Second Half Woes Continue for Soul
Jason Moyer
Saturday April 22, 2006
The Philadelphia Soul open a first half lead then stumble out of the locker room, make mistakes, and ultimately lose a football game.
What’s the punchline? There isn’t one because it’s not funny anymore.
The Soul opened up a 28-7 second quarter lead, but could not hold on as they were outscored 29-14 in the second half by the Columbus Destroyers losing 46-45. The win improved Columbus to (6-7) on the season, while Philadelphia dropped to (7-6).
Philadelphia has been outscored in the third quarter nine times out of 13 games and lost a halftime lead for the third time this season. The Soul seemed to have turned the corner in the last two weeks against Chicago and Nashville, but the second half problem reared its ugly head again tonight and was addressed by Head Coach Bret Munsey.
"We’re in there talking football getting their minds on football at halftime. They have to come out and play four quarters. I think it’s more kind of a jinx right now," continued Munsey. "I don’t think it’s anything major. We’ll come out and play well. I think we’ll get through that, we really will."
Although Munsey may not think it’s a major problem, the statistics suggest otherwise.
Philadelphia also has a tendency of making late game mistakes which has cost them opportunities for victories. Tonight’s late game miscues included:
-Todd France missing a chip shot 24-yard field goal,
-Matt Sauk fumbling an exchange with his center (2nd of the game),
-Sean Scott dropping a pass when he was uncovered, Scott could have walked into the end zone for the game winning score.
"We had our chances," commented Munsey. "It’s one of those games where we didn’t execute when we had to."
Mike Brown, who had a stellar game, summed up his feelings, "It hurts you know. I’m not much for words, but I’m just so disappointed. It shouldn’t have come down to a kick, it hurts."
Philadelphia has three tough games remaining; @ New York, home vs. Dallas, and @ Georgia to try to correct the error of their ways and earn a position in the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
Inside the numbers
Matt Sauk (PHI) completed 23 of 34 passes for 249 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. Sauk also suffered two fumbled snaps.
Steve Smith (PHI) caught nine passes for 86 yards and one touchdown.
Mike Brown (PHI) snared four passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns. Brown also returned six kickoffs for 196 yards and a team record two touchdowns.
John Kaleo (CLM) finished 28 of 44 for 315 yards with four touchdowns.
Darcey Levy (CLM) hauled in seven catches for 88 yards and three touchdowns.
Attendance – 14,918
History Lesson
Connell Maynor (PHI) collected two receptions for 15 yards in the second quarter. Maynor had career highs of 42 receptions, 623 yards, and 15 touchdowns in 1997 as a WR/LB for the New York CityHawks.
Munsey on the Playoffs
"I think we’re a playoff team, but we’ve got to clean these little things up if we’re going to make the playoffs."
Brown on Kickoff Returns
"You just see bodies and run to the open spaces. The blocking was dynamite and I ran it back as fast as I could."
Todd France on missing the last kick
"I knew it right away. I didn’t do my job."
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.
