Not Enough (Super)heroes in the District
Jon Stark
Sunday April 23, 2017
The Washington Valor were handed their first loss of the season Saturday by the defending ArenaBowl champs, the Philadelphia Soul, in front of 12,122 at Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. A final score of 49-31 on a rainy evening in the nation's capital.
Wide receiver's Shaun "SK" Kauleinamoku and Darius Reynolds had a combined line of 18 receptions, 201 yards and five TD's for Philadelphia. Quarterback Dan Raudabaugh looked on point, 23 for 36 and one interception, 247 passing yards and those five touchdowns. The team also managed a score in every quarter.
Not so fast though, Valor QB Erik Meyer finished 21 for 34 with two interceptions, 268 passing yards and two touchdowns. WR Mike "Joystick" Washington proved once again why he deserves to be named Offensive Player of the Game, racking up 125 yards on nine receptions and two touchdowns, nearly out shining his Valor debut on April 7th.
So What Happened?
"Good first half for us. The game is all about possessions, so as we saw in the second half they made more plays than we did. The game is about controlling the football, and when you give it up on offense the game turns quickly. Same thing for defense, we had our hands on a lot of balls in the second half. We just didn't make enough plays, but we're going to learn. This is our first time together, playing a little bit of adversity. We'll learn from this game and we'll move on to Cleveland next week. It was a good second step for us as an organization" Coach Cokinos said after the game.
After a successful first drive the Valor took a 7-0 lead, and then defensive back Tracy Belton intercepted QB Dan Raudabaugh's first pass of the night, running it back eight yards for Washington's FIRST. DEFENSIVE. TOUCHDOWN. EVER. The Valor were up 14-0. The Soul quickly answered back, two plays later and they were on the board thanks to a 34-yard Darius Reynolds TD, 14-7 Valor.
Both teams exchanged fumbles on their following possessions, Meyer then found WR Mike Washington near the end zone for his first TD of the night. The second quarter saw the most scoring and maybe the most action including two lead changes. With the score 24-21 and Washington up, kicker T.C. Stevens missed a field goal from the 32, it hit the left upright and was returned by the Soul's James Romain for 51 yards, Philly was up 28-24. Meyer connected with the Joystick one more time before the half for a 12-yard TD, 31-28 Washington.
Raudabaugh and company marched down the field in the third, a quarter highlighted by an SK touchdown and Philadelphia's heavy, shut-down coverage of the Valor wide receivers, causing several incomplete passes and an interception close to the end zone by defensive back Torez Jones. The Valor were shutout in the second half, by the end of the third the Soul had a lead of 35-31.
Washington attempted a comeback in the fourth but it was cut short by another interception while trailing 42-31, this time by defensive back Dwayne Hollis. Wide receiver Sean Kauleinamoku scored again on the next drive essentially ending the night for the boys in red, white and blue. After some clock management by Philly, time ran out, the board showing a final score of 49-31.
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
