TAMPA – Philadelphia Soul quarterback Dan Raudabaugh threw his 11th
touchdown of the evening to Donovan Morgan with 14 seconds left that
proved to be the winning score in the 83-79 victory over the Tampa Bay
Storm (6-9) in front of 9,229 fans at the Tampa Bay Times Forum
on Friday night. The game featured 14 lead changes and three ties, and
tied the Eastern Division champion, Soul (13-3), single-regular season
mark for wins in a season.
“This
was a true test for our entire team,” said Soul head coach Doug Plank.
“I give Tampa Bay a lot of credit for how they played tonight. We have
been fortunate to not be in the situation of needing to comeback from a
two score difference late in a game, but I am pleased how the whole
team responded.”
National
Guard MVP, Raudabaugh finished by connecting on
24-of-37 passes for team-record 415 yards, team-record 11 touchdowns and
one interception. Leading the receivers were Russell Athletic
Offensive Player of the Game, Tiger Jones, who had 12 receptions for 204
yards and six touchdowns, while Morgan had nine receptions for
191 receiving yards and four touchdown. Jeff Hughley added two
receptions for 10 yards and 159 kick return yards and Larry Brackins
added a 10-yard touchdown.
Leading
the way defensively were Joe Goosby with 7.5 total tackles and a key
fumble recovery late in the game. Rayshaun Kizer added 6.5 total
tackles and three pass breakups, while Kent Richardson had 3.5 total
tackles and forced fumble. Dusty Bear and Dustin Barno each added a
sack.
The
Soul opened the scoring when Raudabaugh found Jones on a 15-yard
scoring strike and took a 7-0 lead. The Storm answered when Terrence
Royal plunged into the end zone from a yard out to tie the score at
7-7. The Soul ended the first quarter scoring with a pair of Jones
touchdowns – 45 and 6 yards respectively – to give Philadelphia a 21-7
lead.
Tampa
Bay began the second quarter with a couple scores of their own. The
Storm’s Nick Hill scored on a 3-yard rushing play and Perne Phillips’
strip, sack and 10-yard touchdown tied the game at 21-21. Philadelphia
answered when Morgan pulled in a 45-yard touchdown and made the score
28-21. The Storm responded with a 44 yard connection from Hill to
Michael Lindsey and re-tying the score at 28-28.
The two teams exchanged two scores and ended the half with the Soul leading 41-37 after a field goal by Juan Bongarra.
The Storm outscored the Soul 21-14 in the third quarter and took a 58-55 lead into the fourth quarter.
A
turning point in the game, when Richardson forced a fumble that was
recovered by Goosby early in the fourth quarter, which lead to a
Brackins touchdown and gave Philadelphia a 69-65 lead. The two teams
exchanged scores with Tampa Bay’s Joe Hill scoring with 37 seconds left
to give the Storm a 79-76 lead.
In
the final drive, Raudabaugh found Jones on a 40-yard reception on the
first play and set up Morgan’s game-winning score with 14 seconds. The
Soul defense held off two long pass attempts and Kizer knocked away a
pass in the endzone as the clock expired.
The
Soul will return home a week from Sunday when they host the Spokane
Shock at 6 p.m. at the Wells Fargo Center. The game will be seen on The
Comcast Network (check local listings) Lou Tilley and Tom Goodhines
calling the action.
National Guard MVP: Philadelphia’s Dan Raudabaugh
Russell Athletic Offensive POG: Philadelphia’s Tiger Jones
Riddell Defensive POG: Tampa Bay’s Paul Griffen
JLS Ironman: Tampa Bay’s Michael Lindsey
AFL Playmaker: Philadelphia’s Tiger Jones
Cutters Catch of the Game: Tampa Bay’s Lindsey second quarter touchdown
Spalding Highlight of the Game: Tampa Bay’s Pernell Phillips fumble return for a touchdown.
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