Soul Sinks Avengers

by Tim Peterson
Published on March 22, 2008 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Los Angeles Avengers


(Los Angeles) - Philadelphia scored 37 consecutive points in the second half and rolled to a 71-34 rout of the Avengers Thursday night before 13,398 at Staples Center.

The Avengers tied the score at 34 early in the third quarter and the Soul scored the last 37 of the game to turn a close game into a rout. Matt D'Orazio threw eight touchdown passes to tie a career high. He finished the night 28 of 42 for 338 yards and no interceptions. Chris Jackson had a field day as well burning his former team for six touchdowns and ten receptions for 167 yards. "This wasn't a preparation thing. It was just a thing of kind of falling apart offensively in the second half," said Avenger Coach Ed Hodgkiss. The Soul remained perfect at 4-0 with the victory while LA fell to 2-2. "We did what we had to do to get the win," said Philadelphia Coach Bret Munsey. "That's important for us. It's taking the next step." The teams traded touchdowns in the first half. For the Soul it was all about Jackson from the beginning. D'Orazio hit him for a 23 yard touchdown on Philly's first possession of the contest. The Avengers answered with a seven play 30 yard drive that ended in one yard Lonnie Ford touchdown run that got LA even. On the next series D'Orazio and Jackson hooked up again. This time it was a 22 yard strike that Jackson ran under and scampered into the end zone. Jackson scored the first four touchdowns for the Soul as the Avengers couldn't seem to find an answer. They did however manage to stay with Philadelphia as the offense matched the Soul score for score. Sonny Cumbie tossed two scoring strikes to Kevin Ingram and another with 43 seconds left in the first half to LaShaun Ward for ten yards to tie the score at 27. The Soul responded with a 24 yard TD pass from D'Orazio to Larry Brackins with three seconds left in the half to take a 34-27 lead at the break. The Avengers got even when Ford plunged in again from a yard out with 7:39 left in the third quarter. It was 34 all and it looked the last team holding the ball would win. Instead that was the last time LA scored while the Soul went on their 37 point binge. D'Orazio found Clif Dell, (no, not Jackson), for a six year score for 41-34. Cumbie was sacked by Anthony Dunn and fumbled the ball deep in Avenger territory. Gabe Nyenhuis scooped it up and raced into the end zone for 48-34. Early in the fourth, Cumbie was sacked again. Only this time he was in his own end zone for a Soul safety and it was 50-34. Philly took possession, marched down the field and scored again. Jackson, (who else?), grabbed a 15 yard bullet from D'Orazio with 8:34 left in the contest to turn the scoreboard to 57-34 and turn out the lights as well. Cumbie finished with just 152 yards passing on 18 for 30 and one interception. Ingram caught 12 balls for 113 yards. "Offensively we didn't execute very well. For whatever reason the second half was a completely different offense," Cumbie said. "It's unacceptable and it starts with me." The Soul was able to get more pressure on Cumbie in the second half. "They did a good job but at the same time I need to be a little quicker in my decisions to help our guys up front," Cumbie added. The Avengers wouldn't have minded if Philadelphia left that Jackson guy at home. "Chris is going to catch the ball no matter where it's thrown. We had some good protection and Chris made some big plays for us. Jackson, (surprise, surprise), was named offensive player of the game for his efforts.

PH 13 21 14 23 71

LA 7 20 7 0 34

Passing: PH- D'Orazio 28-42-338-8-0, LA- Cumbie 18-30-152-3-1, Hicks 3-8-48-0-1.

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 22, 2008


The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer(s), and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central