Soul Gear up to Weather the Storm in Home Opener
April 14, 2011 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Philadelphia Soul News Release
PHILADELPHIA (April 14, 2011) - The Philadelphia Soul (1-3) play their home opener presented by 1-800-LUNDY LAW on Friday, April 15 at 8 p.m. (EST) against the Tampa Bay Storm (1-3) in front of a nationwide audience on NFL Network. The last time the Soul played in Philadelphia was 1,008 days ago on Saturday, July 12, 2008, when they beat the Cleveland Gladiators 70-35 and advanced to ArenaBowl XXII, where they defeated the San Jose SaberCats 59-56 to be crowned World Champions.
Fans are encouraged to attend the Soul Block Party on the 11th Street side of the Wells Fargo Center from 5 p.m. to kickoff, including live entertainment from the band 'Slamm', and the Post Game Party, held at Chickie's & Pete's. It is also dollar dog night, where hot dogs will be sold for $1 throughout the entire game. The Soul will be celebrating their 2008 ArenaBowl XXII victory by unveiling the Championship banner in the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center.
"It's been a long time coming for this group of men to feel the energy that a home crowd can bring to a performance," said Soul Head Coach, Mike Hohensee. "I'm excited for everyone involved. The hanging of the banner will be a perfect reminder of what the expectations are in Philadelphia."
On the field, the Soul and Storm will both be battling for their second win of the season in this pivotal American Conference match-up. The Soul are coming off of a four-game, season-opening, road trip, where they have lost three straight with the most recent defeat taking place last Saturday, when the Orlando Predators (3-1) staged a 53-46 come from behind victory. It was the second consecutive game in which the Soul lost a lead in the final minute of the game.
The regular season series is led by the Soul at 3-2, with both teams winning all of their home games. Hohensee is 5-5 against the Storm in the regular season, and 3-0 when those games are at home.
The Soul are hoping to gain consistency from the quarterback position after starting Ryan Vena over Justin Allgood this past week. Wide receiver Donovan Morgan has excelled despite the uncertainty at quarterback, recording 563 receiving yards and eight touchdowns on 35 catches. Morgan ranks second in the AFL with 140.2 receiving yards per game and fourth with 16.0 yards per catch.
The Storm are coming off their bye week and will want to improve offensively, ranking last in the league with 224.5 yards per game, second to last in third down conversions at 34.4%, and third to last in passing offense with 211.0 yards per game. Two Storm wide receivers forecasted to continue their high level of production are Huey Whittaker and Hank Edwards, who have posted nearly identical numbers this season. Whittaker has caught 34 passes for 332 yards and four touchdowns, while Edwards has caught 31 passes for 346 yards and five touchdowns.
The primary ball-hawk in the Soul secondary is defensive back Tanner Varner, who caught his team leading third interception of the season in Orlando and returned it for a touchdown. Varner also leads the Soul with 26.0 total tackles, three pass break ups, and one blocked kick.
The Storm are equipped with a thunderous defense up-front, with linebacker Cliff Dukes leading the league with six sacks and the recent acquisition of nose guard Tim McGill, who has recorded 69.5 total tackles and 17.0 sacks in his five-year AFL career.
Both teams can rely on their kick returners to supply a bolt of excitement for their respected clubs. The Storm's Michael Lindsey leads the league with 27.1 kick return average yards and three kick return touchdowns, and ranks second with 461 return yards. Against the Predators, Soul defensive back Mike Brown returned six kicks for 118 yards in place of teammate Chris Martin, who was placed on injured reserve last week. Brown is the all-time leader in kick returns and kick return yardage for the Soul, now with 159 returns for 3,068 yards.
The Storm will be looking to spoil the Soul's homecoming and gain ground in the competitive South Division. The Soul are hoping to improve upon their 4-1 all-time record in home-opening games, where they have won four straight.
"This is a battle between two proud and storied franchises, I expect both teams to play their best games yet," said Hohensee. "The difference may be how we both handle the Philly crowd!"
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