Soul Weekly
March 17, 2008 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Philadelphia Soul News Release
BITTERSWEET VICTORY
The Soul won their third consecutive game of the season Sunday, defeating the New York Dragons 63-42, but lost their starting quarterback in the process. The dynamic duo of QB Tony Graziani and WR Chris Jackson had another exceptional performance and connected from 25, 11 and 10 yards for touchdowns. Graziani also added a 23-yarder and 21-yarder to WR Larry Brackins and a 15-yarder to Soul newcomer WR Clif Dell. Overall, Graziani finished 16-27 passing for 204 yards with six TDs and one interception.
Reserve QB Matt D'Orazio was called to fill in for Graziani, who suffered a left knee injury during the 3rd quarter of the game. Graziani was knocked out of the game after throwing a touchdown to Brackins when he suffered a late hit by Dragons defensive nose guard John Nix. D'Orazio came in and led two touchdown drives to ensure a Soul victory and will continue to play until Graziani is fully recovered.
Last season, the Soul lost four consecutive games when Graziani was injured with a separated shoulder.
STILL OPTIMISTIC
While the team is saddened by Graziani's injury, the club is confident in D'Orazio and remains optimistic until his return.
Soul head Coach Bret Munsey said, "Graz is our guy, he's our number one quarterback. He's one of the best in the league and when he's out you take a step back. But the good thing is we went out and signed a guy that's won a championship and he's played some big games. He's got to lead us in the right direction for the next two weeks. Matt's ready. I promise you. "
D'Orazio is an AFL veteran and had two impressive seasons with the Chicago Rush. Last season in Chicago, he appeared in all 16 regular season games and was rated seventh in the league with a passer rating of 122.4. He threw for 3,789 yards and 82 touchdowns with only 10 interceptions.
In 2006, he led Chicago to Arena Bowl XX where he helped the Rush win their first title. He was named Offensive Player of the Game for Arena Bowl XX along with two other games in the postseason and three games in the regular season. By the end of the season, his rating was 123.7 with a passing percentage of 68.8.
Additionally, D'Orazio played college football at Otterbein College where he holds the school season and career records for passing yards (8,770), touchdown passes (73) and total offense.
WHAT THE WIN MEANT FOR THE SOUL
-The Soul now has a 3-0 season record
-This was the Soul's first divisional win
-The Soul are tied with the Cleveland Gladiators and Dallas Desperados for first place in the Eastern
Division
-This is the second consecutive year they started the Season 3-0
-The team now has a 2-0 Home Record and a 1-0 Away record overall for the Season
THREE STRAIGHT VICTORIES...A FOURTH BY THE END OF THE WEEK?
The Soul will play their second game in five days and their second away game of the season when they face the Los Angeles Avengers on Thursday, March 20 at 10:30 p.m. (et) at the Staples Center. The Soul have never played at Los Angeles and the two clubs have only played each other once before in the 2006 Season when the Soul won 47-33.
LET THE BUZZ CONTINUE
With high expectations this year, March will continue to be an exciting month for the Soul. The month started off strong with the season opener at home against the Orlando Predators and then with wins against the Chicago Rush and New York Dragons. The team has two more games before March is over. Last season, the Soul got off to a blazing start, posting a 3-0 record in March. The Soul have a 9-3 record in the opening month of play since joining the league.
GAME NOTES
The Soul's weekly game notes can be attained early through aflmedia.com. Call the Soul's communications department for username and password.
INJURY REPORT
QB Tony Graziani (knee) status is day-to-day. C Mike Mabry (head) is questionable. WR Darius Watts (ankle), DL George Gause (ankle) and FB John Peaua (back) are on the IR and expected to miss up to four games. WR Kenny Henderson (collarbone) is on the IR and expected to be out until early April.
LAST MAN STANDING
The Soul are currently being featured on ESPN.com and ESPN360.com with webisodes of "Last Man Standing." Each weekly webisode gives an in-depth look at the Soul's training camp and includes one-on-one interviews with players trying to make the starting lineup and others who are just trying to make the team.
AIR WAVES
All 16 regular-season Soul games and any playoff games will be broadcast on Sports Radio 950, which will also air all the games live on the web at www.sr950.com. Also, the Soul's game this week in Chicago can be seen live on Comcast SportsNet and heard on Sirius Satellite channel 130.
FAMILY FOUR PACKS
The Soul offers Family Four Packs starting as low as $68. Price includes four tickets to the game of choice, four hot dogs, four popcorns and four sodas. Call 1-(888) PHIL-AFL for more information.
SOUL.COM
Keep up with all the daily news on the Soul at www.philadelphiasoul.com.
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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
