Love won, and so did the Soul, down the Storm 64-42

Harrison Brown
Saturday June 27, 2015

 PHILADELPHIA- On a monumental day in United States history, in which gay marriage became legal in every state, the twitter universe blew up with the hashtag “Love Won.” Well so did the Soul. In a much different version of the Soul versus Tampa matchup than week nine, the Soul snuck out a sloppy win over the Storm.

The Soul by no stretch of the imagination played their best game, but still had a solid performance. “You usually try and feel each other out and see what they’re doing in the first half. We’ve watched film on them, they’ve watched film on us. That happens a lot.” Dolezel said

The Storm came in hot, after defeating Jacksonville and Cleveland in consecutive weeks. The Storm couldn’t match the Soul’s intensity throughout the entire game. They played a very solid first half, but the second half the Storm came out flat and the Soul jumped on them.

“We didn’t come to play on any side of the ball in the first half. We played well in the second half which you can’t do. You have to play all four quarters.” Dolezel said.

The defensive line had a monster night with five sacks lead by Teddy Jennings with two sacks and three tackles. Bryan Robinson recovered a fumble, forced by a Padric Scott and Teddy Jennings sack for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter to seal the game.

“We meshed well, Teddy came in last week and kind of added the last piece for us. We still have Beau out, so we’re tweaking things in the middle. Overall we look good, it’s a shame we're going into a bye week but we need it.” Bryan Robinson said.

Jason Boltus was under constant pressure and took multiple hits after getting the ball out. The Storm offensive line has struggled all season, and changes need to be made for them to compete with teams like the Soul.

Tight end Adam Smith had a big night for the Soul, with two touchdowns. Smith and the rest of the offensive line did a great job in pass protection. Late in the fourth quarter, Smith caught a tight end delay touchdown after a fake toss to Ryan McDaniel who was in motion.

The Soul’s win on Friday clinches them a spot in the American Conference’s playoffs. If Cleveland loses on Saturday to Jacksonville, the Soul will clinch the division and be guaranteed an one or two seed.

“That’s always a goal, that’s first and foremost. Then it’s divison, then it’s conference, then its the ArenaBowl.” Dolezel said. “It’s nice to do it this early, but that’s the last thing on our mind, we’re trying to win the division that’s next. We still have a tough road, several tough games. We’re going to enjoy tonight, and after the bye we’re going to get right back after it.” Dolezel said