Soul Defeats Las Vegas in ‘Boardwalk Bowl’

Report From Philadelphia Soul

ATLANTIC CITY – A big second half comeback gave the Philadelphia Soul (9-1) a 51-43 victory over the Las Vegas Outlaws (3-6) in front of 6,514 fans in the first ever DraftKings Boardwalk Bowl in Atlantic City at Boardwalk Hall on Saturday night.

“We came out flat in the first half, but we went in and talked about it and definitely turned it up for the second half,” Soul head coach Clint Dolezel said.  “It’s nice to be able to pull through, but next game I expect to play all four quarters like that.”

J. Lewis Small Playmaker of the Game Marco Thomas led the Soul (9-1) receivers with eight catches for 125-yards and tied his career high of five touchdowns.  Lonnie Outlaw added three catches for 17-yards and two touchdowns.  Shaun Kauleinamoku had six receptions for 87-yards, while Ryan McDaniel chipped in with four receptions for 48-yards.

Russell Athletic Offensive Player of the Game, Dan Raudabaugh finished the night by completing 21-of-31 passes for 277 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions. Sean Brackett of Las Vegas completed 18-of-35 passes for 261-yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions

Jomo Wilson led the Outlaws (3-6) receivers with eight receptions for 143-yards and two touchdowns, while Jason Willis added three catches for 42-yards and two touchdowns.

James Romain led the team with 5.0 total tackles. Kent Richardson had 4.5 total tackles and one interception.  Bryan Robinson added one sack.

After winning the toss, the Soul deferred and kicked off to the Outlaws to start the game. The Outlaws got on the board within the first minute of the game with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Sean Brackett to Jason Willis. The Soul quickly answered with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Dan Raudabaugh to Marco Thomas to tie up the score 7-7. With 5:14 remaining in the first, Brackett threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Will Wright to put the Outlaws back on top. With a little over two minutes left, the Soul responded when Raudabaugh found Thomas on a 6-yard play, making the score 14-14 at the end of the first quarter.

Both teams went back and forth before scoring within the last minute of the second quarter. James Romain had a big pass interference in the end zone with a little over two minutes left in the half. Philadelphia kicker Tommy Frevert completed a 29-yard field goal to give the Soul their first lead of the game, 17-14. With only five seconds left, the Outlaws capitalized in the end zone with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Brackett to Willis, making the halftime score 21-17.

The Soul came out with a vengeance in the third quarter. Soul WR Lonnie Outlaw came out strong in the second half by scoring back to back touchdowns. With a little over two minutes in the third, Raudabaugh threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Outlaw, giving the Soul their lead back. The Soul increased their lead with Outlaw’s 3-yard touchdown reception, putting them on top 31-21. With 2:54 left in the third quarter, Raudabaugh threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Thomas, making the score 37-21.

Thomas opened the fourth quarter with an 8-yard touchdown reception from Raudabaugh with 13:26 to play in the game. The Outlaws bounced back with an 11-yard touchdown reception from Clinton Solomin making the score 44-28. Thomas responded with a 24-yard touchdown reception which tied his career high of five touchdowns in a single game. Brackett completed a 43-yard touchdown pass to Wilson to make the score 51-35 with 3:54 to play. With only 35 seconds left in the game, Bracket connected with Wilson again with a 14-yard touchdown pass making the final score 51-43.
Next week, the Soul host the New Orleans VooDoo for their second meeting of the season on Saturday, June 6 at the Wells Fargo Center. The game will kick off at 6 p.m.

Russell Athletic Offensive Player: Philadelphia’s Dan Raudabaugh
Riddell Defensive Player:  Philadelphia’s James Romain
J Lewis Small AFL Playmaker: Philadelphia’s Marco Thomas
Cutter’s Catch of the Game: Philadelphia’s Jake Metz onside kick recovery
Spalding Highlight of the Game: Philadelphia’s Kent Richardson third quarter interception