Goosby's Ironman Performance Leads Soul to 71-27 Win over Tampa Bay
Harrison Brown
Saturday May 23, 2015
Following a disappointing loss against the Jacksonville Sharks last weekend, the Philadelphia Soul bounced back against Tampa Bay with a 71-27 win. The Soul’s defense tortured the Storm all night long, with two sacks coming from defensive end Bryan Robinson, and two interceptions from James Romain. The defensive line had constant pressure on Jason Boltus and the defensive backs kept TT Toliver almost silent all night.
The true highlight of this game was Joe Goosby, who saw action at fullback and jack linebacker. Goosby had three rushing touchdowns, a pick six, three tackles, two forced fumbles and a blocked PAT.
Goosby won Offensive Player of the Game, Defensive Player of the Game, and Playmaker of the Game honors.
“I’ve never had a game like that,” Goosby told ArenaFan’s Adam Markowitz. “I knew coming into tonight’s game that I would get some fullback work. Clint called the right plays and I got in the endzone three times.
"It’s a little different from the outdoor (fullback) you have to slow down, I see why they have a bigger body there from a blocking standpoint, but they wanted to put the ball in my hands to have a quicker guy get to the edge.”
Tonight was Goosby’s first time ever playing fullback in the AFL, but not his first time on offense. Goosby played wide receiver in ArenaBowl XXVI and had one reception for 15 yards. Goosby is one of the most versatile players in the AFL, with ability to play jack linebacker, mac linebacker, corner, wide receiver or fullback.
“I love me some Joe Goosby,” Clint Dolezel said. “I’ve had him since San Angelo (2010) and that kid can do anything. I trust him with anything I ask of him.
“Yeah we did, we’re more run or three step with him out there,” Dolezel said when asked about how the game plan was changed with Goosby at fullback. “Obviously (the Storm) weren’t prepared for him because they didn’t know anything about him. Gerald’s was our blocker and he did a great job all night, and ran the ball well at the end as well.”
When Goosby was not in at fullback, recently acquired lineman Devarin Geralds protected the middle. Tommy Taggart missed tonight’s game after limping off the field versus Jacksonville last week. Geralds was very solid in pass protection and helped keep Dan Raudabaugh up on his feet all night long. Geralds was acquired from New Orleans two weeks ago in exchange for Caleb Bostic.
Dolezel decided to take out Dan Raudabaugh, James Romain and Shaun Kauleinamoku from the game in the fourth quarter. Bryan Randall replaced Raudabaugh and threw for two touchdowns. Dwayne Hollis replaced Romain and had some struggles in coverage in his first game in the middle. Lonnie Outlaw replaced Kauleinamoku and caught his first AFL touchdown in the fourth. Randall had only seen one play prior to tonight, and Outlaw had seen no action before tonight. Outlaw was on injured reserve for most of the season before this week.
The offensive line continued to dominate. The Soul did allow Dexter Jackson to get a sack but Dan Raudabaugh had time to throw the ball on almost every play. Raudabaugh threw for three touchdowns and 213 yards in three quarters of action. Unlike Philly, Tampa’s offensive line looked terrible against the Soul’s strong defensive line.
Robinson now has five sacks on the season and leads the team in the category. Justin Lawrence and Beau Bell didn’t have any sacks but were constantly in Jason Boltus’ face. Boltus was uncomfortable in the pocket and threw three picks because of it.
Tampa Bay’s best receiver TT Toliver was shut out of tonight’s game with only three receptions for 37 yards. Toliver has been a force all season long, but couldn’t get anything going tonight. Former Soul receiver Emery Sammons, who had a 46 yard touchdown last week against Orlando was held catchless in his first game against the Soul since his training camp release. Rookie of the Year candidate Phillip Barnett only had two receptions, one of which was a garbage time touchdown.
The Soul’s secondary played their best game of the season tonight, headlined by Romain’s interception. He also had a pick called back for pass interference. Kent Richardson had a pick six late in the second quarter, his first interception of the season. Richardson has played very well in the past few weeks, a turnaround from when the team decided to scratch him after week one.
The Soul stayed in Tampa Bay after last weeks loss to the Jacksonville Sharks, something they did last season as well.
“I don’t like to do that but I think it helped us honestly. Practicing outside helps the lungs and gets things moving,” Dolezel said.
Next up for the Soul will be the first annual DraftKings Boardwalk Bowl in Atlantic City New Jersey at Boardwalk Hall. The Soul will face Vince Neil’s Las Vegas Outlaws for the first time in team history on May 30th at 7:00 PM on CBS Sports Network.
