The Philadelphia Soul (3-6) head to Cleveland to battle the Eastern Division leading Gladiators (5-3) at the Quicken Loans Arena on Saturday, May 21, at 7 p.m. (EST), with coverage on WMCN.
The last time the two rivals met was on July 12, 2008, in Philadelphia, where the Soul defeated the Gladiators 70-35 to be crowned National Conference Champions, and advance to ArenaBowl XXII.
This is the first of two meetings between the clubs this season. The Soul come into the bout at 1-1 against Eastern Division opponents, while the Gladiators are 1-0. The all-time regular season series is led by the Gladiators at 4-1, dating back to the team’s year in Las Vegas. Soul head coach Mike Hohensee has faired well against the Gladiators, posting a 10-3 record, 4-2 on the road, and is also 5-0 when facing Gladiators head coach Steve Thonn.
“This is a statement game for our football team,” said Soul Head Coach Mike Hohensee. “We have an opportunity to jump to the top of our division in the next two weeks. This is a position we have talked about and worked towards ever since training camp. Even though our record may not reflect it at this time, our commitment to our initial goals has not wavered.”
The Soul will want to come out with a similar level of defensive tenacity that was present in their 68-49 home victory over Georgia. Kent Richardson has stepped up to the challenge of being named a starter in the Soul secondary, as he led the team with eight tackles this past week. The Soul defense forced three interceptions and recorded three sacks, two by nose guard Darrell Campbell, as they held their opponent under 50 points for the first time this year.
The defense of the Gladiators has proven to shut down opponents all season long, only allowing 237.4 passing yards per game, ranked No. 1 in the League, 265.4 total yards per game, ranked No. 3, and 43.2 points per game, ranked No. 2. The Gladiators top-ranked secondary is patrolled by Levy Brown, who leads the team with 53.5 tackles and shares the team lead with three interceptions. Up front, Cleveland is led by lineman Anthony Hoke and his team high five and a half sacks.
Offensively, the Gladiators rely on the consistency of quarterback Kurt Rocco, who has completed 111-of-175 passes (63.4%) for 1,434 yards and 23 touchdowns. Rocco’s two main targets at receiver are Troy Bergeron, with 49 catches for 723 yards and 19 touchdowns, and Robert Redd, with 46 catches for 608 yards and 12 touchdowns. The Gladiators will want to rekindle early season success as they have only scored over 50 points once in the last five games.
The Soul have steadily improved offensively, scoring over 60 points in three of the last four games. Quarterback Ryan Vena bounced back with a solid performance against Georgia, completing 20-of-28 passes (71.4%) for 320 yards and seven touchdowns. Wide receiver Donovan Morgan has remained stellar all season with 70 receptions for 1,138 yards, ranked No. 1 in the League, and 19 touchdowns. Last week, Morgan was named MVP of the Game, and for the third time this year was named Offensive Player of the Game.
An area the Soul will look to improve is their third down efficiency, where they currently convert on 29.8% of their opportunities, ranked second to last. The Soul have been better in recent weeks at winning the turnover battles as well as improving on kickoff returns with the help of rookie Keith Stokes, averaging 19.7 yards per return.
If the Soul leave Cleveland victorious, they will pull within a game and a half of the Gladiators and will have won three of their last four games. If the Gladiators win, they will solidify their Division lead and severely hurt the Soul’s chances of a late season surge.
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