Soul fall short in Tampa Bay, 69-59
Published on June 9, 2007 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Philadelphia Soul News Release
TAMPA BAY, FL - Tampa Bay Storm quarterback Brett Dietz led his team to a playoff birth with a victory over the Philadelphia Soul at the St. Pete Times Forum by a final score of 69-59.
Tampa Bay started the game with a 55-yard kick return for a touchdown by Karl Williams, but watched kicker Karl Marler miss the extra point to go a head 6-0. Each team exchanged scores throughout the first quarter and midway through the second until the Storm defense held the Soul to a Todd France 52-yard field goal to bring Philadelphia within three at 27-24. To close out the half, Tampa Bay scored one more touchdown and France hit another field goal as the Storm led at the midway point 34-27.
With 11:08 remaining in the fourth quarter, Storm offensive lineman Lincoln Kennedy recovered a missed field goal by Seth Marler from the 4-yard line and took it in for a score to extend Tampa Bay's led at 48-39. It started a back and forth fourth quarter by both teams.
Philadelphia's Larry Brackins did his part to keep the Soul in the game as he tied a franchise record with five receiving touchdowns. He was named the Offensive Player of the Game after he caught eight passes for 95 yards. His last score from 12-yards out from Tony Graziani brought the Soul within three at 62-59. Dietz would then march his team down the field and connect with Terrill Shaw on a 9-yard touchdown to put the Storm a head for good at 69-59.
Graziani finished the night completing 24-of-38 for 298 yards with seven touchdowns and no interceptions. He was matched by Dietz who connected on 21-of-37 passes for 276 yards and seven scores with no interceptions.
The leading receiver for the Soul was Sean Scott. He returned to the lineup after missing the past six games to catch eight passes for 116 yards.
Fun! Family! Football! The Soul return home to take on the Eastern Division rival Columbus Destroyers at the Wachovia Center on Saturday, June 16 at 7:00 p.m. Single game tickets for the Soul's 2007 season are on sale now. For more information call (888) PHIL-AFL or log on to www.philadelphiasoul.com. The Soul are entering their fourth season in the AFL and in their three seasons they have sold out 93% of the venue while drawing a League best 387,491 fans combined.
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