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AFL Playoffs - Arena Bowl XXII Recap

Philadelphia Soul tops defending Arena Bowl Champion San Jose SaberCats 59-56

Pro Football Fans Staff Writer Chad Fukoka brings us his recap of Arena Bowl XXII and the 2008 Arena Football League Playoffs.

  • In a highly anticipated matchup, the Philadelphia Soul defeated the San Jose Sabercats, 59-56 in ArenaBowl XXII. In the first quarter, both teams scored touchdowns on each of their two possessions. San Jose moved down the field with short passes and a methodical offense while Philadelphia tested the opposing secondary with a bunch of deep routes. The game was tied at 21 midway through the second quarter when the Soul forced a turnover on downs and scored on the very next play to take its first lead. An interception on the next defensive series resulted in another Soul touchdown and a 34-20 margin. San Jose regained its composure and battled back to make the score 34-27. It appeared the game would be even closer as the Sabercats created a fumble, but they could not recover the ball and a video review confirmed the call on the field of Soul possession. Philadelphia added a field goal to go up by 10 at halftime. So far, San Jose had only produced short gains and were stopped twice on offense and Philadelphia was moving the ball with ease, connecting on several big plays. The third quarter was very low scoring since each team was stopped on their opening drive. Clevan Thomas knocked down a fourth down pass to create a turnover on downs and give San Jose a chance to cut into the lead. They could not capitalize when Gabe Nyenhis forced a fumble as the Sabercats were inside Philadelphia territory. The Soul went up by 17 on a quick passing touchdown and managed to produce a rare safety to extend the margin to 19. San Jose would score at the end of the quarter but still trailed 46-34. San Jose again missed an opportunity to regain possession when Philadelphia fumbled the snap on a field goal attempt and holder Tony Graziani threw an interception. The Sabercats fumbled the ball on the interception return and the Soul recovered near the goal line to set up another touchdown. San Jose was down by 17 with about 40 seconds remaining and the game appeared to be over. They scored on a screen pass to cut the lead to 11 after a failed two-point conversion. They recovered an onside kick and returned it inside the Soul 20-yard line. San Jose scored on the next play to make the margin just 3 points and had scored two touchdowns in 11 seconds. The Sabercats could not recover another onside kick and Philadelphia ran out the clock for their first ArenaBowl championship. Mark Grieb passed for 299 yards and 8 touchdowns. Rodney Wright had 13 receptions for 144 yards and 2 scores while Jason Geathers had 101 yards and 5 scores. San Jose did not attempt a rushing play or a field goal in the game. For Philadelphia, Matt D'Orazio threw for 302 yards and 7 touchdowns. Chris Jackson caught 11 passes for 146 yards and 3 touchdowns and Larry Brackins had 70 yards and 2 scores.

Side Note: This concludes the 2008 AFL season and AFL coverage will return at the start of the 2009 season. Thank you to anyone who has followed the coverage on this site or who has read an article.

 

 

By Chad Fukoka
ProFootball-fans.com Staff Writer

 

> Check out Chad's Arena Football Rules & AFL Basics article and buy AFL merchandise online at Pro Football Fans!