PHILADELPHIA (June 9, 2011) – The Philadelphia Soul (5-7) travel west to take on the defending champion Spokane Shock (4-7) at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on Friday. This battle between the last two ArenaBowl champions, with the Soul winning in 2008, and the Shock in 2010, will be played in front of a nationwide audience on the NFL Network.
After a convincing 70-49 win against New Orleans in Week 12, and a final-second 39-37 victory over Milwaukee last week, the Soul will be looking to win three consecutive games for the first time this season. The Shock are coming out of their bye after losing two consecutive games, to Tampa Bay and Kansas City. This is the first ever meeting between the two franchises, while Soul head coach Mike Hohensee has faced the Shock once, resulting in a road loss.
“We have talked about what the atmosphere has been like in the past, you can't simulate the noise,” said Hohensee. “We need to be mentally tough and focus on the task. We understand the circumstances and realize we haven't accomplished anything yet, but we are in the middle of turning our season around.”
The Soul will want to get a solid start offensively, scoring seven points or less, and turning the ball over four times in the first quarter of their three previous games. Quarterback Ryan Vena needs to develop chemistry with his receivers early, particularly with Offensive Player of the Year candidate Donovan Morgan. The wideout caught seven passes for 110 yards and three touchdowns last week against the Mustangs, with none bigger than his final-play, game-winning catch. This season, Morgan has hauled in 94 receptions for a League leading 1,497 yards and 29 touchdowns, ranked No. 4.
At times this year, the Shock offense has had a ‘Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ quality, where they have scored 70 or more points in their previous three wins, yet have scored 42 points or less in their previous three losses. Starting quarterback Kyle Rowley was placed on the injured reserve list after suffering an injury to his throwing shoulder in Week 10, which has forced Casey Hansen into the lead role. Hansen has faired well, throwing eight touchdowns and just one interception in two games, but he will need to be more efficient, completing just 53.8% of his passes.
The defensive front of the Soul will look to wreak havoc in the backfield of the Shock to make Hansen hurry his throws and commit turnovers. Defensive lineman Darrell Campbell will be pushing to add to his team leading seven and a half sacks, while linebacker Brandon Perkins hopes to continue his performance from last week, where he recorded six tackles, an interception, and fumble recovery for a touchdown, which earned him Defensive Player of the Game honors.
The Shock defense is led by their secondary and defensive backs Ruschard Dodd-Masters and Terrance Sanders. Dodd-Masters led the team with 11 total tackles in the Shock’s last game, against Kansas City, and leads the team with 49.5 total tackles. Sanders has recorded 49 tackles, and leads his team with two interceptions. With Vena averaging an interception per game, the Shock will be looking to improve upon their four interception total this season.
The kick return game is an area where the Shock have shined, with Sanders ranking No. 3 in the League with 49 returns, 1,014 yards, and three return touchdowns, with his most recent being a 54-yard run back against the Command. The Shock can also excel if they force the Soul into third down situations, which the Soul convert on just 36.7% of the time, ranked No. 16.
Oddly enough, the Soul are much more efficient on fourth down, with a 57.1% conversion rate, ranked No. 5. The Soul may also want to take advantage of the Shock’s second to last rushing defense, which allows 37.4 yards per game. Philadelphia explored this area of their offense two weeks ago against the VooDoo, when the team rushed a season-high 13 times.
The team that comes out of the battle of the defending champions victorious will not only have bragging rights, but also keep themselves very much alive for a playoff spot in their respective conference.
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