Soul Ready For ArenaBowl XXX Showdown Against Storm

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Philadelphia Soul will look for a second-straight Arena Football League title on Saturday night when they host the Tampa Bay Storm in ArenaBowl XXX.

The Soul were the class of the AFL during the regular season, going 13-1. Then in their semifinal playoff game they beat Baltimore, setting the table for Saturday night.

Needless, to say, it's been a fun ride for head coach Clint Dolezel.

"The guys did everything I asked of them all season long and it paid off," he tells KYW Newsradio. "We won every game but one. It's nice, it's fun, when you're winning it's going to be fun, but this group of guys, they deserve it. They play well, they practice hard and they do things right, on and off the field."

In that semifinal win over Baltimore two weeks ago (69-54), the Soul got big-time performances from some big-time players.
Quarterback Dan Raudabaugh threw nine touchdown passes. Six of them were caught by wide receiver Darius Reynolds.

The Soul are undefeated at home this season, so getting the chance to play for a title in South Philadelphia is big.

"What an advantage it is, in arena football, to have a good crowd," Dolezel says. "We've had good crowds all year long. We're expecting to be even better for the ArenaBowl. It can make a difference."

Tampa Bay went 10-4 during the regular season and beat Cleveland in the semifinals to get here. Dolezel says the discussion of the Storm starts with their talented quarterback Randy Hippeard.

"If you have a quarterback that can (get) it to the recievers, they've got two big ones in (Joe) Hills and (Kendrick) Ings, Ings (AFL) Playmaker of the Year and Joe Hills the (AFL) Reciever of the Year, that's a good combination to have three guys like that on one side," Dolezel says. "And they've got another big receiver too in (Lamark) Brown. They are very similar to us on the offensive side."

Tampa's talent isn't limited to their offense and defense. The Storm have a weapon at kicker in Mark Lewis.

"He's got an array of onside kicks," Dolezel says. "Dribbles, pop ups, pooches. He's got every one of them in the bag."

Philadelphia went 3-0 against Tampa Bay during the regular season.

ArenaBowl XXX will kickoff at 7:00pm on Saturday night.