Shark Week: Jacksonville Hosts Hungry Soul With ArenaBowl Berth on the Line

Adam Markowitz
Thursday August 8, 2013

Last season, the Philadelphia Soul marched on to ArenaBowl XXV by beating the snot out of the Jacksonville Sharks 89-34, the biggest blowout in a playoff game in league history. Now, the two teams are going to meet once again with a spot in the ArenaBowl on the line in Jacksonville on Saturday night in a game that is sure to be one for the ages.

Head Coach Les Moss was quick to point out that the 2013 Sharks look nothing like the 2012 Sharks did, and the 2013 Soul look nothing like the 2012 Soul did. He and the rest of the Sharks we have spoken to this week have mentioned that the 55-point shellacking is on their minds, but that the tape from that game is totally useless at this point.

That said, there is a mutual respect between these two clubs, knowing that they have made the AFL's version of the Final Four in back-to-back seasons.

"We faced them last year. I'm sure we'll face them again next year at some point in the playoffs," said Jacksonville's Marco Capozzoli.

Capozzoli missed all three of his kicks in the conference title game last season, marking the only time in his career that he went a game without scoring a point. He wasn't alone in his struggles though, as QB Bernard Morris threw three interceptions in a game in which simply nothing went right.

These Sharks though, aren't without their bite. Last season in the playoffs, Jacksonville ran up against its adversity. The team blew a 48-21 lead to the Georgia Force before ultimately getting a game-winning 51-yard field goal from Capozzoli just to get into the conference title game. However, when the going got tough against the Soul, it felt like an avalanche of badness opened up and swallowed the team. From the point that they took that 27-point lead against Georgia, the Sharks were outscored 124-44 in a span of just about five and a half quarters.

In the first round of the playoffs this year against the Tampa Bay Storm, Jacksonville could have once again just folded up shop after falling behind 34-13 in the third quarter. Instead, Morris rallied his troops, scored touchdowns on seven straight offensive possessions, and ultimately guided the Sharks to the biggest comeback in a playoff game since at least 2000.

The Sharks aren't the only team that had issues in the opening round of the playoffs. The Soul had troubles all game long with the Orlando Predators, and they were seven yards away from likely being knocked out of the second season in front of their hometown crowd.

Yet in the end, this was a team that just kept fighting, and even when a chance to salt the game away was squandered, the defense which came up with the big play to force one last turnover that preserved the victory.

At this point, Philly is just 60 minutes away from the ArenaBowl, and WR Tiger Jones knows it.

"The ArenaBowl is all the motivation that you need… These are the fun games. You know it's going to be wild, you know it's going to be crazy."

Not surprisingly, the Soul and the Sharks were the two best teams in the American Conference virtually all season long. Philly had the top ranked offense (58.4 PPG) and defense (46.6 PPG), while Jacksonville had the second best defense in the conference (49.1 PPG).

Perhaps the most interesting matchup is going to come in the trenches. The Soul allowed the fewest sacks in the league this season with just seven, and they are going to be going against a defensive line which broke the AFL single-season record for the most sacks in league history with 45. Two of those four in the front four, LB Aaron Robbins and DE Jerry Turner were named to the All-Arena Defensive Team on Wednesday. DB Terrence Smith was also first-team All-Arena, while DB Micheaux Robinson is probably one of the most underrated corners that the league has to offer.

DE Bryan Robinson also made first-team All-Arena Defense for the Soul after picking up 11 sacks and a league-high six blocked kicks. DB Rayshaun Kizer was also named to the All-Arena second team.

Offensively, this is a great showdown between two of the best rushing teams in the league. Morris and FB Derrick Ross are at the center of this, as these two combined to rumble for over 800 yards between them on the season. Ross is the only man in league history to ever rush for 500+ yards in a single season, and he has done it for three straight years, while Morris became one of the few in league history to rush for at least 70 yards in a playoff game last week against Tampa Bay.

This one has just a little more motivation for Morris as well. Not only is he trying to get the Sharks to the ArenaBowl in what would be his first championship game as a starting quarterback, but he is trying to do so in front of his friends and family. Morris went to Jones High School in Orlando, just a short 15-20 minute drive from the Amway Center.

When asked what going to the ArenaBowl would mean, Morris stated, "I wish you could see the smile on my face… I can't really put it into words. It'll just be one of those moments. It seems like it would be that moment of me arriving… Having this opportunity again, and then for it to happen to be in Orlando, it doesn't get any better than that."

Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. ET at SeaBest Field in Jacksonville, and the winner will advance to ArenaBowl XXVI next Saturday afternoon in Orlando.