Soul - Gladiators preview

Courtesy: Nathan Boudreaux and Arenafootball.com

By Nathan Boudreaux -- Prior to the season, a lot of people expected the Philadelphia Soul to be playing for the National Conference Championship and a berth to the ArenaBowl. The Soul returned the nucleus of a solid team from last year and added playmaking wide receiver Chris Jackson, who was named the AFL’s Offensive Player of the Year, through free agency. But, those same folks expected their opponent in the National Conference Championship game to be either Dallas or Georgia.

Not many AFL insiders, including myself, expected Cleveland to be in the ArenaBowl mix, especially after a 2-14 season a year ago as the Las Vegas Gladiators. But, first-year head coach Mike Wilpolt, the AFL Coach of the Year, has rebuild the Gladiators franchise into a winner and a club that is on the cusp of their first-ever ArenaBowl appearance.

The History

When the 2008 schedule first came out no one thought the Soul and Gladiators would be division rivals, but that’s exactly what happened. The Gladiators, which moved into the National Conference Eastern Division this year after relocating from Las Vegas to Cleveland, have played a pair of hard-fought games against the Soul this season. Cleveland knocked off an undefeated Soul team, 67-55, back in May at Quicken Loans Arena and the Soul won the second meeting, 62-61 in Philadelphia. The Gladiators actually hold a 4-1 edge over Philadelphia in the overall series which dates back to the 2004, but the clubs have been pretty evenly matched up in 2008.

In two games against the Soul this year, Cleveland QB Raymond Philyaw has passed for 609 yards with 11 TDs against just one interception. Soul QB Matt D’Orazio started the first contest (141 yards and three TDs) but left the game in the third quarter with an injury and was replaced by Tony Graziani. In the second meeting, D’Orazio tossed six TDs in a 1-point Soul win.

The Stakes

It doesn’t get any bigger than this. The winner goes to the ArenaBowl and the loser goes home. Most of the pressure will be on Philadelphia as no one expected the Gladiators to be in this position. Philly knocked off New York, 49-48, last week in the divisional round, while Cleveland has used a pair of playoff wins over Southern Division foes Orlando and Georgia to earn a berth into the Conference Championship game.

During the regular season, the Soul finished with the League’s best record (13-3) and gained the No. 1 seed in the National Conference playoffs. Philly also led the AFL in scoring averaging with 62.0 points per game. Cleveland won nine games during the regular season and qualified for the playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the National Conference. Cleveland was one of four teams from the Eastern Division (Philadelphia, Dallas and New York) to make the playoffs.

The Players

The National Conference Championship game is loaded with All-Star players. Philly sports four First Team All-Arena players, including AFL Offensive Player of the Year WR Chris Jackson. During the regular season, Jackson had a career year, leading the League in scoring with 294 points on 140 catches for 1,719 yards and 49 TDs. QB Matt D’Orazio has been equally as impressive tossing 72 scores against just four INTs and is 9-3 as the club’s starter (including playoffs) after replacing injured starter Tony Graziani. Cleveland will also have to keep an eye on No. 2 WR Larry Brackins, who is Philly’s top red zone threat (107 receptions for 1,395 yards and 29 TDs). Defensively, the Soul front three of Gabe Nyenhuis, Bryan Save and Kevin Carberry is one of the best in the business (24.0 sacks during the regular season) with DBs Eddie Moten, Mike Brown and Dee Webb manning the secondary. Moten is the leader of the defensive backfield with 93.5 tackles and six INTs.

On the flip side, the Gladiators go as quarterback Raymond Philyaw goes. Philyaw started all 16 games during the regular season and threw for 4,287 yards with 83 TDs against 10 INTs. In two playoff starts, he’s connected on 63.6 percent of his passes for 16 TDs against just one pick.

“Raymond has been invaluable to us,” Wilpolt said. “He’s probably our MVP by a long way. He’s carried this franchise on his back offensively for most of the season.”

But, Philyaw has also gotten a lot of help from his supporting cast this year. FB Marlion Jackson led the League in rushing during the regular season with 356 yards and 23 TDs, and WR Otis Amey ranked among the AFL’s top receivers with 112 catches for 1,516 yards and 48 scores. Fellow WR Robert Redd (129 grabs for 1,523 yards and 16 scores) has been equally impressive, especially in the playoffs with a team-high 19 catches for 247 yards and seven scores in two postseason wins.

Defensively, the Gladiators are very similar to the Soul in that they rely on their pass rush of Silas Demary, Joe Minucci, Bryant Shaw and Karon Riley to make plays. In the secondary, DB Brandon Hefflin led the club during the regular season with 110 tackles, while LB Sakeen Wright picked off a team-high five INTs.

Keep an eye on both kickers. Philadelphia rookie Conner Hughes has been solid (123-of-136 on PATs and 5-of-14 on FGs) for the Soul, while Cleveland’s Jason Ball has been somewhat sporadic. During the regular season Ball made 98-of-118 PATs and 16-of-21 on FGs but is coming off a game last week where he missed four PATs.

The Game

According to both coaches, the game will be won on the defensive side of the ball. For Philly to win they’ll need to hold the Gladiators offense in check, something they’ve failed to do in two tries this season (Cleveland has scored 67 and 61 points respectively in two games this year).

“I think the key will be which defense plays well,” Soul head coach Bret Munsey said. “Rather it be pass rush or in the secondary, you have to find a way to get a stop (on defense) in a big game like this. Whoever gets their guys playing well on the defensive side of the ball should win.”

Both defenses will have their hands full. Cleveland must find an answer for Jackson (six TDs in two games vs. the Gladiators) and Brackins, while Philly will need to slow down Philyaw and FB Marlion Jackson (72 yards and five scores in two games vs. Philly during the regular season). Cleveland will also need to pressure and contain D’Orazio. In the first meeting this season, D’Orazio torched the Gladiators for 45 yards on the ground (with a TD) and added another 14 yards and two scores in the second meeting.

And don’t forget the special teams.

“We need to improve our special teams play,” Wilpolt said. “For the past few weeks we’ve been sort of hot and cold. We’ve come up with a couple of big or fortune plays with balls off the iron and the squib kick field goal against Georgia, but we’ve got to get our special teams cranked up.”

Cleveland has been playing extremely well offensively and I don’t expect that to change on Saturday. I also think the Gladiators will have a tough time slowing down the Soul offense. This one may come down to extra points and which team has the ball last. Philadelphia has the edge playing at home, where they’ve lost just once this year, but 2008 has been the year of the upset with underdog road teams winning five of eight playoff games.

In Arena Football a bounce here or there or a ricochet off the end zone net could be the difference between moving on and going home. In a game like this each possession will be crucial. The team that can steal away a cheap possession – with a turnover, onside kick or net recovery – will likely come out on top.

Nathan Boudreaux has been working for arenafootball.com since 2002. He has been associated with the AFL since 1999 and has worked as media relations director for both the AFL's Florida Bobcats (1999) and Carolina Cobras (2000-02). He also spent four years (2002-05) in the media relations department of the NFL's Cleveland Browns before moving to his current post as manager of marketing and business development for USA Football (usafootball.com) – the national governing body for America’s favorite sport leading the development of youth, high school, and international amateur football.