Soul Fall Short To Desperados
April 17, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Philadelphia Soul News Release
PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia Soul quarterback Tony Graziani left the game after being hit by Dallas Desperados' lineman Rickie Simpkins with 14:00 minutes remaining in the second quarter with a sprained left shoulder and did not return as the Soul lost to Dallas 51-41 at the American Airlines Arena.
Both teams began the game with some jitters as Philadelphia turned the ball over on downs and Dallas quarterback Clint Dolezel was intercepted by Eddie Moten.
As both clubs settled down, they each exchanged scores in the first quarter and went back and forth throughout the second quarter.
Following the injury to Graziani, backup quarterback Juston Wood came in the game and didn't miss a beat. He completed 6-of-10 passes for 95 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions to trail Dallas after a Todd Sievers 19-yard field goal; 23-20 entering the midway point.
The third quarter saw the Desperados have the ball first, yet they turned it over on downs and let Wood connect with J.J. McKelvey for a 15-yard touchdown. It also gave Philadelphia its second lead of the game after starting out 6-0, but it was also the last time they would be ahead at 27-23.
On the ensuing drive, Dolezel found Will Pettis on a 5-yard touchdown for the 800th passing touchdown of his career.
To start the fourth quarter, the Soul were still only down by three at 37-34 when things began to change drastically for the road team.
Wood was intercepted on three consecutive drives to help extend the lead for Dallas to 51-34. With one more late score for the Soul, they finished the game with a 10 point defeat at 51-41 while Wood's night came to an end completing 18-of-37 for 213 yards with five touchdowns.
Dolezel was named the offensive player of the game after he became the first quarterback in AFL history to surpass the 800 touchdown passing plateau. He finished the game completing 20-of-41 for 285 yards with five touchdowns despite one interception.
Fun! Family! Football! The Soul go on the road to face Eastern Divisional rival Columbus Destroyers on Monday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN2 at the Nationwide Arena. 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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