How Sweep It Is
Jason Moyer
Sunday May 7, 2006
The Philadelphia Soul completed a season sweep against their rivals, the Dallas Desperados, and the sentiment rings just as true in the indoor game as it does on the big field.
"I figured if we were 0-14, they [the fans] would show up and want to beat Dallas," stated Head Coach Bret Munsey. "Then you throw in the fact of a must win to keep our playoff hopes alive and the history of the Spectrum, it was a great atmosphere."
The 51-48 victory allows the Soul (8-7) to control their own destiny in the chase for the playoffs and hands the Desperados (12-3) their first road defeat on the season.
Philadelphia received a major boost by the return of starters Tony Graziani and JJ McKelvey. Graziani had been sidelined three weeks with a hamstring injury, while McKelvey missed the last six weeks with an ankle injury.
"It’s nice to be back with the guys," commented Graziani. "When you’re hurt, you kind of feel isolated a bit. The guys really rallied around us and Eddie Moten really won the game for us."
Moten was in a Michael Jordan type zone as he intercepted Desperados quarterback Clint Dolezel on three consecutive series in the second quarter allowing Philadelphia to take a 27-13 halftime lead.
When asked if he ever had a better quarter of football Moten replied, "No, I can’t say that I have. With the pressure from our d-line and our preparations all week long, those are the plays I feel I should make if the balls in my area."
Despite the halftime lead, nobody seems to have answers for the second half letdowns the Soul have been prone to this season.
"In the locker room, I didn’t know if I should address it or not," remarked Coach Munsey. "I did. I tried to get that monkey off our back, then we come out and throw an interception on the first drive and in the back of your mind you kind of say ‘here we go again’. But we hung in there and made plays."
The Soul were outscored 35-24 in the second half, but never surrendered the lead as their offense did just enough to preserve the victory.
"It’s an all around good team win," offered Graziani. "When we needed stops we got them, when we needed to score we did. It feels good to be back."
Philadelphia travels to Georgia next week to take on the Force. Both teams hold an 8-7 record and the winner of that game will secure a playoff birth while the other will have to wait for some help around the league.
Inside the Numbers
Tony Graziani (PHI) completed 23 of 36 passes for 317 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions. The Soul quarterback also rushed for a 2-yard touchdown.
Eddie Moten (PHI) made eight solo tackles to go along with his three interceptions. Moten now has confiscated 11 passes from opposing teams.
EJ Burt (PHI) scored on a 29-yard pass from Graziani in the second quarter. It was the first touchdown in his four year career. Burt ended the game with two catches for 30 yards.
Clint Dolezel (DAL) finished 27 of 44 for 314 yards with seven touchdowns, but suffered four interceptions. Dolezel now has 99 touchdown tosses on the season.
Dialleo Burks (DAL) hauled in eight passes for 122 yards and three touchdowns. Burks is the third Dallas receiver to eclipse the 1,000 yard mark this season.
Attendance: 15,438
How the Soul feel about sweeping Dallas
"Dallas came in here to knock us off, they came in here for Dolezel to get close to the touchdown record and they wanted this win bad. It’s nice to beat them again." – Munsey.
"They don’t like us and we don’t like them. It was really good to beat those guys twice." – Graziani.
"We knew we were gonna do that. That’s not a surprise." – EJ Burt.
"It’s satisfying. Hopefully we’ll meet them in the playoffs and do it again." – Eddie Moten
EJ Burt on his touchdown
"It was spectacular. That was my first touchdown in my arena career. I didn’t know what to do when I crossed the goal line. ‘Should I spike it? Nah everybody spikes it’. Then they gave me the ball afterward. I was pretty happy with that."
Why Philadelphia would be a dangerous playoff team
"I’ve told them all season, they’re as good as anybody in the league, if they come to play every quarter and they did that tonight." - Munsey
"I don’t think we’ve ever lacked confidence. I think we don’t play up to our abilities at times. When we play really good teams, we come to play. Then teams you think we should blow out we don’t come to play. Every games a playoff game for us now, we got to keep playing like we did tonight and everything will work out." - Graziani
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.
