Soul fall 61-54 in Fuller's head coaching debut
March 6, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Philadelphia Soul News Release
PHILADELPHIA - A fumbled exchange late in the fourth quarter thwarted the Philadelphia Soul's comeback bid, as the team fell 61-54 to the New York Dragons in front of 16,492 fans at the Wachovia Center.
Soul (2-4) wide receiver/linebacker Sean Scott tied his own team record with five touchdown receptions while quarterback Tony Graziani threw seven more touchdowns to bring his season total to 37 on the season. New York quarterback Aaron Garcia tossed six scores and wide receiver/linebacker Mike Horacek caught four touchdowns for the Eastern-Division leading Dragons (4-1) in the win.
"We played with a lot of energy - I never doubted that," head coach James Fuller said. "But you have to play smart. You can't give up big plays defensively and then turn around and not make big plays of your own."
The game marked the first for Fuller as Philadelphia's interim head coach.
Graziani hit Scott for a game-tying touchdown early in the fourth quarter, but New York wide receiver/defensive back Will Holder returned the kickoff 49 yards for a score. The Soul drew even again thanks to another Graziani-Scott connection on the next possession and Philadelphia's defense followed with an important stop to put the Soul in scoring possession. A fumbled snap gave the ball back to the Dragons, however, and Garcia found wide receiver/linebacker Chris Anthony to again give New York a one-score lead.
Steve Smith's 27-yard touchdown reception and a missed extra point knotted the score at 54 but Garcia led the Dragons on a game-winning drive hitting Holder from nine yards out with five seconds to go.
Graziani, who finished 27-of-44 for 282 yards and no interceptions, said he would like to see a more aggressive approach on the part of the Soul's offense.
"We're trying not to make a mistake instead of going out there and making a play," he said.
The Soul fell into an early hole as the Dragons sandwiched two touchdowns around a defensive stop to take a 14-0 lead. Graziani answered, however, with the 300th touchdown pass of his career, when he hit Scott for a seven-yard score. Garcia quickly re-gained New York's two-score lead with a 24-yard TD pass to Horacek.
Graziani scored his first rushing touchdown of the season on a one-yard bootleg midway through the second quarter to narrow the deficit to 21-13. Soul defensive lineman Winfield Garnett forced a Garcia fumble on the Dragons' next series and Marcus Knight, making his AFL debut, came up with the recovery. Knight then caught his first AFL touchdown pass, a 17-yard scoring strike from Graziani. Horacek's third touchdown reception of the game gave New York a 28-20 lead at halftime.
The division rivals traded scores in the third quarter with Horacek and Scott both catching two more touchdown passes and the Dragons entered the fourth quarter with a 41-34 edge.
The Soul hit the road this Friday, March 11 when the take on the defending ArenaBowl champion San Jose SaberCats. Kickoff is set for 10:30 pm (ET). The Soul return home two weeks from today when they host the Tampa Bay Storm. Kickoff for that game is set for noon (ET).
Notes: Dragons offensive specialist Kevin Swayne dislocated his shoulder on New York's first possession of the game and did not return...Graziani's 27 completions are a Soul single-game record... Soul OS Tyronne Jones made his 500th career reception... Scott's five touchdowns was the third time this season a Soul wide receiver has totaled a team-record five scores in a single game this season.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 6, 2005
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- Rampage engulfed by Storm, 70-50 - Grand Rapids Rampage
- Soul fall 61-54 in Fuller's head coaching debut - Philadelphia Soul
- Rush hold off Kats, 45-38 - Chicago Rush
- SaberCats Stop Skid With Win Over Orlando - San Jose SaberCats
- Mistakes Cost Desperados in 53-51 Loss - Dallas Desperados
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