Sunday, April 21, 2013

Gladiators spoil Soul home opener

PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Soul squandered a 14-point lead early in the second half as Cleveland Gladiators came back to defeat the Soul, 64-57, in overtime in front of 12,975 fans at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night.

“We didn’t play our offense,” explains Soul head coach Clint Dolezel.  “We just didn’t show up like we were supposed to.  There were too many penalties – off-sides and holding penalties.  It’s embarrassing playing the way we did in front of our fans.  We have a lot to improve with Jacksonville coming into town.  They’re playing great football and we’re going to need to step it up.”

Soul QB Dan Raudabaugh guided the Philadelphia offense in this matchup by connecting on 31-of-50 passes for 306 yards and five touchdowns.

Tiger Jones led Philadelphia (2-2) receivers with 13 receptions for 143 yards and three touchdowns.  Andrae Thurman had nine catches for 82 yards and touchdown, while Larry Brackins recorded two receptions for 24 yards and a touchdown.  Alvance Robinson hauled in four catches for 50 yards and accounted for eight kick returns for 122 yards.

On the ground, Derrick Ross finished the game with 17 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns.

Defensively, DB LaRico Stevenson recorded 5.0 tackles, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery for a touchdown that earned the Spalding Highlight of the Game. LB Joe Goosby led the defense with eight tackles and an interception.

Cleveland’s Brian Zbydniewski connected on 24-of-33 passes for 316 yards and eight touchdowns on his way to earning the Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game.  J Lewis Small AFL Playmaker of the Game Thyron Lewis led the Cleveland (1-3) receivers with six receptions for 122 yards and four touchdowns.  Lenny Wicks led Cleveland’s defensive with nine tackles.

Cleveland scored on the beginning series of the game with a six yard pass from Zbydniewski to Jonathon Wilson.  Philadelphia responded with a nine-play, 47-yard drive to score on a two-yard run by FB Derrick Ross.  On the following kickoff, Soul DB LaRico Stevenson forced a fumble and recovered the ball to score on a 7-yard touchdown return. The fumble recovery capped the first quarter with Philadelphia leading 14-7.

In the second quarter, Philadelphia’s WRs Tiger Jones and Larry Brackins caught two touchdowns while FB Derrick Ross ran in a touchdown.  Cleveland’s WR Thyron Lewis accounted for two touchdowns.  The first half ended with both teams scoring 35 combined points in the second quarter and Philadelphia leading 35-21.

During the third quarter, Cleveland forced two turnovers, with DB Maurice Williams and DB Brandon Anderson intercepting Raudabaugh.  The turnovers were followed by Cleveland scoring 14 unanswered points on an 11 and 17-yard touchdown receptions by WR Jamar Howard.  At the end of the third, the game was tied 35-35.

Philadelphia and Cleveland went back-and-forth in the fourth, as both teams scored 22 points.  With ten seconds left, Tiger Jones scored his third touchdown of the night and gave Philadelphia a three point lead.  Cleveland’s K Ross Gornall kicked a 45-yard field goal with no time remaining to send the game to overtime.

With the first possession, Cleveland scored on a 16-yard catch by Lewis.  Philadelphia was unable to score on their possession, losing the game by missing the fourth down conversion.

The Soul will host the Jacksonville Sharks on Saturday, April 27 at 7:05 p.m. ET at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA.  The game can be seen on Comcast Sports Network.

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