Good Knight for Soul
Jason Moyer
Monday March 28, 2005
Knight was all over the field as he doubled his reception and touchdown totals for the season. At one point, Knight scored on four consecutive possessions for the Soul. He also made four tackles on his way to being named US Army Ironman of the Game.
"He’s always been a good player. We just hadn’t had him on the field. Now he’s getting use to the game and he’s making some big plays. Anytime you make plays like that, the quarterback’s going to love you," stated Coach James Fuller about Knight.
Soul quarterback Tony Graziani certainly did love the way Knight played, as he continuously looked for him in big situations.
"He’s been a go to guy late in the game and he came up with a big catch time and time again. You gotta love what he’s doing out there. He picks up the game quick and hopefully he’ll continue to get better and we’ll be on the same page. Obviously when you get an opportunity you gotta make the most of it," remarked Graziani.
Knight was not the only person to step up his play. The entire defense looked impressive as they forced three turnovers in the game and took advantage of the inexperience by Rampage quarterback Michael Bishop.
Dwayne Missouri demolished Rampage FB/LB Travis McDonald with a helmet-jarring hit that forced a fumble, while Calvin Coleman and Eddie Moten both grabbed interceptions off the end zone net, as the defense made momentum changing plays for the second week in a row.
"We worked real hard with our guys to get that middle push. Anytime you can get pressure it makes the DBs look a lot better. Having Moten and Coleman in the lineup has been big for us. Now we can put Keita [Crespina] and Joe Todd on the short side where they can make plays," commented Coach Fuller.
The Soul did, however, allow the Rampage to slowly creep back into the game in the second half. Philadelphia held a 28-point lead at one point, but had it cut to 51-41 in the fourth quarter. The lack of focus is a problem that continues to plague the team.
"You can get lazy and take the little fundamental things for granted. We sputtered offensively in the third quarter and we gotta score in the red zone. If we score those two chances, this game is far from them coming back. We talked about that during the week, scoring after the half and keeping your foot on the pedal," remarked Fuller.
With the exception of the third quarter let down, Coach Fuller was happy with the win. "Any time you beat a team like Tampa, then come and win back-to-back at home, that’s big. Our team is slowly gathering momentum as we move forward, but we still got a lot to do."
Inside the game:
Tony Graziani was named Offensive Player of the Game for the second week in a row. Graziani completed 21 of 34 passes for 297 yards and eight touchdowns. He now has 56 scoring tosses on the season ranking him first in that category.
Marcus Knight earned US Army Ironman of the Game honors with his performance and should be a strong candidate for the leagues weekly award.
Calvin Coleman snatched his second interception for the Soul to earn ADT Defensive Player of the Game. He now has four on the season, two of them with New Orleans before coming to Philadelphia.
Sean Scott snared his 100th career reception with a first quarter touchdown. Scott finished the game with four receptions for 54 yards and also returned a blocked field goal attempt for a touchdown.
Chris Ryan’s first quarter carry was the 200th in his career.
Rampage quarterback Michael Bishop added 65 rushing yards to his league-leading total. Bishop ran for three touchdowns, including a 27-yard Michael Vick-like scamper in the third quarter.
Looking ahead:
Philadelphia now heads out on the road as they take on division foe Columbus next week. The Soul will look to extend their win streak to three games and climb back to the .500 mark for the first time since being 2-2 earlier in the year.
"It’s huge, we can get to 5-5. With Dallas losing and a couple of other teams falling off. You get toward the end of the year; we get Dallas and New York [again]. We probably can control our own fate if we take care of business now," commented Coach Fuller about the possibilities for his team.
Next week’s game kicks off at 12:00 pm and can be seen live on NBC.
Jason Moyer is an elementary school teacher in the western New Jersey area. He is an avid follower of the Arena Football League and has been covering the Philadelphia Soul with ArenaFan.com since 2005. Jason resides in Whitehall, PA with his wife and daughter.
