Soul burnt by Dragons, 51-37
April 24, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Philadelphia Soul News Release
NEW YORK â The Philadelphia Soul's playoff chances were dealt a lethal blow by their Eastern Division rivals the New York Dragons on Sunday afternoon, as the Soul fell 51-37 at the Nassau Coliseum. The loss drops the Soul's record to 5-8 and is the team's second defeat by the Dragons this season.
Philadelphia quarterback Tony Graziani and the offense struggled for the better part of the contest. Graziani finished 16-for-34 for 159 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Aaron Garcia, who did not have his best game either, did toss five scores, completing 16-of-34 for 222 yards and two interceptions.
Soul wide receiver/linebacker Sean Scott led his team with six catches for 52 yards. Dragons offensive specialist Kevin Swayne's five receptions for 66 yards and one touchdown paced New York.
The Soul's defense held the Dragons to a field goal on the game's opening possession. Chris "Soul Train" Ryan then found the end zone from two yards out to give Philadelphia a 7-3 lead. Soul defensive specialist Calvin Coleman then intercepted a Garcia pass at Philadelphia's one-yard line, setting up a Graziani touchdown pass to wide receiver/linebacker Tyronne Jones.
Trailing 14-3, the Dragons got a boost from Swayne, who played in his first game since an injury in the teams' Week 6 meeting. Swayne snared a 33-yard touchdown pass from Garcia. New York was able to hold the Soul to a Tim Seder field goal on the next drive after stopping Philadelphia on three runs from inside the five. The Dragons then answered with a scoring drive capped off by Josh White's three-yard run to even the score at 17. After its first defensive stop of the afternoon, New York took over with one minute left in the first half but Soul offensive/defensive lineman Konrad Dean forced a Garcia fumble that was picked up by wide receiver/linebacker Marcus Knight.
Philadelphia was stopped for the third straight possession on the first drive of the second half when a Graziani pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage and intercepted by Dragons wide receiver/linebacker Chris Anthony. But the Soul responded two plays later when Scott picked off a Garcia pass and waltzed into the end zone to put Philadelphia up 24-17.
Garcia's third touchdown pass of the game knotted the score at 24, as he found Anthony on a 22-yard strike. Following a missed field goal from Seder, Garcia connected with wide receiver/defensive back Will Holder on a 24-yard scoring strike to give New York its first lead since it was 3-0. The Soul's offense finally got back on track and tied the game at 31 when Graziani found offensive specialist Steve Smith from four yards out.
Garcia reclaimed the Dragons' lead when he found wide receiver/linebacker Mike Horacek for a 13-yard touchdown to make it 38-31. New York then used an interception by defensive specialist Billy Parker to set up a one-yard touchdown by White.
The Soul return to the Wachovia Center next Saturday, as they host the Orlando Predators. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. (ET) and will be broadcast live on Philadelphia's NewsTalk 990 AM and www.philadelphiasoul.com.
Notes: Garcia entered Sunday's game six touchdown passes shy of 700 for his career. He threw five... Knight had caught a touchdown pass in every game he had played until being held scoreless today...The Dragons have now won three of the teams' four all-time meetings.
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