The AFL's final four entered the second week of August still with the hope of reaching Arena Bowl 26 in Orlando on August 17th. A pair of conference championships took the spotlight in week 21, who's going to Orlando!?
American Conference Championship:
Philadelphia Soul 75, Jacksonville Sharks 59
For the second year in a row the Sharks and Soul squared off for the American Conference crown. In their only meeting this season Jacksonville went on the road and won a nail-biter 55-53, would they be able to win in their own building!?
The start of this game was a sloppy one that saw Rayshaun Kizer pick off Bernard Morris at Philadelphia's one-yard line on the opening possession. Jacksonville's demoralizing defensive line got the stop right back when Matt Marcorelle knocked the ball out of Dan Raudabugh's hand on second-and-ten from the 24-yard line and Jerry Turner recovered. The Shark Tank erupted on the next play when Morris tossed a fifteen-yard touchdown to Jeron Harvey for the night's first points. Raudabaugh got Philadelphia on the board with a pair of completions on the following drive that was capped off on Derrick Ross's 22-yard screen-pass touchdown. Philadelphia grabbed its first lead of the game two plays later when Morris was intercepted by James Romain who returned it thirteen yards for a score. Bernard Morris continued his early struggles on the next drive when he misfired on three of four passes, resulting in a quick four-and-out. The Soul added to their lead when Larry Brackins was the recipient of a two-yard touchdown, taking a 20-7 advantage into the second quarter. Markee White and Tiger Jones traded touchdown catches on the first three possessions of the period, putting the Soul in the lead by six at the one-minute warning. The Sharks tried to get back one of Philadelphia's first-quarter stops with an onside kick, but were unable to when Marco Capozzoli's kick went out of play at the nine. Philadelphia only needed one play to score, a nine-yard screen pass to Derrick Ross moved the lead back to double digits. The game was already teetering to get away from the home guys, and they didn't get any closer when Carlos Martinez successfully executed an inside kick that Andrae Thurman recovered and returned 28 yards to Jacksonville's two-yard line with 49 seconds before the intermission. The score became 40-21 when Ross plunged into the end zone on a one-yard run three plays later. Bernard Morris completed a sixteen-yard pass to Markee White to get the ball to midfield, but came up empty on his next two throws and Capozzoli's field goal went wide left to keep the margin at 40-21 for halftime. The Soul began the second half with the ball and expanded their lead to 47-21 when Larry Brackins hauled in a sixteen-yard touchdown to cap off a five-play, three-minute scoring drive. Even though it was early in the third quarter, Jacksonville was in desperate need of a spark to savor any chance of another comeback on the Tank. In a four-minute span another postseason comeback looked realistic when Morris completed all four of his passes, highlighted by a fifteen-yard touchdown to Jeron Harvey, on a four-play, 40-yard drive and one play later Jerry Turner intercepted a tipped Raudabugh pass and returned it for a touchdown to cut the deficit in half with 6:23 to go in the third. Dan Raudabaugh responded with three straight completions on the ensuing four-play drive that put Philadelphia back up three scores on Ryan McDaniel's 20-yard touchdown. The margin was trimmed back to fourteen when Jeron Harvey caught a 24-yard touchdown at the end of the period. The Sharks began the final period down by two touchdowns and had their backs against the wall after another failed onside kick attempt, but the dreams of a comeback stayed alive when Micheaux Robinson intercepted Raudabaugh at his own seven-yard line. Just as quickly as the murmurs of a comeback were revived, they got crushed when Bernard Morris failed to complete a pass on three consecutive throws from the Philadelphia-20 that resulted in a turnover on downs. Dan Raudabaugh responded with a 23-yard pass to McDaniel on the next play that setup Derrick Ross for a seven-yard to push the lead back to 21 with 9:18 left. Markee White and Tiger Jones traded touchdown catches once again and with 3:30 remaining the Soul were still leading by a comfortable three-score margin. Bernard Morris tossed two final touchdowns of this 2013 season in the final minutes, but the Soul had already secured their second straight conference crown. The Soul took advantage of early mistakes by Jacksonville to grab a double digit lead and never looked back. Philadelphia returns to the Arena Bowl with a 75-59 win.
Stat Leaders:
Philadelphia (14-6) Jacksonville (13-7) - eliminated
Dan Raudabaugh 18-27, 220 yds, Bernard Morris 31-49, 416 yds, 8 TD, 2 Int
8 TD, 2 Int Markee White 14 rec, 188 yds, 4 TD
Derrick Ross 12 rush, 54 yds, 2 TD; Jeron Harvey 7 rec, 101 yds, 3 TD
2 rec, 31 yds, 2 TD Jeff Hughley 5 rec, 87 yds, TD
Ryan McDaniel 7 rec, 88 yds, 2 TD Matt Marcorelle sack, FF
Tiger Jones 6 rec, 68 yds, 2 TD Jerry Turner 0.5 sack, Fumb Rec, Int-ret TD
Larry Brackins 2 rec, 18 yds, 2 TD Micheaux Robinson Int
Rayshaun Kizer Int
James Romain Int-ret TD
National Conference Championship:
Arizona Rattlers 65, Spokane Shock 57
Arguably the best two teams in the league squared off for the National Conference crown in the desert when the Rattlers and Shock did battle for the third time in 2013 on CBS Sports Network. The defending champs looked to make a third straight appearance in Arena Football's biggest game, but would the west division foes be the road block to that hope!?
Erik Meyer hushed the people of the pit by leading a three-play drive that opened the scoring with his three-yard run. Nick Davila got his first chance and directed a seven-play, 45-yard drive that tied the game on Tysson Poots' twelve-yard touchdown. The game didn't stay tied for long as Meyer connected with Brandon Thompkins for a 45-yard score on Spokane's very next play. It appeared like we would have a shoot-out when Davila had the Rattlers at Spokane's eight-yard line in four plays, but the Shock defense made the first stand of the night by forcing three consecutive incompletions and then Jeremy Geathers made a fourth-down sack. The momentum was suddenly all in favor of the visitors when Meyer hit Adron Tennell for 21 yards and then went back to Thompkins for an eleven-yard touchdown in the next two plays. Nick Davila calmed the storm with three completions on a four-play scoring drive that ended on a fifteen-yard catch and run by Odie Armstrong. Erik Meyer kept the Shock rolling with a quick three-play drive that resulted in Brandon Thompkins' seventeen-yard touchdown. Through the first 21 minutes everything was going Spokane's way and the snakes had a dog-fight on their hands, but things changed before the intermission. The turning of the tide began when Arkeith Brown returned the kickoff after Thompkins's third touchdown 56 yards for a score, cutting the deficit to seven. Brandon Thompkins snagged his fourth touchdown of the half, and Tysson Poots hauled in an eleven-yard score to keep the margin at seven with 55 seconds left in the first half. The Rattlers recovered Garrett Lindholm's onside kick and put together an eight-play series that ended the half on Lindholm's 26-yard field goal. Arizona began the third quarter trailing by four, but a dominant fifteen minutes would change all that. After being sacked and staring at a fourth down and forever, Nick Davila found Maurice Purify for a 44-yard score that gave the snakes their first lead off the night. The Shock needed an answers, but came up empty when Meyer misfired on four straight passes from Arizona's 22-yard line. Arizona pushed the lead to nine on the next play when Rod Windsor was the recipient of a 28-yard touchdown. You could feel the game beginning to slip away for the Shock and if it didn't feel that way, it did after Thompkins fumbled a six-yard catch on Spokane's next play. Davila quickly cashed in fast on Purify's five-yard touchdown. Jeremy Kellem ended Spokane's next series and the third quarter with an interception. The Rattlers grew a sixteen-point lead into a 58-35 advantage when Tysson Poots caught a four-yard touchdown to begin the fourth. A game that got off to such a good start for the Shock had completely turned the opposite way during a span of 37 unanswered Arizona points at the 12:56 mark in the fourth quarter. Spokane scored its first points of the second half when Brandon Thompkins caught a seven-yard pass for his fifth touchdown of the night. Arizona recovered the ensuing onside kick and Rod Windsor hauled in a ten-yard score on the next play to keep the lead at 23 midway through the fourth. The victory looked to be safe for Arizona when a nine-play, five-and-half minute drive by the Shock failed to produce points and turned the ball over to the Rattlers with 3:16 to play. The Shock defense held tough and earned a stop with under a minute to left. Erik Meyer found Adron Tennell for a 30-yard touchdown on the next play to get Spokane within sixteen with only 45 seconds remaining. The Shock successfully recovered an onside kick and all of a sudden the people of the pit were cautiously hoping their team would hold on. A five-play, 41-second drive ended on a four-yard touchdown by Tennell, which was followed by a successful two-point conversion, but it deemed to be too little, too late as only four seconds remained. Arizona recovered the ensuing onside kick and Nick Davila threw one final pass into the stands to secure a 65-57 victory. Arizona survived a tough start and used a dominant third quarter that was jump-started with a momentous finish to the first half to win their third National Conference title in a row and keep the dream of a repeat alive.
Stat Leaders:
Spokane (15-5) - eliminated Arizona (17-3)
Erik Meyer 24-41, 344 yds, 7 TD, Nick Davila 24-42, 294 yds, 8 TD
Int; Rush TD Odie Armstrong 2 rec, 26 yds, TD; 13 rush yds
Brandon Thompkins 11 rec, 184 yds, 5 TD Rod Windsor 7 rec, 68 yds, 2 TD; 16 rush yds
Adron Tennell 11 rec, 125 yds, 2 TD Tysson Poots 9 rec, 96 yds, 3 TD
James Romain 1.5 sacks Maurice Purify 6 rec, 104 yds, 2 TD
Jeremy Geathers sack Cliff Dukes 2 sacks
Jeremy Kellem FF, Int
Arkeith Brown kick-ret TD
Two weeks and six excellent playoff games have narrowed the field down to the final two teams who will be facing off for the big prize in Orlando this coming Saturday, August 17th at 1 p.m. EST. For the second straight season, the Arizona Rattlers will face the Philadelphia Soul in the Arena Bowl.
Arena Bowl 26: Arizona Rattlers vs. Philadelphia Soul - Saturday, August 17th at 1 p.m. EST
For more on either of these two games, the Arena Football League, or the road to Arena Bowl 26 go to:
http://www.arenafootball.com/sports/a-footbl/sched/afl-a-footbl-sched.html
http://www.arenafootball.com/arenabowl/
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