August 15,2017
(Photo Credit: Philadelphia Soul)
Storm, Soul Set for Showdown in ArenaBowl XXX –
The Tampa Bay Storm and Philadelphia Soul had the two best records in
the AFL all season long, and it's only fitting that they're going to be
the ones deciding the 30th winner of the Foster Trophy in the City of
Brotherly Love on August 26. The Storm are headed back to the ArenaBowl
for a tenth time in their history, tying the Arizona Rattlers for the
most in AFL history. The Soul will be playing in the ArenaBowl for the
fifth time but will be hosting for the first time.
Most ArenaBowl Appearances in AFL History Tampa Bay Storm/Pittsburgh Gladiators: 10Arizona Rattlers: 10
Orlando Predators: 7
Philadelphia Soul: 5Detroit Drive: 4
The Money Shot – Darius Reynolds had himself a ball game on Saturday night to kick off the playoffs. With Ryan McDaniel sidelined, the man they call "Money" was nothing short of straight cash for the Soul. Reynolds finished the day with nine receptions for 171 yards and six scores. The six touchdowns and 171 yards marked Soul records in a postseason game and tied a record for the most points scored in any game by a Philadelphia player in its history. Reynolds has now played in six career playoff games and already has three 100+ yard games and has scored at least one TD in all six.
Most Receiving Touchdowns in a Playoff Game in Soul History Darius Reynolds: 6 (vs. Baltimore, 8/12/17)Larry Brackins: 5 (vs. Jacksonville, 8/3/12)
Marco Thomas: 4 (vs. Jacksonville, 8/23/15)
Larry Brackins: 4 (vs. Arizona, 8/10/12)
Chris Jackson: 4 (vs. New York, 7/5/08)
Most Receiving Yards in a Playoff Game in Soul History Darius Reynolds: 171 (vs. Baltimore, 8/12/17)Shaun Kauleinamoku: 149 (vs. Jacksonville, 8/23/15)
Marco Thomas: 147 (vs. Jacksonville, 8/23/15)
Chris Jackson: 146 (vs. San Jose, 7/27/08)
Ryan McDaniel: 137 (vs. Arizona, 8/17/13)
Rolling With Raudabaugh – No great receiving performance is complete without a great showing from the man under center. Dan Raudabaugh kicked off his postseason with seven straight completions, including five touchdowns against a Baltimore defense that seemingly had no answers for him. The "Red Rocket" finished the day with nine scores, breaking his own record of eight passing touchdowns to set the new Soul mark for passing TDs in a postseason game. Raudabaugh's 324 yards were third most by a player in Philadelphia history; he owns the record with 377 yards against Jacksonville in 2015 and the second best mark as well with 325 yards versus Orlando in 2013.
Most Passing Touchdowns in a Playoff Game in Soul History Dan Raudabaugh: 9 (vs. Baltimore, 8/12/17)Dan Raudabaugh: 8 (vs. Tampa Bay, 8/7/16)
Dan Raudabaugh: 8 (at Jacksonville, 8/10/13)
Matt D'Orazio: 8 (vs. Cleveland, 7/27/08)
Most Passing Yards in a Playoff Game in Soul HistoryDan Raudabaugh: 377 (vs. Jacksonville, 8/23/15)
Dan Raudabaugh: 325 (vs. Orlando, 8/3/13)
Dan Raudabaugh: 324 (vs. Baltimore, 8/12/17)Dan Raudabaugh: 317 (vs. Jacksonville, 8/14/16)
Tony Graziani: 316 (vs. Austin, 5/21/06)
Reggie Racks Up 1,000 – Reggie Gray inevitably will hold his place in the AFL Hall of Fame one day in the not-distant future. One final accolade he picked up in 2017 came by surpassing the 1,000-yard receiving mark in the playoffs. Gray has played in just 11 postseason games, but he has 1,021 yards and 27 touchdowns to show for his work in that span, making him one of the most accomplished receivers in AFL postseason history. Gray has posted at least 100 receiving yards in six of his 11 career playoff appearances, including in five in a row. Gray has found the end zone at least once in all 11 of his playoff games.
A Debut Fit For a Prince – Over the course of his last 30 regular season games, Raudabaugh played with the same trio of receivers, McDaniel, Reynolds and Shaun Kauleinamoku 28 times. You'd think it would be a bad time to have a major injury to one of your three receivers, right? Think again. Rookie Darius Prince played in his very first AFL game in the opening round of the playoffs and lit up the Brigade secondary, amassing four receptions for 76 yards and a touchdown.
Scoring Spree in Tampa – The Storm couldn't stop scoring on Monday night. They tallied 73 in all to eliminate the Gladiators, the tenth most by any team in a playoff game in AFL history and the most in team history.
Most Points Scored in a Playoff Game in AFL HistoryPhiladelphia Soul: 89 (vs. Jacksonville, 8/3/12)
Arizona Rattlers: 84 (vs. Portland, 8/6/16)
Grand Rapids Rampage: 83 (vs. Indiana, 8/12/01)|
Arizona Rattlers: 82 (vs. Cleveland, 8/13/16)
San Jose SaberCats: 81 (vs. Grand Rapids, 7/12/08)
New York Dragons: 77 (at Dallas, 6/27/08)
San Jose SaberCats: 76 (vs. Colorado, 7/7/07)
Philadelphia Soul: 75 (at Jacksonville, 8/10/13)
Arizona Rattlers: 75 (vs. Utah, 8/4/12)
Tampa Bay Storm: 73 (vs. Cleveland, 8/14/17)Jacksonville Sharks: 73 (at Arizona, 8/12/11)
Orlando Predators: 73 (at Jacksonville, 8/6/10)
Cleveland Gladiators: 73 (at Georgia, 7/7/08)
Albany Firebirds: 73 (vs. Arizona, 8/14/99)
Hippeard, Ings Come Close to Team Records – Any time a player can set a Storm/Gladiators team record, they've accomplished something. The organization has been in existence for 30, and some of the greatest names in the history of the AFL have donned the blue and gold. Yet in this postseason, both Randy Hippeard and Kendrick Ings neared records that have stood the test of time for decades. Hippeard finished with 313 passing yards, just five shy of the all-time Storm postseason record, while Ings had 124 yards, right up with what some of the all-time greatest accomplished in playoff games' past in Tampa. Hippeard also threw seven touchdown passes, tying a Storm record that is held by Brett Dietz (twice), Jay Gruden (twice), Shane Stafford (twice) and John Kaleo.
Most Passing Yards in a Playoff Game in Storm HistoryShane Stafford: 318 (at San Jose, 6/5/04)
Brett Dietz: 315 (vs. Columbus, 6/30/07)
Randy Hippeard: 313 (vs. Cleveland, 8/14/17)Jay Gruden: 309 (vs. Albany, 8/18/95)
John Kaleo: 306 (vs. Milwaukee, 7/29/00)
Most Pass Completions in a Playoff Game in Storm HistoryBrett Dietz: 29 (at Spokane, 8/20/10)
Brett Dietz: 27 (vs. Columbus, 6/30/07)
Shane Stafford: 25 (at San Jose, 6/5/04)
Randy Hippeard: 24 (vs. Cleveland, 8/14/17)Brett Dietz: 24 (vs. Orlando 8/14/10)
Jay Gruden: 24 (at Orlando, 8/14/93)
Most Receiving Yards in a Playoff Game in Storm HistoryGeorge LaFrance: 155 (vs. Arizona, 8/16/96)
Freddie Solomon: 141 (vs. Detroit, 5/31/03)
Lawrence Samuels: 140 (at San Jose, 6/5/04)
Hank Edwards: 132 (at Spokane, 8/20/10)
Charles Wilson: 129 (vs. Orlando, 8/7/99)
George LaFrance: 128 (vs. Albany, 8/18/95)
Stevie Thomas: 127 (vs. Orlando, 9/1/95)
Stevie Thomas: 127 (at Denver, 8/9/91)
Kendrick Ings: 124 (vs. Cleveland, 8/14/17)Darren Willis: 124 (at Detroit, 8/17/91)
He Can't Stop Scoring – Joe Hills was a touchdown machine on Monday night. Not only did he pick up four touchdowns as a receiver, but he also had just his second career kick return for a touchdown on an onside kick. Hills finished the night with 30 total points, second all-time in a playoff game in Storm history. Hills has played in seven career playoff games. He's found the end zone at least four times in five of the seven.
Most Points Scored in a Playoff Game in Storm History
James Bowden: 38 (vs. Milwaukee, 7/29/00)
Joe Hills: 30 (vs. Cleveland, 8/14/17)
George LaFrance: 30 (vs. Arizona, 8/16/96)
Terrill Shaw: 24 (vs. Columbus, 6/30/07)
Stevie Thomas: 24 (at Detroit, 8/17/91)
Most Receiving Touchdowns in a Playoff Game in Storm HistoryGeorge LaFrance: 5 (vs. Arizona, 8/16/96)
Joe Hills: 4 (vs. Cleveland, 8/14/17)Terrill Shaw: 4 (vs. Columbus, 6/30/07)
James Bowden: 4 (vs. Milwaukee, 7/29/00)
Stevie Thomas: 4 (at Detroit, 8/17/91)
A Half to Remember – For a man who hadn't played in a game since Week 11, Quentin Sims sure didn't miss a beat for the Gladiators. Sims finished his first half with eight catches, 77 yards and four touchdowns. It was the first four-touchdown performance in a half since Derrick Ross had four rushing touchdowns for Jacksonville in an upset at Orlando last season. Sims became the first wide receiver to log four TDs in a half since Rod Windsor did so for Arizona at San Jose in 2015. It was Sims' first ever four-touchdown half in his career.
AFL Semifinals Odds and Ends-The Soul have scored at least 55 points in five consecutive playoff games dating back to 2015.
-Shane Boyd tied a career-high with seven touchdown passes, matching the mark he had in his only other playoff start when he was playing with Tampa Bay in 2013.
-Mykel Benson scored a rushing touchdown for the Soul against Baltimore. He has scored at least one rushing TD in all seven of his career postseason appearances.
-Mark Lewis' 30-yard field goal just before halftime was his first three-pointer in his postseason career.
AFL Semifinals Accolades
Top Passing Performances
Dan Raudabaugh (Philadelphia) – 23/35, 324 Yards, 9 TDs, 1 INT
Shane Boyd (Baltimore) – 21/33, 324 Yards, 7 TDs, 1 INT
Arvell Nelson (Cleveland) – 27/40, 322 Yards, 7 TDs, 1 INT
Randy Hippeard (Tampa Bay) – 24/33, 313 Yards, 7 TDs
Top Receiving Performances
Darius Reynolds (Philadelphia) – 9 Receptions, 171 Yards, 6 TDs
Brandon Thompkins (Baltimore) – 8 Receptions, 153 Yards, 1 TD
Quentin Sims (Cleveland) – 13 Receptions, 137 Yards, 5 TDs
Kendrick Ings (Tampa Bay) – 8 Receptions, 124 Yard, 2 TDs
Reggie Gray (Baltimore) – 8 Receptions, 101 Yards, 4 TDs
Top Rushing Performances
Mykel Benson (Philadelphia) – 4 Carries, 15 Yards, 1 TD
Arvell Nelson (Cleveland) – 4 Carries, 13 Yards
Randy Hippeard (Tampa Bay) – 5 Carries, 8 Yards, 2 TDs
Jeramie Richardson (Cleveland) – 7 Carries, 5 Yards, 2 TDs
Brandon Thompkins (Baltimore) – 1 Carry, 4 Yards
Top Defensive PerformancesVarmah Sonie (Baltimore) – 6 Tackles, 1 INT
James Romain (Philadelphia) – 5 Tackles, 1 INT
LaMark Brown (Tampa Bay) – 3 Tackles, 1 INT
Jordan Miller (Tampa Bay) – 1 Tackle, 1 Sack
Justin Lawrence (Philadelphia) – 1 Fumble Recovery
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