PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Soul (1-1) will be looking to fire on all cylinders Monday night, April 4, when they continue their season-opening road trip by traveling to square off against the Milwaukee Mustangs (0-3) at 7:30 p.m. (EST). This East Division match-up will be the first ever meeting between the two teams.
The Soul will be coming off their Bye Week and are looking to bounce back from a 62-28 loss to the Chicago Rush (3-0) in Week 2. The Soul’s victory came in Week 1 when they overcame an early 14-point deficit to defeat the cross-state rival Pittsburgh Power (2-1), 58-52, in overtime, giving them a 1-0 East Division record. A victory over Milwaukee would give the Soul a 2-0 record in the division.
The Mustangs are still in search of their first victory this season, after losing to the Rush, Arizona Rattlers (3-0), and Power. Last season, Mustangs Head Coach Bob Landsee led the team to an 11-5 record, Midwest Division title, and playoff victory over the Rush before losing in the second round to the eventual ArenaBowl champion Spokane Shock.
While leading the Rush last year, Soul Head Coach Mike Hohensee went 1-2 against the Mustangs, with one of those losses eliminating his team from the playoffs.
"They have a lot of new personnel and have made adjustments,” said Hohensee. “It’s hard enough in this league to play on the road once, let alone three games, but we don’t talk about the difficulty. We prepare to win no matter what the circumstances are.”
Both offenses will be looking to improve upon their ability of getting into the end zone, with the Soul averaging 43.0 points per game and the Mustangs averaging 39.7. After completing 25-of-36 passes for 300 yards and five touchdowns in Week 1, Soul quarterback Justin Allgood had difficulty in Week 2, completing 12-of-22 passes for 165 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. For the Mustangs, quarterback Eric Ward has only completed 55.4% of his pass attempts, 51-of-92, while adding 577 yards for eight touchdowns, and three interceptions. Newcomer, R.J. Archer came in relief last week and connected on 12-of-21 passes for 113 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
Soul wide receiver Donovan Morgan will need to remain hot, having caught 23 receptions for 304 yards and five touchdowns, and receiving the ‘Offensive Player of the Week’ award in Week 1. Mustangs wide receiver Brent Holmes, who played for the 2008 ArenaBowl XXII Champion Soul team, has shown consistency in his first three games, recording 14 receptions for 149 yards and three touchdowns.
Covering Holmes will be a former teammate, defensive back Mike Brown, who has had an interception in each of the Soul’s first two games. In Week 1, against the Power, he broke a 52-52 tie in overtime by returning his interception for a touchdown, earning a win for the Soul. Teammate defensive back Tanner Varner also has two interceptions on the year. Andre Jones, defensive back for the Mustangs, has emerged as a playmaker in their secondary with 14.0 tackles, five pass break ups, and two interceptions.
A focus for both teams will be to limit the amount of turnovers. The Mustangs have surrendered the ball nine times, with five fumbles and four interceptions, while the Soul near the bottom of the League (-6 turnover ratio, No. 17 in AFL) with 10 turnovers, six fumbles and four interceptions.
“We need to protect the football and play smarter to win,” said Hohensee. “Last week, we had seven unforced errors that led to touchdowns for our opponent in the first half alone. We defeated ourselves and gave away a game.”
With a win, the Soul will remain undefeated in the division and improve to 2-1 on the season. Both teams will be looking to shift into a higher gear for this critical East Division match-up.
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