Philadelphia pulls out victory over Iowa, 54-43
Saturday April 13, 2013
Defense Comes Up With Four Stops To Seal Second Win of Season
DES MOINES, IA (April 13, 2013) – The Philadelphia Soul (2-1) defense, which forced an impressive four stops on downs, stepped up for second week in a row as they defeated the Iowa Barnstormers (2-2), 54-43, in front of 7,743 fans at the Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday night.
“The defense had a tremendous game for us in all areas,” said Soul head coach Clint Dolezel. “We will have to become more consistent on offense, but I am pleased how we overcame our mistakes and finished strong. It’s a lot easier to work on mistakes coming off a win, but we are all looking forward to playing in front of our fans in next week’s home opener against Cleveland.”
Dolezel was also honored this weekend and during the game as a 2012 Arena Football Hall of Fame inductee for his 13-year career as a quarterback.
Soul QB Dan Raudabaugh guided the Philadelphia offense and finished by connecting on 22-of-30 passes for 270 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions.
Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game, Tiger Jones led Philadelphia receivers with eight receptions for 108 yards and three touchdowns. Andrae Thurman had seven catches for 57 receiving yards, while Ryan McDaniel added five receptions for 93 yards and a touchdown and Larry Brackins had a 16-yard touchdown. The ground attack was led by Derrick Ross who finished with 19 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns and a two-point conversion.
Defensively, Bryan Robinson, who earned Riddell Defensive Player of the Game honors, had 1.5 sacks and a blocked extra point that led to a Rayshaun Kizer two-point return. J Lewis Small AFL Playmaker of the Game, Joe Goosby, finished with 6.5 total tackles and two sacks. Dustin Barno had 1.5 sacks and two total tackles. LaRico Stevenson had 7.0 total tackles, Rayshaun Kizer had 3.0 total tackles and four pass breakups and Brandon Perkins added a sack for a safety.
Iowa’s J.J. Raterrink connected 20-of-35 passes for 238 yards and four touchdowns, while Marcus Harris led the Barnstormer receivers with 11 receptions for 126 yards and two touchdowns and Jesse Schmidt had eight receptions for 107 yards and two touchdowns.
The Soul got things started with the first offensive play of the game when Raudabaugh found Jones for a 33-yard scoring strike and a 7-0 lead. In the first quarter, the Soul defense recorded three sacks – Dustin Barno, Bryan Robinson and Joe Goosby – and added a turnover on downs as well as a fumble recovery. Robinson also added his second blocked kick of the year that led to a Rayshaun Kizer return for two points. Philadelphia added a Derrick Ross touchdown and ended the first quarter with a 16-6 lead.
The Soul defense continued to set the tone to start the second quarter with Brandon Perkins sacking Raterink for a safety and an 18-6 lead. Barnstormers answered with a Raterink to Schmidt touchdown after LaRico Stevenson fumbled a kick return – narrowing the Soul lead to 18-13. Iowa grabbed their first lead of the game when Errick McIntosh returned an interception 23 yards for the score and a 19-18 advantage.
The Soul regained the lead when Brackins scored on a 16-yard pass from Raudabaugh, while former Soul kicker Phil Marfuggi kicked a 50-yard field goal to end the half with the Soul leading 25-22.
A big defensive stop by the Soul defense when Iowa had it first and goal help swing momentum back to the Soul after the two teams exchanged touchdown scores and ended the third quarter with Philadelphia holding a 32-29 lead.
The Soul took over the fourth quarter and outscored the Barnstormers 22-14 in the final quarter. Jones had two touchdowns in the fourth, while Ross added a rushing touchdown and the two-point conversion for the final score of 54-43.
Next week, Philadelphia kicks off the home schedule against the East Division-rival Cleveland Gladiators on Saturday, April 20 at 7:05 p.m. ET at the Wells Fargo Center.
Russell Athletic Offensive Player: Philadelphia’s Tiger Jones
Riddell Defensive Player: Philadelphia’s Bryan Robinson
J Lewis Small AFL Playmaker: Philadelphia’s Joe Goosby
Cutter’s Catch of the Game: Philadelphia’s Ryan McDaniel 25-yard touchdown catch in the third quarter.
Spalding Highlight of the Game: Iowa’s Errick McIntosh 23-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter.
ABOUT PHILADELPHIA SOUL
The Philadelphia Soul are presented by Parx Casino. They capped their seventh Arena Football League season by capturing the 2012 American Conference championship. The Soul will play their home opener next Saturday, April 20 against East Division-rival Cleveland Gladiators at the Wells Fargo Center at 7:05 p.m. For 2013 season tickets, contact the Soul sales department at (215) 253-4900 ext. 3, or request contact from a representative by filling out the form on www.philadelphiasoul.com. Follow the Soul on Facebook at facebook.com/soul and Twitter at twitter.com/soulfootball.
