Soul Down Dragons; Graziani Injured
Published on March 16, 2008 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Philadelphia Soul News Release
PHILADELPHIA (March 16) -- Quarterback Tony Graziani and wide receiver Chris Jackson combined for three touchdowns as the Philadelphia Soul moved to 3-0 with a 63-42 victory over the New York Dragons Sunday afternoon at the Wachovia Center.
It was the Soul's first win in the Eastern Division while the Dragons dropped to 1-2 overall and 0-2 in the Division.
Graziani connected with Jackson from 25, 11 and 10 yards and added a 23-yarder to Larry Brackins and a 15-yarder to Clif Dell in another stellar performance. One of Graziani's scoring passes came while he was falling backwards after tripping in the pocket.
Last year, the Soul started the season 4-0 but struggled after Graziani suffered a separated shoulder and missed six games. The crowd of 16, 102 was hushed late in the third quarter, when Graziani connected with Brackins on a 21-yard touchdown but was knocked out of the game with a left knee sprain resulting from late hit by defensive nose guard John Nix.
Reserve quarterback Matt D'Orazio came on to lead two touchdown drives, taking it in from one yard out himself to give the Soul an insurmountable 56-42 lead with 50 seconds remaining. A 35-yard interception return by Philadelphia's Rod Davis accounted for the final touchdown.
Dragons quarterback Aaron Garcia threw six touchdown passes, including three to Kevin Swayne, to lead the visitors, who were outscored 35-14 in the last 22 minutes of the game.
The Soul reported that Graziani had suffered a sprained knee and his condition would be updated Monday. The Soul has a short week with the next game set for Thursday night in Los Angeles against the Avengers. Game time is 10:30 p.m. (et) and it can bee seen live on Comcast SportsNet.
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