PHILADELPHIA (April 14, 2012) – A second-half comeback sparked the Philadelphia Soul (4-1) as they defeated league powerhouse, San Jose SaberCats (3-2), 61-55, in front of 9,303 fans at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night.
Philadelphia quarterback Dan Raudabaugh finished by connecting on 18-of-41 passes for 239 yards, seven touchdowns and no interceptions. Tiger Jones had seven receptions for 89 yards and four touchdowns, while Derrick Ross had three touchdowns, rushing for 23 yards and receiving for 39 yards. Emery Sammons added five receptions for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Jeff Hughley had four kickoff returns for 59 yards and two receptions for 40 yards.
Leading the way defensively was Kent Richardson with 4.0 total tackles and three interceptions for 37 yards. Rayshaun Kizer had 9.0 tackles while Bryan Robinson added 5.0 tackles, 2.0 sacks and two forced fumbles – one on the last play of the game.
San Jose’s Mark Grieb led the SaberCats by connecting 25-of-47 passes for 333 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions. WR Samora Goodson had six receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns. DB Ruschard Dodd-Masters had four kickoff returns for 114 yards and one touchdown and Ben Nelson added eight receptions for 96 yards.
San Jose opened the scoring when Grieb completed a 7-yard pass to James Roe for the first and only touchdown of the first quarter during San Jose’s second possession. Nick Pertuit kick for the extra point was good and the quarter ended with the SaberCats leading 7-0.
The second quarter, Jones began the second quarter scoring with a 8-yard catch as he fell over the endzone wall followed by a successful kick by Phil Marfuggi. San Jose rebutted with a 57-yard kickoff return by Ruschard Dodd-Masters for a touchdown. Later in the quarter, Robinson sacked Grieb for a loss of seven yards and fumble recovered by Dustin Barno. Following this recovery, Raudabaugh completed an 18-yard pass to Sammons bringing the ball to the 3-yard line where Ross was able to run it for the touchdown.
San Jose’s Tommy Taggart ran one yard for a touchdown followed by a 2-yard touchdown reception by Sammons. Mark Lewis ran a yard for a touchdown giving San Jose a 28-19 lead. With five seconds on the clock, Ross caught a short pass from Raudabaugh and ran 39 yards for a touchdown. The successful kick by Marfuggi ended the first half with San Jose leading 28-26.
San Jose began the second half with a 16-yard pass to Mark Grieb and a failed kick by Pertuit. After being stopped at the line of scrimmage, second effort allowed Ross into the endzone for a 3-yard touchdown. The quarter ended with San Jose leading 34-33.
Jones’ three touchdowns in the final quarter gave Philadelphia their first lead of the game. The Soul outscored the SaberCats 28-21 in the fourth quarter for a 61-55 win. The victory, coupled with a Chicago loss, gives the Soul a League-best 4-1 record.
The Soul will face the Tampa Bay Storm next Friday night at 8 p.m. in another home game at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The game will be broadcast on “NET10 Arena Football Friday” on the NFL Network.
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PHILADELPHIA– The San Jose SaberCats (3-2) fell to the Philadelphia Soul (4-1) 61-55, in front of 9,303 fans at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night, as San Jose’s late comeback fell just short. Quarterback Mark Grieb finished his night completing 25-47 passes for 333 yards and five touchdowns. Wide receiver Samora Goodson led the way, catching six for 118 yards and two fourth quarter touchdowns. Soul wide receiver Tiger Jones led the way with four touchdown receptions and fullback Derrick Ross added three scores in the victory.
The first three possessions of the game came without points, as the SaberCats held Philadelphia scoreless on their first two drives. San Jose opened the scoring as Grieb hit wide receiver James Roe for one of his two touchdowns on the night, this a seven-yard scoring strike to put the SaberCats on top 7-0 midway through the first quarter.
On a fourth down from the SaberCats eight yard-line, Jones made a catch over the wall, which knotted things at seven. On the ensuing kickoff, Ruschard Dodd-Masters brought it back to the house on a 57-yard return to give San Jose the lead right back. After forcing a Grieb fumble, the Soul capitalized with a four-yard touchdown run by Ross, and after a missed extra point, San Jose’s lead was 14-13.
San Jose scored a pair of rushing touchdowns, as fullback Tommy Taggart and offensive lineman Mark Lewis each found the end zone from a yard away. Those two scores were sandwiched around a two-yard scoring reception by Philadelphia’s Emery Sammons. On the last play from scrimmage in the half, Ross scored on a 39-yard screen pass from Raudabaugh, which cut the San Jose lead to 28-26 at the half.
To open the third quarter, Grieb found wide receiver Huey Whittaker for a 16-yard strike, and San Jose extended their lead to 34-26. Ross found paydirt for the third time on the night with 4:42 remaining in the third, as he scored on a three-yard run, cutting the SaberCats lead to 34-33.
Philadelphia continued their 28-0 scoring run, as Raudabaugh found Tiger Jones (twice) and Emery Sammons on successive drives, following a trio of interceptions by defensive back Kent Richardson, and the lead grew to 54-34. Grieb hit Roe from 12-yards out to pull San Jose back within 13 points with 2:31 remaining. Raudabaugh hit Jones once more, and Grieb found Goodson from 34-yards out to cut Phialdelphia’s lead to 61-48. After a successful onside recovery by defensive back Vince Hill, Grieb found Goodson again, this time from 37-yards out, and the Soul lead was trimmed to 61-55 with 14 seconds left. San Jose recovered another onside kick, but Grieb was ruled to have fumbled the ball with one second remaining and the comeback fell just short.
