PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Soul (3-7) will be looking to start a mid-season surge by getting back in the win column at home tonight against the New Orleans VooDoo (2-8). The intraconference match-up begins at 7:05 p.m. (EST), with coverage of the game on NiftyTV.
It will be Heroes Night at the Wells Fargo Center. The festivities include police and firefighter vehicles being present outside, while fallen heroes and representatives from local police and fire departments receive recognition throughout the game.
The Soul want to avenge their 59-41 road loss to the Eastern Division leading Gladiators while the VooDoo are hoping to break their two-game losing streak, as both teams look to climb back into the Wild Card race. The Soul are 1-2 at home this season while the VooDoo have won both of their games outside of New Orleans with a 2-2 road record.
“It’s good to be home after a difficult bus trip to Cleveland. We still have a good taste in our mouths from our last home victory and want to start an eight-game winning streak going into the postseason,” said Soul head coach Mike Hohensee. “The VooDoo are a much improved team. They were an on-side kick away from having an opportunity to knock off Arizona last week. Our players have responded well on this short week of practice and appear ready to defend our turf at the Wells Fargo Center!”
The spark for each offense is lit at the wide receiver position, with Donovan Morgan of the Soul, and PJ Berry of the VooDoo. After ten games, Morgan ranks No. 8 in the League with 79 receptions, No. 1 with 1,270 yards, and No. 10 with 23 touchdowns. Morgan is averaging 127 receiving yards per game, ranked No. 3, as well as 16.1 yards per catch, ranked No. 2.
Berry has been a consistent threat for the VooDoo, despite the team’s average of 40 points per game, ranked last in the League. This season, Berry ranks No. 1 with 97 receptions, No. 7 with 1,020 yards, and has added 16 touchdowns. The man in charge of getting him the ball is quarterback D. Bryant, who started his first game for the VooDoo last week against the Rattlers. Bryant completed 25-of-34 passes (73.5%) for 285 yards and six touchdowns, but also threw three interceptions.
The Soul defense will have to disrupt the timing of Bryant’s passes to slow the production of Berry and the VooDoo receiving corps. Up front, the Soul will be led by linebacker, Jerome Hayes, who has fought his way into the starting line-up over recent weeks. Against the Gladiators, he registered his first career AFL sack and added five tackles. In the Soul secondary, Kent Richardson has begun to immerge as an impact player, recording 11.5 of his 25 total tackles in the last two weeks.
A pair of defensive backs that share the same last name will be looking to curse the Soul offense. Alvin and Matt Jackson have collectively recorded 90 total tackles, five tackles for a loss, and four interceptions, pass break ups and forced fumbles. The Jacksons will need some assistance from their defensive front, which has recorded a League low six sacks.
A vast difference between the two clubs is in the kick return game. Berry has proven to be nothing short of magic for the VooDoo, ranked No. 1 with 57 kick returns for 1,130 yards. The Soul also have a playmaker of their own in Keith Stokes, but a safety and a lost fumble against the Gladiators proved to be two costly mistakes last week. Stokes will have to come close to matching Berry’s production while the Soul’s coverage team must not allow him to continually give the VooDoo offense a short field.
Two areas of concern for both teams are turnovers and the lack of third down conversions. Turnovers have played an important role in the Soul’s losses this season as they will need to improve on their -6 turnover margin, tied for No. 14 in the League. The Soul have also been unable to sustain drives, due to their third down conversion rate of 34%, ranked second to last. Luckily for the Soul, the VooDoo rank last in both of these categories with a -14 turnover margin and a 32.4% conversion rate.
The team that is able to take advantage of their opponent’s mistakes and remain consistent offensively will come away with a victory Friday night
-courtesy of the Philadelphia Soul
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