Soul are back, kick off season in Pittsburgh on Friday

The ArenaBowl XXII champion Philadelphia Soul return to the field to defend their title, on the road, Friday night against the Pittsburgh Power. 

The Keystone State Collision will officially begin with the cross-state rivals playing in their first ever match-up as they kickoff the 2011 Arena Football League season in front of a nationwide audience at 8 p.m. on the NFL Network.

The Soul will be competing in their first AFL game since July 27, 2008, where they were crowned ArenaBowl XXII champions with a 59-56 victory over the San Jose SaberCats.  Three players from the 2008 team have returned to Philadelphia, defensive back/kick returner Mike Brown, wide receiver Larry Brackins, and former offensive lineman, now line coach, Phil Bogle.

While the Soul will be playing their first game in over two years, the Power will be playing their first game ever, as they open up their inaugural AFL season at home at the Consol Energy Center.  The city of Pittsburgh has not had an AFL franchise to cheer for since the Pittsburgh Gladiators, who played from 1987-1990.  The quarterback for the Gladiators in 1987-88 was current Soul head coach Mike Hohensee, who threw the first touchdown pass in AFL history on June 19, 1987.

Coach Hohensee has been involved with the AFL as a player or coach for all 24 years of the league’s history and will be entering his 17th season as a head coach after previously leading five other franchises in Washington, Albany, Anaheim, New England, and most recently Chicago.  In his last nine seasons with the Rush (2001-08, ’10) he led the team to a 93-64 overall record, including nine playoff appearances, four Central Division titles, one conference championship, and the ArenaBowl XX title.

Leading the Power will be rookie head coach Chris Siegfried, who brings ten years of experience as an offensive coordinator, previously with Jacksonville and Kansas City of the AFL, and as a head coach with Arkansas, Spokane, and South George/Cape Fear of the af2.

Siegfried will be reunited in Pittsburgh with quarterback Bernard Morris, who received calls from Siegfried with the Sharks last season.  Morris finished the year with a 103.9 passer rating and completed 61 pecent of his throws while the pair led the expansion team to a 12-4 record.  The Soul have a tandem of their own, with quarterback Justin Allgood and wide receiver Donovan Morgan, both of which played in Tulsa last year.  Allgood completed 351 passes for 4,359 yards and a league-best 109 touchdowns, 123 of those passes were caught by Morgan for 1,707 yards and a league-best 52 receiving touchdowns.

Another former teammate that Allgood will now look to avoid is Power defensive end Terrance Carter.  The fifth year veteran spent his last four seasons with the Talons.  The Soul will have a formidable pass rush from their defensive line with veterans Darrell Campbell and Callahan Bright.  Campbell, who played for the Predators in 2008 and the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL in 2009, provides leadership while Bright, a member of the Sharks and Talons last season, acts as the spark that the Soul defense will need to start the 2011 season with a win.