The Philadelphia Soul (5-8) are looking to claw back into the playoff race tonight when they take on the Tulsa Talons (5-7) at the Wells Fargo Center.
Former Soul quarterback Justin Allgood will be leading Tulsa against the Soul’s new starting play caller, Brandon Kirsch, who will be making his first AFL start since 2008.
“We are building his [Brandon Kirsch] confidence as the weeks progress,” said Soul head coach Mike Hohensee. “We need to protect better and be consistent with our routes to allow him to make perfect reads and throws.”
The Soul are hoping to avenge their 75-54 loss in Spokane last week by continuing their success in Philadelphia, where they’ve won three consecutive games. The Talons came out of their bye with a convincing 81-51 home victory over the Blaze. Their 30-point victory was the largest in Talons history since May 15, 2009 at Milwaukee, where they defeated the Iron 53-19 as members of the af2. This will be the Soul’s first home game against a National Conference opponent this year and their first ever game against the Talons.
The reins of the Soul offense have been handed to Kirsch, who was signed as a free agent on May 20. Kirsch will need to make smart decisions with the football and build chemistry with his receivers early in the contest. The most explosive weapon in the Soul’s arsenal is wide receiver, Donovan Morgan. The Offensive Player of the Year candidate will be facing his former team, where he played in 2005 and 2010. After 13 games, Morgan has caught 102 passes for a League-leading 1,614 yards and 32 touchdowns, ranked No. 3. Wideout Syvelle Newton has been a reliable second option all season, hauling in at least one touchdown pass in nine consecutive games.
At the beginning of the season, Allgood started four games for the Soul before being replaced by Ryan Vena and eventually traded back to Tulsa, where he played last season. In Allgood’s first two games as the Talons starter, he has completed 45-of-74 passes for 487 yards, 11 touchdowns, and three interceptions, leading them to a 1-1 record. He has quickly developed a connection with rookie receiver Troy McBroom, who has caught 22 passes for 256 yards and six touchdowns in the two games.
The Soul defender in charge of applying pressure to Allgood will be defensive lineman Darrell Campbell. The All-Arena candidate leads the Soul with six and a half sacks and has been a constant force up front. All-Rookie Team candidates, linebacker Jerome Hayes and defensive back Kent Richardson, have progressed as playmakers throughout the season. Hayes recorded his first Arena Football interception against the Shock while Richardson leads the team with six pass break ups and is ranked No. 3 with 41.5 total tackles on the season.
The defense of the Talons relies heavily on defensive back J.C. Neal, who leads the team with 70 total tackles, 15 pass break ups, four forced fumbles, and is tied for the team lead with four interceptions and three fumble recoveries. Rookie linebacker Nekos Brown, who leads Tulsa with six sacks and eight and a half tackles for a loss, will want to agitate Kirsch early and often to make him uneasy in the pocket.
Both teams will be looking for an improvement on special teams. Last week in Spokane, Soul kick returner Keith Stokes capitalized with a 57-yard touchdown return, but was overshadowed by the team’s inability to recover onside kick attempts by the Shock. Talon’s kick returner Christian Varner has averaged just 15.4 yards per return and will be looking to find the end zone for the first time this season.
The Soul and Talons both need to come away with a victory in order to remain in the playoff picture of their respective conferences.
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