Soul Lose Home Finale
Jason Moyer
Monday May 16, 2005
Seder’s field goal attempt was the last of the plays the Soul did not make, but it was not the only one.
Columbus attempted five fourth down plays, converting four times against the Soul. Three of the Destroyers attempts went for touchdowns.
"We didn’t take our opportunities," said Head Coach James Fuller. "The plays I’m really mad about were the fourth down plays where we didn’t convert. Then you have guys on the 3-yard line and we don’t score. Those are the plays that change a 6-9 team into a 9-6 team."
"That’s arena football," added Tony Graziani. "We’re not very smart right now and we just don’t seem to be making that one play to get over the hump."
Graziani also made an effort to deflect any blame away from the teams’ defense.
"It’s tough anytime you get a guy coming in motion at you. It’s tough to stop people. I have no problem with our defense today," stated Graziani. "We had the chance to win the game and we didn’t get it done offensively."
With the score tied 52-52, the Soul defense was able to hold Columbus to a 20-yard Steve Videtich field goal giving the offense the opportunity to win the game.
"Everyone’s trying to get that last possession. We did our part by getting that stop and making them kick the field goal," commented Coach Fuller. "We just didn’t have enough time to move the ball as far down field as we wanted to."
Philadelphia began their last possession with 18 seconds on the clock. In a league set up for the offenses, 18 seconds can sometimes be an eternity. However, Graziani and company managed two complete passes for 12 yards and misfired on a deep pass to Marcus Knight on their final drive before Seder’s field goal attempt.
"I didn’t hit it bad, I pulled it just a touch," said Seder. "I may have rushed it just a little bit and didn’t give it time to tail and that made the difference. If it was an NFL post it was good"
Sorry Tim, but you’re not in the NFL anymore.
When asked to sum up the teams loss Coach Fuller replied, "It’s upsetting. We said all week Columbus is a team that can jump up and surprise you. They’ve played close games where they’ve lost in the fourth quarter. What we didn’t do is play hard enough."
Inside the game:
Matt D’Orazio won Offensive Player of the Game. D’Orazio completed 28 of 43 passes for 283 yards and six touchdowns.
Jeremy Unertl was named US Army Ironman of the Game. Unertl caught 4 passes for 34 yards with one touchdown and made two solo tackles on defense.
Brandon Hefflin was credited with 4.5 tackles to earn ADT Defensive Player of the Game honors.
Damien Groce of Columbus hauled in 12 receptions for 123 yards and one touchdown.
Steve Smith was Philadelphia’s offensive star with 11 catches for 109 yards and tallied three scores.
Today’s attendance was 17,092. For the second straight season, the Soul will lead the league in attendance.
Next week:
Philadelphia hopes to end the season on a high note when they travel to Dallas. The game is set to kickoff at 3:00 pm.
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.
