Soul win season opener for the first time since 2012 against New Orleans

Harrison Brown
Sunday March 29, 2015

 ORLANDO- Despite not having a kicker for the entire game except for the Soul’s first PAT, the Philadelphia Soul found a way to take down the defending Southern Conference champion Orlando Predators. The Soul were forced to have backup quarterback Bryan Randall do kickoffs, and attempt a two point conversion after each touchdown. Both these things wound up working out well for the Soul, with one of Bryan Randall’s kickoffs being recovered by Xavier Boyce for a touchdown, and seven of 10 two point conversions being successfully completed. For the second season in a row Carlos Martinez has been injured during a kick. This was Martinez’s first day of kicking with the Soul, after deciding to not report to camp for his third consecutive season. Like most AFL kickers Martinez does not practice with the team, while he stays home with his family in Georgia.

The Soul’s new receiving core and Dan Raudabaugh at times looked phenomenal, but at times didn’t have their timing down and struggled against a decent secondary in Orlando. By no means is this the best secondary the Soul will face, but this is the first of an 18 game season. The receivers and Dan will get their timing right and could be deadly. Marco Thomas shined tonight with three touchdowns and he proved he is a durable receiver. Thomas took some rough hits over the night but still was able to stretch out the field vertically as well as being able to move the chains when need be.

The defensive back’s struggled against a tall Orlando wide receiver core. Larry Brackins and Greg Carr both took advantage of a smaller secondary that the Soul have. Brackins had three touchdown and shined when put in motion near the red zone. Brackins was a Philadelphia Soul legend, playing for the team from 2007-2008, and then 2011-2014. Brackins played in all three of the teams Arena Bowl appearances, and is a Philadelphia fan favorite.

The Predators had multiple open looks in the endzone after miscommunications from the Soul’s secondary. This may be account of new defensive coordinator Derek Stingley’s new terminology and scheme. Despite this, James Romain made a huge play late in the game with a pick six after Randy Hippeard was hit. Romain did make a few mental mistakes during the game between offsides penalties and holding calls. The team only had three active defensive backs, with Larico Stevenson being placed on inactive reserve earlier this week.

Dan Raudabaugh passed for his 400th touchdown of his career tonight and also passed Jay Gruden on the all time touchdown’s list. For more on this check out this article.

The Soul offensive line was absolutely flawless keeping Dan Raudabaugh upright all night long. Shannon Breen, Adam Smith, Neil Tivis and Tommy Taggart meshed together very well in training camp and showed tonight. Orlando’s defensive line was no match for Phil Bogle’s group up front. This offensive line very well could have four All-Arena players on it. Neil Tivis is a hidden gem in this league, and joined the team late last season and only saw action in one game against the Pittsburgh Power. Tivis played offensive guard tonight, while Adam Smith played tight end and caught a touchdown. In the middle Shannon Breen and Tommy Taggart were rock solid against an All-Arena caliber mac linebacker Aaron Robins and a good rookie nose in Austin Brown.

Up next for the Soul is a tough road trip to Spokane Washington to play the Shock. This will be the toughest road trip for the Soul this season and could factor into the game. It will be a tough trip for this newly formed team but should be a great bonding experience.