No Shock, Soul Advance to 2-0
Harrison Brown
Tuesday April 7, 2015
The Philadelphia Soul traveled across the country to Deaf Valley to play in what was rated by players the toughest place to play in the AFL and shut down a banged up Spokane Shock team, winning 54-43. The Shock lost Carson Coffman last week against Arizona to an MCL injury, and backup Warren Smith was injured in a practice earlier that week, so they started the game with former West Virginia Mountaineer Jarrett Brown, a deadly mobile threat, under center. Brown had two rushing touchdowns on the night, as well as two touchdowns via the air.
Brown, unlike most AFL quarterbacks took almost all of his snaps from the shotgun formation. Shotgun is something the Shock have been accustom to using when they have a mobile quarterback. The tricky formation didn’t slow down the Soul from putting pressure on Brown, but his elusiveness shined. He truly has a lot of potential as an AFL quarterback because he opens up a coach's playbook because he can move so efficiently and has success taking snaps in shotgun.
The Soul also faced up against a more traditional passer in Matt Bassuener, who struggled against the Soul’s new defensive backfield, only completing 3-of-11 passes for 49 yards and a touchdown. Bassuener signed with Spokane on Thursday and clearly lacked experience with his new teammates. Not all four of Spokane’s QB’s will be able to stay once Coffman and Smith are recovered, and moves will have to be made.
For the Soul, this was another great performance for this new team. Quarterback Dan Raudabaugh was once again solid, throwing for 305 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. Marco Thomas and Ryan McDaniel had another huge game for the Soul, but Shaun Kauleninamoku finished the game with only two receptions for 30 yards and a touchdown. SK dropped from last week when he had six receptions, 118 yards and two touchdowns. Kauleninamoku will likely be the third option again next week, and Xavier Boyce will continue to be used as a red zone receiver.
“It’s always tough to get a win in a hostile environment like Spokane,” head coach Clint Dolezel said. “Obviously we have some things to clean up offensively, but the defense stepped up for us tonight, especially in the second half. We will enjoy this, but our attention will be focused on Jacksonville next week in our home opener.”
We all know this isn’t the Spokane team from any of the past few seasons where the roster is stacked with MVP’s and All-Arena players. But for the Soul to travel across the country and go into the most hostile environment in the AFL and beat the Shock by 11 points shows this team is just as good as we are accustomed to the Soul being. The offensive line this week shut down a great Shock defensive line, headlined by James Ruffin who had 14 sacks last season. The receiving corps looks as good as any in the AFL right now, and Raudabaugh has had two very good games.
The Soul will take on Jacksonville next week, in what on paper should be one of the best games of the season. The Sharks were upset by New Orleans and Orlando in their first two games, but the potential bad blood from some former Soul players on that Sharks team could make for a great game, one what looks to be an American Conference Championship preview.