The Philadelphia Soul hosted the Tampa Bay Storm in ArenaBowl XXX at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. Philadelphia was looking to win their second consecutive ArenaBowl title and the Storm were looking to win their record sixth title.
James Romain intercepted a Randy Hippeard pass on fourth down and the Soul took over. They would attempt to capitalize with a field goal, but the kick was no good. Kendrick Ings would return it all the way for a touchdown to give Tampa a 6-0 lead after the extra point was missed.
Following two wide open dropped passes by Darius Reynolds, Philadelphia turned the ball over on downs and Tampa took over. Both teams turned the ball over in the first quarter, which ended with the Storm holding their 6-0 lead.
Philadelphia finally got on the board when Dan Raudabaugh found former Lehigh Valley Steelhawks receiver Darius Prince for a two-yard touchdown. The extra point gave them a 7-6 lead. Hippeard finds Hills for a deep touchdown to give Tampa Bay the lead back at 13-7.
Alvin Ray Jackson intercepted a Raudabaugh pass and returned it for a touchdown to give Tampa a 20-7 lead. Nearing the end of the first half, Mykel Benson rushed for a one-yard touchdown to make it a 20-14 game. Tampa wouldn’t score and they took their 20-14 lead into the locker room.
On the first drive of the second half, Raudabaugh and Reynolds connected on a long touchdown to give the Soul a 21-20 lead. Tampa took the league back with a touchdown from Hippeard to Ings. Benson scored on another one yard touchdown to give Philadelphia the lead right back. That would prove to be the score at the end of three.
After Tampa turned the ball over on downs, Raudabaugh found Prince for a one yard touchdown to make the score 35-27. A sack on Hippeard in the end zone gave the Soul a 37-27 lead. The Storm would recover their own onside kick, then Hippeard would throw a bomb to Justin Hilton for a touchdown to make it a three point game.
Philadelphia would re-take their 10 point lead after recovering Tampa’s second onside kick attempt. Raudabaugh found Shaun Kauleinamoku for a touchdown. Dwayne Hollis intercepted a long Hippeard pass with 2:40 left.
Philadelphia would run out the clock and win ArenaBowl XXX by a final score of 44-40. The title is their second consecutive and their third in franchise history.
Inside the Arena 