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Arena Football: Home Opener Tonight For Philadelphia Soul

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Arena football finally is back in South Philadelphia.

For the first time since July 2008, the Philadelphia Soul will play a home game tonight, hosting the Tampa Bay Storm.

The Soul won the Arena Bowl that year, right before the league suspended operations and the Soul went dormant until this year.

Philadelphia already has four games under its belt, but all were on the road, and the Soul went 1-3.

"As far as wins go, not a lot has worked," says head coach Mike Hohensee (right) about the early part of this season.  "We're making progress, I think.  We've been close the last couple of weeks -- we lost in the last minute -- but we've got a very young team and they've stayed positive and I think what's working is the chemistry with this football team because we're still very productive in practice.  It doesn't look like anyone is hanging their head.  We're working toward a goal, and that's to win (game) #2."

Hear Matt Leon's full interview with Mike Hohensee in this CBS Philly SportsPod...

Podcast

And while the team's record isn't where Hohensee would like it to be, the coach says some guys have stood out in the early going.

"Donovan Morgan, offensively, has been a standout receiver (35 catches, eight touchdowns).  When we've had time to get him the football he has done some special things with it.  Tanner Varner, one of our defensive backs, I think is one of the top two or three interceptors in the league.  Up front we've got a bevy of pass rushers in Willie Evans, Dustin Barno, (Jerome) Hayes, (Darrell) Campbell, (Brandon) Perkins.  Those guys are continuing to put pressure on people," says Hohensee.

Tampa Bay also comes to town 1-3, and Hohensee talks about what they bring to the table:

"They were in the Arena Bowl last year, they got a lot of their guys back and they added some.  Hank Edwards is one of the top receivers in the league, and they added a kid named Huey Whittaker who is an incredible receiver.  They got their noseguard back, Tim McGill, who is probably the most feared noseguard in Arena Football right now."

Tonight's game at the Wells Fargo Center will kick off at 8:00 pm.

Reported by Matt Leon, KYW Newsradio 1060

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