Soul defeat Brigade in home opener, 54-49
April 21, 2018 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Philadelphia Soul News Release
PHILADELPHIA, PA - There was clearly no love lost between the Baltimore Brigade (1-1) and the Philadelphia Soul (2-0) after the Soul ended Baltimore's season in the 2017 playoffs. On a night that saw the Soul's 2017 Championship Banner unveiled in the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center, the Soul clinched their second win in a row and of the season with a score of 54-49.
The Soul started strong when, on the second play of the game, QB Dan Raudabaugh connected with WR Darius "Money" Reynolds to give them a 6-0 lead. The Brigade responded back with a reception by WR Brandon Collins to give them a one-point lead at 7-6 with just over six minutes left in the first quarter. The Brigade kept their momentum as QB Randy Hippeard found WR Collins in the end zone yet again to give them a 14-6 lead over the Soul early in the second quarter.
Momentum shifted to the Soul after Raudabaugh connected with WR Darius Prince for 35 yards, putting the Soul at first and goal. Soul FB Jeramie Richardson got it done, getting the Soul to within one point at 14-13. The Brigade stopped any momentum in its tracks by responding with a touchdown reception by WR Quentin Sims for 15 yards.
Soul answered with a Raudabaugh-Prince touchdown connection from 10 yards out, again bringing the margin to just one point at 21-20. The Brigade took the Soul's thunder by recovering an onside kick to score another touchdown, leading 28-20 just before the two-minute mark in the first half. The Brigade tried to push their luck by attempting an onside kick of their own, which the Soul recovered and capitalized on with back-to-back Darius "Money" Reynolds receptions and a touchdown, making the score Brigade 28 - Soul 27. The Soul defense made a huge stop at the end of the first half and kept the Brigade from scoring just before halftime.
Starting off the second half strong, Brigade WR Brandon Thompkins returned the kick by Soul's Adrian Trevino to give them a 35-27 lead.
On the next Soul possession, WR Darius Prince started the drive with a nine-yard reception, followed by a carry of six yards by Soul's Jeramie Richardson. Raudabaugh found WR "SK" for an 18 yard reception. "Money" finished the possession with a touchdown, making the score Brigade 35-34 with 8:10 left in the third quarter.
The Brigade seemed to pick up the pace on their next drive, until Soul FB Jeramie Richardson sacked QB Randy Hippeard. Richardson's sack was his first of the 2018 season and gave the advantage in the possession battle back to the Soul.
The Soul kept this momentum going at the start of the fourth quarter with plays by four different Soul players. Soul's Jeramie Richardson began the drive with a carry for 4 yards, followed by a 4-yard reception by Darius Prince, 7-yard catch by Kaleinamoku, and the first touchdown reception of the season for Tight End PhillipKeith Manley. The Soul led 41-35.
The Brigade answered with a touchdown reception by their own Tight End, Jordan McCray. With the extra point, the Brigade found themselves ahead 42-41 with 5:14 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Soul did not let that lead last for long, as Soul's Jeramie Richardson run of one yard, making the score Soul 48 - Brigade 42.
With the two teams neck and neck, the Brigade come back on top by one with a touchdown reception by WR Milton Williams with about 30 seconds left in the game, making the score Brigade 49 - Soul 48.
With only seconds left in the game, Raudabaugh found Darius "Money" Reynolds in the end zone, making the score 54-49 and giving the Soul the lead they needed to win the home opener and give them a 2-0 record.
Coming up in Week 3, the Soul are back at the Wells Fargo Center to face the Washington Valor on Saturday, April 28th at 7:30 p.m. This will be the first match-up of the 2018 season between the Soul and Valor.
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Arena Football League Stories from April 21, 2018
- Soul defeat Brigade in home opener, 54-49 - Philadelphia Soul
- Brigade Fall, 54-49, to Defending-Champion Soul - Baltimore Brigade
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