Soul, Predators Battle For Conference Crown

Winner Earns Top Seed in American Conference Playoffs

July 27,2016
LAS VEGAS (July 27,2016) -- You could not have scripted a better ending to the 2016 regular season. The Road to ArenaBowl heads into the final weekend of the regular season as the Philadelphia Soul (12-3) battle the Orlando Predators (12-3) at Amway Center this Saturday, July 30 at 7:30 p.m. ET on WatchESPN for the American Conference title. Philadelphia head coach Clint Dolezel and 2015 MVP QB Dan Raudabaugh (69.1 comp. %, 3,968 passing yards and 91 TDs) look to make another run at an ArenaBowl appearance -- three in five seasons. Year-end Award and All-Arena candidates DL Jake Metz (28.0 total tackles, an AFL-leading 8.0 sacks and two forced fumbles) and DB Tracy Belton (79.5 total tackles, an AFL-leading 9 INTs and 27 passes defended) lead the Soul defense. Orlando head coach Rob Keefe and QB Bernard Morris (62.7 comp. %, 916 passing yards, 21 passing TDs and 7 rushing TDs) are focused to bring the regular season crown back to the Sunshine State. Year-end Award and All-Arena candidate WR/KR Brandon Thompkins (3,264 all-purpose yards, 129 receptions and 44 total TDs) will be the sparkplug for the Predators' offense. All-Arena candidates DL Daryl Cato-Bishop (20.5 total tackles, 4.0 sacks and two forced fumbles) and DB Varmah Sonie (93.0 total tackles, 6 INTs and 22 passes defended) lead the Predators' defense.


Elsewhere, All-Arena candidate WR T.T. Toliver (110 receptions for 1,494 yards, 23 TDs and 138 points in 2016) and the Tampa Bay Storm (2-13) travel to Veterans Memorial Arena to take on Year-end and All-Arena candidate WR Joe Hills (154 catches for 1,928 yards, 54 TDs and 324 points in 2016) and the Jacksonville Sharks on Saturday, July 30 at 7 p.m. ET on WatchESPN. The Storm are coming off a big home victory over Portland and QB Adam Kennedy (424 passing yards and 10 TDs in his last two games) has taken over the reins of the Storm offense. Storm DL James McClinton earned Riddell Defensive Player of the Week honors after a monster game that saw him block two kicks, including the potential game-winning field goal. Jacksonville's Year-end and All-Arena candidates QB Tommy Grady (68.5 comp. %, 4,241 passing yards and 86 TDs) and DB Greg Reid (95.0 total tackles, 8 INTs and a forced fumble) lead the Sharks' attack.
Also, All-Arena candidate WR Donovan Morgan (101 catches for 1,332 yards and 39 TDs) and the Los Angeles KISS will battle QB Shane Austin (2,324 passing yards, 44 passing TDs and 8 rushing TDs in 10 games) and the Portland Steel at the Moda Center on Monday, August 1 at 10 p.m. ET on WatchESPN. Los Angeles' secondary is patrolled by All-Arena candidates Fred Obi, Clevan Thomas and Josh Victorian (Combined 12 INTs, 44 passes defended and 4 fumble recoveries), while Portland All-Arena candidate WR Tom Gilson (127 receptions for 1,269 yards and 14 TDs) partners with former Rookie of the Year WR Jared Perry (66 catches for 810 yards and 11 TDs) and WR Nick Truesdell (15 catches, 200 yards and 8 TDs in 5 games) as the scoring threat for the Steel.
The Arizona Rattlers (13-3) and Cleveland Gladiators (7-9) have a Bye Week in Week 18, but will prepare for the postseason that begins on Saturday, August 6.
For complete official statistics, game notes and media guides, go to: www.afldigital.com.

WEEK 18 MATCHUPS Tampa Bay Storm (2-13) AT Jacksonville Sharks (6-9)
Saturday, July 30 at 7 p.m. ET (WatchESPN)

	TAMPA BAY	JACKSONVILLE
REG. SEASON SERIES LEADER	Jacksonville leads 11-4
STREAKS	W1	W1
LAST WEEK	W 41-40 vs. Steel	W 46-32 vs. KISS
LAST REG SEASON MEETING	6/11/16 Sharks 67 at Storm 34
TOTAL OFFENSE (RANK)	253.7 (8)	308.1 (1)
TOTAL DEFENSE (RANK)	245.2 (1)	289.7 (6)
POINTS SCORED (RANK)	35.5 (8)	52.1 (4)
POINTS ALLOWED (RANK)	54.3 (6)	49.3 (5)
TURNOVER MARGIN (RANK)	-16 (7)	+6 (T-3)

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: STORM: The Storm enters the game coming off of a hard fought victory over the Portland Steel. With 3.9 seconds left in regulation, and up by one point, Storm DL James McClinton blocked a potential game-winning field goal... McClinton had two blocked kicks in last week's victory and currently leads the Storm with 3.0 sacks... Storm QB Adam Kennedy has connected on 62-of-108 passes for 707 yards, 14 passing TDs and 3 rushing scores... 13-year veteran and All-Arena candidate WR T.T. Toliver is showing no signs of slowing down as he leads Tampa Bay in receptions (110), receiving yards (1,494), receiving TDs (23) and scoring (138)... In the last meeting against Jacksonville, Toliver became the AFL's all-time leader for career receiving yards with his second TD catch in the second quarter... In just four games, WR/KR Kendrick Ings has 15 receptions for 176 yards, one receiving TD, 19 KO returns for 408 yards and one KO return TD... In just four games, WR Prechae Rodriguez has 31 catches for 313 yards and six TDs... DBs Cortez Stubbs (74.5 total tackles, 3 INTs, 15 passes defended and 3 fumble recoveries) and James Harrell (57.0 total tackles, 3 INTs, 12 passes defended and 1 fumble recovery) are proving to be a dynamic duo in the Storm secondary... SHARKS: Interim head coach Bob Landsee picked up his first victory with the Sharks last week and now has an AFL career regular season record of 25-30... Year-end Award and All-Arena candidate WR Joe Hills has caught at least one TD pass in 67 consecutive regular-season games played... A five-time First Team All-Arena selection, FB Derrick Ross is the AFL's all-time leader in both rushing yards and rushing TDs... Ross earned Under Armour Offensive Player of the Week honors for his 64-yard, three-TD performance against the LA KISS... DB Greg Reid earned First Team All-Arena and AFL Rookie of the Year honors a season ago despite not joining the team until the seventh game of the regular season. Reid has picked off 17 passes in 26 career regular-season appearances... The Sharks return the entirety of a starting pass-protection unit that yielded just eight sacks in 2015. The team has allowed 10 sacks through 15 games this season... WR Reggie Gray has accounted for seven total TDs in his first six games as a Shark... All-Arena candidate QB Tommy Grady has connected on 379-of-553 passes for 4,241 yards, 86 TDs and only seven INTs.

Philadelphia Soul (12-3) AT Orlando Predators (12-3)
Saturday, July 30 at 7:30 p.m. ET (WatchESPN)<

	PHILADELPHIA	ORLANDO
REG. SEASON SERIES LEADER	Philadelphia leads 12-4
STREAKS	W3	L1
LAST WEEK	Bye Week	Bye Week
LAST REG SEASON MEETING	5/21/16 Soul 62 vs. Predators 54
TOTAL OFFENSE (RANK)	293.9 (2)	277.4 (4)
TOTAL DEFENSE (RANK)	265.9 (2)	270.7 (5)
POINTS SCORED (RANK)	61.1 (2)	55.6 (3)
POINTS ALLOWED (RANK)	47.6 (2)	47.8 (3)
TURNOVER MARGIN (RANK)	+5 (5)	+11 (2)

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: Soul: QB Dan Raudabaugh continues to impress this season after being named last year's MVP and Offensive Player of the Year... Raudabaugh, MVP and Offensive Player candidate this year, has completed 318-of-460 passes for 3,968 yards, 91 TDs and 13 INTs this season...In his last outing against Orlando, the six-year veteran went for 20-of-27 for 180 yards, four TDs, and zero INTs... Raudabaugh has the All-Arena candidates receiving duo of WR Darius Reynolds and WR Shaun Kauleinamoku to haul in those TD passes... Reynolds leads the team with 105 receptions for 1,364 yards and 36 TDs... Kauleinamoku has hauled in 95 catches for 1,215 yards and 23 yards in 2016... FB Jeramie Richardson is the Soul's go-to guy when it comes to the run game... The All-Arena candidate has rushed the ball 95 times for 303 yards and 20 TDs... Richardson is No. 2 in the League in rushing yards (303) and is tied for first in rushing TDs (20)... The Soul defense is led by DB Tracy Belton and DB Dwayne Hollis... Belton, a Defensive Player of the Year candidate, has tallied 79.5 total tackles, 18 pass break-ups, seven passes defended, one forced fumble, two fumble recoveries, and a League leading nine INTs... Hollis has 64.5 total tackles, eight pass break-ups, 16 passes defended, and eight INTs... Belton and Hollis each have three INT returns for TDs... PREDATORS: QB Bernard Morris has helped keep the Predators on the winning path since taking over quarterback duties... Morris is 3-1 as a starter in 2016 and has completed 84-of-134 passes for 916 yards, 21 TDs and two INTs along with 31 rushing attempts for 136 yards and seven TDs this season... WR Brandon Thompkins continues to prove why he is a candidate for Offensive Player of the Year and All-Arena...The five-year veteran leads Orlando with 129 receptions for 1,492 yards and 37 TDs, while contributing 84 kick returns for 1,695 yards and five TDs... Thompkins leads the League in all-purpose yards with 3,264 and is on pace to finish among the all-time single-season leaders for all-purpose yards... WR Greg Carr is another go-to target for Morris... Carr has hauled in 83 catches for 1,146 yards and 28 TDs in 2016... Thompkins and Carr combined for 20 receptions for 232 yards and six TDs against the Soul defense in Week 8... The Orlando defense is led by DB Varmah Sonie and DB Paul Stephens... Sonie, an All-Arena candidate, has tacked on 93.0 total tackles, 16 pass break-ups, 22 passes defended, one forced fumble... Stephens has contributed to the defense 71.0 total tackles, 12 pass break-ups, and 18 passes defended... Sonie and Stephens lead the team in INTs with six each.
LOS ANGELES KISS (7-8) AT PORTLAND STEEL (2-13)
Monday, August 1 at 10 p.m. ET (WatchESPN)

	LOS ANGELES	PORTLAND
REG. SEASON SERIES LEADER	Los Angeles leads 5-3
STREAKS	L1	L1
LAST WEEK	L 46-32 at Sharks	L 41-40 at Storm
LAST REG SEASON MEETING	5/28/16 KISS 54 vs. Steel 42
TOTAL OFFENSE (RANK)	263.9 (6)	253.9 (7)
TOTAL DEFENSE (RANK)	266.9 (4)	266.3 (3)
POINTS SCORED (RANK)	46.0 (6)	41.5 (7)
POINTS ALLOWED (RANK)	46.7 (1)	59.1 (8)
TURNOVER MARGIN (RANK)	+6 (T-3)	-20 (8)

WHAT TO LOOK FOR: KISS: WR Donovan Morgan currently leads the AFL in TDs per reception (.386) and is No. 3 in the AFL with 39 receiving TDs. He is also No. 7 in receiving yards per game (88.8) So far this season, Morgan has scored two TDs in all but one game... Morgan has at least one TD in 24 consecutive regular season games... Morgan moved into No. 9 in the all-time receptions (895) leaderboard, he is just 22 receptions away from the No. 8 position (James Roe, 916)... FB Rory Nixon is No. 5 in the AFL with 10 rushing TDs. He also boasts the No. 9 highest rushing yards per game (5.0)... DB Fredrick Obi's 5.8 tackles per game ranks No. 6 in the AFL. He is also No. 10 in passes defended per game (1.40). Additionally, he is No. 5 in INT return yards (111)... Obi continues to set the LA KISS' single-season total tackles record. He now has 87.5 tackles this season, 16 more than Rayshaun Kizer's previous record... QB Pete Thomas (55.0 comp. %, 1,828 yards and 38 TDs) jumped into duty last week after QB Nathan Stanley (58.7 comp. %, 2,057 yards and 41 TDs) went down with injury early in last week's game... STEEL: DB Mike McMillan leads the Steel with 50.5 total tackles, while adding one INT and a forced fumble... DB Sergio Gilliam leads the Steel with three INTs, while adding 50.0 total tackles, 10 passes defended and a forced fumble... Last week against Tampa, WR Nick Truesdell scored three times, including a thrilling 45-yard catch and run as he broke tackles on his way to the end zone. In 27 career AFL games, he has hauled in 127 passes for 1,527 yards and 38 TDs... DB Shaine Boyle has suited up for the Steel in the last seven contests. To go along with 33.0 tackles and one INT as he covers some of the AFL's talent at wide out, he has become quite the find when it comes to special teams... DL Robert Hayes leads the Steel with 5.0 sacks and three forced fumbles, while adding 17.0 total tackles and a fumble recovery... After playing in only 11 games in 2015, Hayes was able to tally a half-sack against the LA KISS (5/16/15). In Week 6 against LA, he racked in a career-high 2.0 sacks against Nathan Stanley... In Week 9 against LA, he sacked KISS QB Pete Thomas once, stripped him of the football and recovered the ball. That gives him 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery, all of which have come at the hands of the LA KISS.