The Atlantic City Blackjacks fell to the Philadelphia Soul 50-45 in a game that came down to an injured quarterback, Warren Smith, throwing a Hail Mary across the field. Smith and the Blackjacks were fighting for their playoff lives and will now be at the mercy of the Washington Valor. 

 

“We put everything we could into this game, we really worked hard all week long,” Blackjacks head coach Ron James said. “I challenged our team to give me four quarters of play and they did, if there were a few more plays out there to be had I think it turns out differently,” James said.

 

“That felt like an Arena Football game we’ve played in the past, possession for possession,” Soul quarterback Dan Raudabaugh said. “Give them a lot of credit, credit to Warren too I hope he’s okay. I haven’t spoken to him yet, I’ll call him soon. He was fighting and threw some great passes in some tight situations,” Raudabaugh said.

 

Smith injured his foot during the fourth quarter of the game on a non-contact injury. The impact of that injury hampered him down the stretch, but even despite his mobility being limited he fired in two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and got the ball to the endzone on the final play of the game. He posted over three hundred passing yards and six total touchdowns in the game. 

 

Smith finished the night with a severe limp and was in obvious pain during the drives after his injury. The results of an X-Ray after the game showed no breaks in his foot, and he’ll head for further MRI’s this week. 

 

“Randy (Hippeard) went back in the locker room and suited up, that was our next move,” Ron James said. “Randy would have come into the game, he’s not quite ready to play at this point but he braced up, put his gear on and was ready to go,”

 

“When Warren came limping off, I thought there was a distinct possibility he was going to have to come out of the game and we were going to have to play Randy. And Randy was willing to do that, that’s the type of team player he is. I’m not ever going to risk a player’s health for a situation like that. Warren was able to complete the game, he wanted to complete the game and he did,” James said. 

 

Randy Hippeard had started every game of the season at quarterback for the Blackjacks before being injured in a week eight matchup also against the Soul. Hippeard took a huge shot to his leg and has not returned to game action since. 

 

For Philadelphia this is their fourth consecutive win, the longest streak they’ve had this season. They’d already clinched their playoff berth, but this win was an example of the Soul doing their part to try and have a stake at the number one seed. Next week they’ll be Grant Russell and the Columbus Destroyers biggest fans as they take on the current number one seed Albany Empire.

 

“Both of the Washington games we lost on the last drive; those happen,” Soul head coach Clint Dolezel said. “Just like tonight we could’ve lost that one, that’s Arena Football. Whoever has it last has a chance to win,” Dolezel said.  

 

The key play of the game was a twenty-eight-yard touchdown pass from Raudabaugh to Darius Prince with thirteen seconds left. The touchdown gave the Soul the lead after Atlantic City had converted a two-point conversion that gave them a one-point advantage. 

 

“When I was going in motion by myself I knew from watching film that they play a lot of man to man,” Darius Prince said. “When I’m in motion I’m not really paying attention to the guy that’s in front of me, I’m looking toward the backside guy because he’s going to tell me what type of defense they’re in,”

 

“I saw (Marvin) Ross short and at that time I knew I was going post all the way. (Arthur) Hobbs was playing a little bit outside of me, he gave me the post and Dan just threw the ball and when the ball’s in the air you’ve got to make a play and that’s what I try to do,” Prince said. 

 

“We’ve got some veterans on our side, we want the ball last,” Dan Raudabaugh said. “We’re very comfortable in that situation especially with coach Dolezel, we’re not worried one bit. It’s about making it happen and we were able to do that,” Raudabaugh said.

 

The Soul secondary added two interceptions with James Romain and Dwayne Hollis each recording a pick. Romain’s interception came early in the game and gave him an additional cushion as the league’s interception leader, currently with eight. 

 

Hollis took his interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter on a first down screen pass. The Blackjacks had just recovered an onside kick and were ahead by one point before the pick-six.

 

“I read the way the receiver was blocking and I turned my eyes on the quarterback and was able to make a play,” Dwayne Hollis said. 

 

“The pick-six we kind of knew he was banged up and wouldn’t be able to drop back too far,” Clint Dolezel said. “We called twenty-one which is somebody at the line of scrimmage to put hands on the motion and run to the next guy. Hollis felt it perfectly and just cut the pass off,” Dolezel said.

 

The Blackjacks and Soul will have their first bye week of the season while the rest of the league returns to action next week. Both teams will try and use the week off as an opportunity to recover from injuries sustained throughout the first eleven weeks of the season. 

 

The Blackjacks currently have two quality quarterbacks with Hippeard and Smith, but both aren’t guaranteed to be game ready for the final week of the season against Baltimore. After Hippeards initial injury the team signed rookie quarterback Michael Keir from California (PA) University. 

 

Harrison Brown is a college student who has been covering Arena Football since he was 12 years old and has been with ArenaFan since 2014. Harrison was a captain of the varsity football team during his senior year of high school and went on to play one season of Division III football in Massachusetts. Harrison has worked for two indoor football teams, in 2018 he was the Director of Player Personnel for the Jersey Flight and in 2016 he was the Color Commentator for the Philadelphia Yellow Jackets. You can follow Harrison on twitter @HarryBrownRusso.