Valor Can't Roll With The Soul, Who Can?
Jon Stark
Sunday April 29, 2018
The Washington Valor (0-2) lost 67-51 on Saturday night inside of Wells Fargo Center to the Philadelphia Soul (3-0) in front of 10,164 fans. Washington will continue their early season road trip as they head to Albany, New York next weekend to take on the Empire inside of Times Union Center.
The Valor had some bad luck with a bar-ball that Philadelphia snagged and returned quickly for a touchdown in the first half. There was also a safety during the second half kick-off, Washington then had to kick-off to Philly, who scored on that following drive. You could count nearly one mistake per quarter but the Valor also had some good things happen on special teams to balance that negativity, including a lot of kick return yards.
Wide receiver Chris Duvalt was responsible for 107 of those yards, and a return touchdown too. You can also mark Valor wide receiver Josh Reese down for three receiving touchdowns on 10 receptions and 80 yards from his quarterback Nick Davila. Davila completed 15-of-26 passes for four touchdowns and 156 yards, he also ran one in himself near the end of the first half.
Meanwhile Soul quarterback Dan Raudabaugh continued to prove why he is one of the best in the league, completing 17-of-22 passes for 207 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions, good enough to receive the vote for MVP of the Game. It was quite the night for some of the Philadelphia rookies too, as fullback and Offensive Player of the Game, Adrian Ferns, ran in three touchdowns while picking up 55 yards in the process. Soul rookie wideout Aaron Wascha also had nice night, two touchdowns on nine receptions and 105 yards.
Headed into the one minute warning the Soul were up 67-51 and ran several plays on the ground to bleed the clock and burn Washington's timeouts. This allowed them to take a knee and run the clock out entirely, a new rule and option this year in the Arena Football League. After the highest scoring game of the season, Philadelphia will head to Baltimore to take on the Brigade inside of Royal Farms Arena on Friday, May 4th at 7:00 p.m.
Jon studied Business Management at the University of Pittsburgh and is originally from Maryland. An avid DMV sports fan, he often attends Capitals, Orioles, Wizards and Redskins games. Now a Washington Valor season plan holder and columnist for ArenaFan, he`ll be at every home game covering the team. He spends his free time with friends and family and freelancing graphic design projects. You can follow Jon on Twitter @5FIFTY3