Soul Defeat Gladiators, 62-46

Saturday May 20, 2017

 The Road to Repeat Continues with Second Win Over Gladiators

PHILADELPHIA— The Philadelphia Soul (6-0) defeated the Cleveland Gladiators (1-5), with the final score 64-46 in front of 7,667 fans at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night.

“I’m very happy with how the team played tonight,” said Soul head coach Clint Dolezel. “Despite having some injured key players, we were able to adjust in order to defeat Cleveland for the second time this season.”

Soul WR Darius Reynolds led the receivers with seven receptions for 85 yards and three touchdowns. WR Ryan McDaniel added four receptions for 35 yards and one touchdown and WR Shaun Kauleinamoku tallied three receptions for 38 yards and three touchdowns. Cleveland WR Quentin Sims led the receivers with 10 receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns.

Philadelphia QB Dan Raudabaugh completed 16-of-24 passes for 176 yards and eight touchdowns. Cleveland QB Arvell Nelson completed 25-of-40 passes for 282 yards and six touchdowns.

To start off the game, the Gladiators won the coin toss and elected to kick-off. Raudabaugh threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Kauleinamoku. Trevino’s kick was good and the Soul started the game with a 7-0 lead. With 5:59 left in the first, Romain intercepted Nelson’s pass to give the Soul possession. The Soul capitalized when Raudabaugh connected with McDaniel for a 19-yard touchdown pass. The Soul ended the first quarter with a 14-0 lead.

Nelson threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to Larry Brackins to put the Gladiators on the board in the second quarter. The Soul still held the lead, 14-7 with 10:19 to play in the half. The Soul lit up the board again with a 9-yard touchdown pass from Raudabaugh to Reynolds. The kick was good and with 6:40 to play in the half, the Soul continued to hold the lead, 21-7. Thompkins ran the ball in on the kick-off return for a 51-yard Gladiator touchdown. Solomon’s extra point was no good, the Soul led 21-13. With 3:58 left in the half, Raudabaugh found Reynolds for an 8-yard touchdown pass. Trevino’s kick was no good, Soul led 27-13. Goosby intercepted Nelson’s pass to give the Soul the ball. Raudabaugh connected with Reynolds for a 6-yard touchdown. The Soul ended the first half with a 34-13 lead over the Gladiators.

To start off the second half, Goosby intercepted Nelson’s pass. Raudabaugh threw to Kauleinamoku for 25-yard touchdown pass. Trevino’s extra point was good, the Soul continued to hold the lead 41-13. With eight minutes to go in the third, Nelson threw a three-yard touchdown pass to Brackins, making it 41-20, Soul lead. The Soul responded with an eight-yard touchdown pass from Raudabaugh to Tivis, which strengthened their lead to 48-20. Nelson found Brackins for an 18-yard touchdown pass. The kick was no good, and the Soul held the 48-26 lead.

The fourth quarter started with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Nelson to Sims to make the score 48-32, Soul in the lead. Raudabaugh handed it off to Benson for a one-yard touchdown run. Trevino’s kick was good, the Soul lead 55-32. With 6:29 to go in the game, Nelson threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Brackins. The Gladiators’ two-point conversion was good, making the score 55-40, the Soul in the lead. Raudabaugh found Kauleinamoku for a 12-yard touchdown with four minutes to play. Soul held the lead, 62-40. With under a minute left to play, Hollis intercepted Nelson’s pass intended for Obi. On the next drive, Nelson threw to Sims for a 7-yard touchdown pass, keeping the Soul in the lead 62-46. Gladiators’ tried for a two-point conversion and fumbled. Goosby recovered the fumble and ran it in for two points. The Soul defeated the Gladiators 64-46.

Offensive Player of the Game: Soul WR Darius Reynolds

Defensive Player of the Game: Soul JLB Joe Goosby

MVP of the Game: Soul QB Dan Raudabaugh

ABOUT PHILADELPHIA SOUL

The 2016 World Champion Philadelphia Soul are in their 12th season in the Arena Football League. In the first 11 seasons, the Soul have won four Division Championships, four Conference Championships and two World Championships. Since the inaugural season in 2004, the Soul are the winningest professional sports team in Philadelphia. Season memberships and Group tickets for the Soul’s upcoming 2017 season are on sale now. For tickets, contact the Soul sales department at (215) 253-4900 ext. 3, or request contact from a Soul 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.