RECAP: Prince and Raudabaugh’s Synergy Send Soul to ArenaBowl 32
A lot of ups and downs helped define the season, but the chemistry never wavered.
After beating the Washington Valor 69-33 in the first game of the home-and-home series, the Philadelphia Soul put the finishing touches on their road to the ArenaBowl with a 48-41 victory on Sunday. Philadelphia wasted no time in putting pressure Washington quarterback Arvell Nelson in the second leg, as the tenacious Soul defense forced a quick turnover on downs to start game two.
However, once Philadelphia quarterback Dan Raudabaugh found receiver Darius Prince on the first play of the team’s opening drive for a 23-yard touchdown, the Soul were in sync. A First Team All-Arena selection this year, Prince has found the endzone in 17 straight contests, which is just as much about the rapport Prince and Raudabaugh have developed with one another than it is any one individuals’ ability.
“With this being my second full season, we’ve gotten familiar with each other, the chemistry is just clicking,” Prince said. “We talk to each other; we watch film together and he believes in me and I believe he’s going to put the ball in the air and that I’m going to come down with it.”
The Penn State-Beaver product would go on to collect six catches for 93-yards and add two more touchdowns to lead the Soul in receiving – but with Aaron Wascha returning to the lineup from injury – Raudabaugh had a plethora of weapons at his disposal. The veteran QB attempted to involve all of them, as he connected with four different receivers, despite Washington attempting several onside kicks to make up ground on the aggerate scoreboard and to box-in the high-flying, Philadelphia offense.
“It’s hard to score in the redzone,” Raudabaugh said. “The refs are going to let them play a little bit – it was pretty physical down there – and that’s okay because our guys are physical too, but we knew we were going to get a lot of redzone touches with the circumstance coming into the game so we just got to continue to get better.”
The nine-year, Arena football veteran completed 46 percent of his passes, while tossing five touchdowns and posting a quarterback rating of 102.6 in the win. While Prince, Raudabaugh and company have already shifted their focus to their ArenaBowl date with the class of the league in the Albany Empire, head coach Clint Dolezel stopped to appreciate the moment, as the victory gave the Soul’s long time coach his 86th career victory with the team.
“We want to win every game we step on the field,” Dolezel said. “I’m excited because our guys deserve it. They play hard, they work hard every day. I don’t know of anybody that practices this hard this long in the season. They love to practice and love to win and that’s a good formula.”
With the win, the Soul will face the Albany Empire in ArenaBowl 32 on Sunday, August 11th at 8 pm at the Times Union Center. The Soul have reached their 3rd ArenaBowl in the last four seasons and will also represent Philadelphia’s 6th appearance in the title game.
Clint Dolezel on Washington’s compete level in the Elimination game: “Hats off to them. Most teams would just shut it down. Your down 43 with three and half quarters to go that’s a tall task to ask, but they came out and played and gave us everything we wanted and more.”
Dan Raudabaugh on the team’s mentality going into Albany: “There’s no pressure on us. It’s all on them. They haven’t won one and they’ve had the great season. It’s at their place. That’s no pressure on us. We’re going to go in there with our ears pinned back and high-flying.”
Darius Prince on staying focused on the championship: “You have to lock in. We’ve been at it now for 16 weeks and you got one week left. This is what you play the game for, all your hard work; getting up, going to practice every day, putting in the extra time in the weight room, watching film, hitting the road and being away from your family, this is what it all comes down to. You have no choice but to give it your all.”
Featured Image: Mike Kruce Photography
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