Soul Survive Stiff Challenge from Predators
Adam Markowitz
Saturday August 3, 2013
The Orlando Predators might have only gone 7-11 this year, and there might be a question as to whether or not they deserved to get into the playoffs. They didn't end up beating the Philadelphia Soul on Saturday night, but they did prove that they belong in a game that easily could have gone either way. Philly escaped with a 59-55 victory, but it was never an easy game.
QB Aaron Garcia, perhaps playing in the final game of his career, put up a heck of a fight for the Predators, but when push came to shove, he just couldn't figure out how to make it work. Garcia went through the first half of the game in practically flawless fashion. The Orlando offense only ran 15 plays and managed to score five touchdowns to take a 34-21 lead with 7:05 left in the second quarter. However, from that point forward, the Preds only averaged 6.2 yards per play and turned the ball over three times to squander the lead.
In fairness to Garcia, he and the Preds could have easily given up when that 34-21 lead turned into a 38-21 deficit early in the third quarter. However, Orlando battled back in what amounted to be an epic second half of play. There were seven lead changes in the second half alone, but in the end, the ball bounced the wrong way one too many times for the men in black and red.
Garcia took over with 8:01 left in the game down 59-55 and ran six plays to get from the Orlando 10-yard line to the Philadelphia four. The drive stalled from there though, as three runs by FB Mykel Benson resulted in just two yards when the team needed three, and the Preds turned the ball over on downs.
The Soul essentially just needed two first downs to salt away the game once and for all, but they weren't able to ultimately get the job done when push came to shove. QB Dan Raudabaugh, who played a fantastic game for Philly, threw three straight incomplete passes to turn the ball back over to Orlando.
Garcia just didn't have an answer, though. He got the ball all the way down to the Philadelphia seven-yard line, but that's where the season came to a screeching halt. The veteran was sacked, and he ultimately fumbled. The ball was recovered by DL Calvin Fance, and the Soul salted the game away from there.
Garcia threw for 296 yards and six TDs on the day for Orlando. Four different players had at least 45 receiving yards for Orlando, but it was clear that the offense wasn't quite as potent without WR Prechae Rodriguez on the field. Rodriguez caught a 45-yard touchdown on the first offensive play of the game, but he didn't catch a pass the rest of the night.
FB Derrick Ross had two rushing touchdowns, but the star of the game was Raudabaugh. Playing against a much-maligned secondary, the Miami Ohio product threw for 325 yards and six TDs against just one pick that was thrown relatively early in the game. WR Andrae Thurman caught 12 passes for 131 yards and three TDs, while WR Emery Sammons caught six balls for 117 yards with two trips to the end zone. Orlando did manage to keep WR Tiger Jones down to just 57 yards without a score.
The Soul were oh so close to being able to host the American Conference Championship Game, but alas, the Tampa Bay Storm couldn't hold on to beat the Jacksonville Sharks. Now, Philly will have to fly south for Saturday's game against the Sharks with a spot in the ArenaBowl on the line.
Earlier this season, Jacksonville got the better of the Soul 55-53 at the Wells Fargo Center. Last season though, Philadelphia posted an 89-34 win when these two teams met in the conference title game, the biggest postseason margin of victory in AFL history. Kickoff is set at 7:00 p.m. ET on Saturday.
