn
THE GAME CAN BE HEARD...
On SportsTalk950 in Philadelphia with Ari Wolfe handling the play-by-play and Director of Communications Brian Sternberg doing color commentary.
THE GAME CAN BE SEEN...
Live on ESPN with Trey Wingo handling the play-by-play and Mark Schlereth doing the color commentary.
THE SERIES - SOUL VS. DESTROYERS
This week's game between Philadelphia and Columbus will be the seventh meeting between the two teams. The Soul have a 3-3 record against the Destroyers losing the last contest by one point. Columbus scored late in the 4th quarter to take the game 46-45. Philadelphia has not been able to post a victory against Columbus since the 2005 season and have lost three straight against them.
WHAT'S AT STAKE
If the Soul win, it would
- Give the Soul a 4-3 record vs. Columbus
- Give the Soul a 5-2 overall record
- Give the Soul a 4-1 road record
SCHEDULES
Philadelphia Soul (4-2)
Date Opponent Time Result Score
-- BYE -- -- --
March 9 @ Nashville 8:00 W 63-30
March 15 @ Grand Rapids 7:00 W 69-40
March 22 Colorado 7:00 W 71-47
April 1 @ New York 1:00 W 65-60
April 9 Georgia 7:30 L 49-57
April 16 @ Dallas 8:00 L 41-51
April 23 @ Columbus 7:30
April 30 @ Chicago 7:30
May 5 Kansas City 7:00
May 14 New York 7:30
May 21 New Orleans 7:30
May 27 @ Austin 4:05
June 1 Dallas 7:30
June 9 @ Tampa Bay 7:30
June 16 Columbus 7:00
June 21 Orlando 7:00
All Times EST
Columbus Destroyers (3-3)
Date Opponent Time Result Score
March 1 @ Nashville 8:00 W 58-56
March 9 @ New Orleans 8:00 L 45-52
-- BYE -- -- --
March 24 Chicago 7:00 L 45-55
March 30 Georgia 7:00 W 62-61
April 5 @ Dallas 8:30 L 51-53
April 14 Austin 7:00 W 72-49
April 23 Philadelphia 7:30
April 29 @ Tampa Bay 3:00
May 4 New York 7:00
May 11 Grand Rapids 7:00
May 18 @ Colorado 9:00
May 26 Dallas 7:00
June 2 @ Georgia 7:00
June 8 Kansas City 7:00
June 16 @ Philadelphia 7:00
June 23 @ New York 7:00
THE SOUL'S GAME VS. DALLAS (Week 7)
Offensive Player of the Game: Clint Dolezel (DAL)
ADT Defensive Player of the Game: Duke Pettijohn (DAL)
Ironman of the Game: Will Pettis (DAL)
DALLAS, TX -- Clint Dolezel became the first Arena Football League quarterback to throw 800 career touchdown passes, tossing five scores in the Dallas Desperados' 51-41 victory over the Philadelphia Soul on Monday night.
Dolezel, in his 12th AFL season, connected with Willis Marshall on a 46-yard score in the third quarter for No. 800. He finished with 285 yards passing and now has 802 touchdown passes. New Orleans quarterback Andy Kelly has 793 career touchdown passes and Arizona's Sherdrick Bonner has 786.
Philadelphia quarterback Juston Wood replaced Tony Graziani, who as injured in the second quarter, and threw three touchdown passes.
Wood's 15-yard TD pass to Steve Gonzalez cut the lead to 37-34 late in the third quarter, but Dallas pulled away in the fourth quarter.
Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 FINAL
Philadelphia 6 14 14 7 41
Dallas 7 16 14 14 51
THE COACHES
Bret Munsey (2nd Season) (13-9 regular season, 1-1 postseason)
Bret Munsey became the third head coach for the Philadelphia Soul and helped led them to their first postseason last year. He compiled a 9-7 regular season record for the first winning season in the Soul's three-year history. Following the 2006 season, he received a two-year contract extension through the 2008 season.
Munsey, 38, came to 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 his final two seasons there.
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.
Doug Kay (2nd Season) (9-8 regular season, 0-0 postseason)
Doug Kay was named head coach of the Columbus Destroyers on July 14, 2005. Kay became the third coach in Columbus Destroyers history and sixth in the Buffalo/Columbus franchise history. In his first season at the helm, Kay guided the Destroyers to their best record in franchise history, while setting a franchise record for road wins in the process. He also guided the club to four home victories, which tied a franchise record. With only three players returning from the 2005 squad, Kay led the Destroyers to the biggest turnaround of any Arena Football team from the 2005 season to the 2006 campaign. Columbus improved to 8-8 in 2006 after a 2-14 season in 2005.
The Destroyers defense improved drastically under the direction of Kay. After finishing 16th in the League in 2005 in Scoring Defense, Kay catapulted the team to second in 2006, allowing an average of 44.8 points per game. Kay has more than 40 years of football experience including 12 seasons in the Arena Football League. Overall Kay's teams have made the postseason in 10 of his 13 AFL seasons. His AFL experience began in 1993 as defensive coordinator of the ArenaBowl VII champion Tampa Bay Storm. Four years later, Kay was once again defensive coordinator of a championship team, helping the Arizona Rattlers capture ArenaBowl XI in 1997.
Kay is guiding his third club in the AFL. He was head coach of the Charlotte Rage in 1995 and returned to Charlotte as the head coach of the Carolina Cobras in 2000 and 2001. Prior to the AFL, Kay spent four seasons in the United States Football League with Boston/New Orleans Breakers and Tampa Bay Bandits.
Kay's coaching career began in 1960 at his alma mater, Western Illinois, as the quarterback's and wide receivers coach. In 1961, Kay took over at Deerfield (Ill.) High School and coached there through the 1966 season.
From 1967-1969 Kay served as the defensive coordinator at Indiana State University. Kay was then named the head coach of Olivet (Mich.) College in 1970. He spent the next six seasons with Olivet before taking over as the offensive coordinator at San Jose State in 1976. Kay moved to UCLA in 1977 where he was an assistant coach, working mainly with the linebackers and defensive line. In 1980, he took over at the University of Hawaii as the associate head coach and defensive coordinator for three seasons.
PLAYERS OF THE GAME
Offensive Player of the Game
Week Opp. Player
1 BYE ---
2 @ NAS PHI - Tony Graziani
3 @ GRR PHI - Tony Graziani
4 COL PHI - Tony Graziani
5 @ NYD PHI - Tony Graziani
6 GEO GEO - Troy Bergeron
7 @ DAL DAL - Clint Dolezel
8 @ CMB
9 @ CHI
10 KCB
11 NYD
12 NOV
13 @ AUS
14 DAL
15 @ TBS
16 CMB
17 ORL
ADT Defensive Player of the Game
Week Opp. Player
1 BYE ---
2 @ NAS PHI - Eddie Moten
3 @ GRR PHI - Eddie Moten
4 COL PHI - Eddie Moten
5 @ NYD PHI - Eddie Moten
6 GEO GEO - Hamin Milligan
7 @ DAL DAL - Duke Pettijohn
8 @ CMB
9 @ CHI
10 KCB
11 NYD
12 NOV
13 @ AUS
14 DAL
15 @ TBS
16 CMB
17 ORL
Ironman of the Game
Week Opp. Player
1 BYE ---
2 @ NAS PHI - Sean Scott
3 @ GRR PHI - Mike Brown
4 COL PHI - Mike Brown
5 @ NYD PHI - Charles Pauley
6 GEO GEO - Chris Jackson
7 @ DAL DAL - Will Pettis
8 @ CMB
9 @ CHI
10 KCB
11 NYD
12 NOV
13 @ AUS
14 DAL
15 @ TBS
16 CMB
17 ORL
SOUL vs. DESTROYERS
BY THE NUMBERS
Statistical SOUL DESTROYERS
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Offense/Total Yards/Game 15 282.2 (1,693) 18 244.3 (1,466)
Offense/Yards/Play 6 6.8 19 5.5
Offense/Rushing Yards/Game 11 17.0 (102) 9 19.3 (116)
Offense/Passing Yards/Game 13 265.2 18 225.0
Offense/Passing Yards/Play 7 7.6 19 6.0
Offense/Intercepted 14 7 4 5
Offense/Sacks Allowed 3 1 12 6
First Downs 15 19.2 (115) 15 19.2 (115)
Offense/3rd Down Pct. 1 22-of-35 (62.9) 13 19-of-42 (66.7)
Offense/4th Down Pct. 16 2-of-6 (66.7) 4 8-of-11 (72.7)
Kickoff Return Average 6 18.8 (32-601) 1 23.1 (34-785)
Offense/Points/Game 5 59.7 (358) 8 55.8 (335)
Field Goal Pct. 17 40% (2-of-5) 7 53.8% (8-of-14)
Penalties/Game 13 9.0 3 6.0
Penalties Yards/Game 14 53.8 (323) 2 31.3 (188)
Defense/Total Yards/Game 16 315.2 8 295.3
Defense/Yards/Play 13 6.7 8 6.4
Defense/Rushing Yards/Game 3 13.5 (81) 13 24.5 (147)
Defense/Passing Yards/Game 17 301.7 9 270.8
Defense/Interceptions 4 10 9 7
Defense/Sacks/Attempts 5 8 (240) 6 7 (221)
Defense/First Downs/Game 4 19.5 8 20.7
Defense/3rd Down Pct. 2 40.5% (17-of-42) 8 47.6%(20-of-42)
Defense/4th Down Pct. 7 46.2% (6-of-13) 2 33.3% (3-of-9)
Defense/Kickoff Return Average 4 15.7 (39-613) 15 19.6(32-736)
Defense/Points/Game 5 47.5 (285) 8 54.3 (326)
Defense/Penalties/Game 7 8.8 4 8.8
Defense/Penalty Yards/Game 8 48.2 4 54.0
Points/Game Differential 2 +12.17 10 +1.50
Give-Aways/Take-Aways 5 14/19 (+5) 8 8/12 (+4)
MILESTONE WATCH
PLAYER MILESTONE CURRENT NUMBER TO GO
Tony Graziani 2,000 Completions 1,604 396
Sean Scott 300 Receptions 244 56
3,000 Receiving Yards 2,863 137
Johnnie Harris 300 Total Tackles 276 24
100 Pass Breakups 75 25
SOUL'S NOTES AND TRENDS
HEARTBREAKER
The Destroyers beat Philadelphia on a 1-yard run by quarterback John Kaleo and a David Saunders catch for the 2-point conversion with 40 seconds left in the game during last years meeting between the two teams.
BACKSEAT DRIVER
Columbus quarterback Scott Dreisbach played the same position as a backup to current Soul quarterback Tony Graziani while the two played for the Los Angeles Avengers in 2003.
MID-KNIGHT MARAUDER
Destroyer wide receiver Marcus Knight was a member of the Soul for the '05 and '06 seasons until he was released and picked up by Columbus in March of '06.
LOCAL BOYS
Destroyers' quarterback Matt Nagy is a PA native. Born in Manheim, PA Nagy attended the University of Delaware as well as Manheim Central High School. In addition, Columbus linebacker Leroy Thompson is a native of Camden, NJ and played his college football at Delaware State University.
3 For 3
Philadelphia will continue their rivalry with Columbus this week against the Destroyers after starting the series with them up 3-0. The Soul have lost the last three contests to Columbus to set the all-time series at a record of 3-3 overall.
FAMILIAR FACES
Former college teammates, Soul kicker Todd France and Destroyers defensive back Brandon Hefflin, will meet again on Monday when the Soul play the Destroyers. France and Hefflin played together while at the University of Toledo. Other former teammates, Destroyer's WR David Saunders and Soul FB Wes Ours played together while at West Virginia University.
NEW STREAK
Soul defensive back Eddie Moten tallied another interception last week against the Dallas Desperados to up his season total to five. After beginning the season with an interception in each of the first four games of the season, Moten came up empty against the Georgia Force two weeks ago. He was able to get back on track by picking off Dallas quarterback Clint Dolezel during the Desperados first drive of the game.
HIGHS AND LOWS
The Soul's 51-41 loss to Dallas was their lowest scoring game so far this season. They were averaging 64 points per game prior to their loss in the Big D.
LOW SCORE
Speaking of low scores, last week's contest was also the lowest scoring game of the season for the Desperados. Philadelphia held the undefeated team to 51 points.
THE WOOD
Soul reserve quarterback Juston Wood had a career night against Dallas through three quarters as he completed 12-of-20 passes for 152 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. In the fourth quarter, things began to change as he went 6-of-17 for 61 yards and one touchdown despite three interceptions.
D-2 WONDERS
Many competitors in this weeks game between the Soul and the Destroyers hail from NCAA Division II football programs. For the Soul, they have five players including Phil Bogle (New Haven), Steve Gonzalez (Menlo College), Idris Price (New Haven), Eddie Moten (Texas A&M Kingsville) and Sean Scott (Millersville University). On the other side of the ball for Columbus, defensive back Jerald Brown (Glenville State College) defensive back Rober Freeman (Clark Atlanta University) and defensive lineman Kelvin Kinney (Virginia State University) all played their college football for Division II programs.
JUST ONE OF THOSE DAYS
Mike Brown scored four touchdowns against the Destroyers in last season's contest in Week 13, two of them coming on kickoff returns of 56 and 57 yards. He also set a franchise record in that game with 263 all-purpose yards.
SIR CHARLES
Charles Pauley missed having a touchdown reception last week for the first time this season. He had a streak of five games with a score before traveling to Dallas.
GONZO
Steve Gonzalez had a break out game last week after catching his first two touchdowns of his AFL career. He finished with a season-high six receptions for 76 yards to go along with six kick returns for 91 yards.
DOWN GOES GRAZIANI
Tony Graziani suffered a vicious hit during the second quarter of last week's game forcing him to watch from the sidelines. He was hit after throwing the ball away by Desperados' lineman Rickie Simpkins with 14:00 in the quarter. The injury forcing him not to return was a sprained left shoulder.
MONDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
So far, the Blue and Grey are 0-2 on Monday nights this season. They play four more Monday games starting this week and continuing next week on the road against the ArenaBowl XX Champion Chicago Rush. Their other two Monday night games come in Week 11 (vs. New Orleans VooDoo) and Week 12 (vs. New York Dragons).
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 18, 2007
- Arizona Rattlers game notes - Arizona Rattlers
- Georgia Force to Wear Road Uniforms at Home Saturday Night - Georgia Force
- Dallas Strives To Become Fourth Team In League History To Begin Season 8-0 On Saturday - AFL I
- No. One Dallas Meets No. Two Georgia On Saturday - AFL I
- Philadelphia Soul game notes - Philadelphia Soul
- Stafford Makes A difference - Orlando Predators
- New Orleans VooDoo To Host Baby Dolls Clinic and Performance - New Orleans VooDoo
- Angel haunts Dragons - OSC Original by David Holusha
- San Jose SaberCats game notes - San Jose SaberCats
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
