Georgia Doom Sign Wide Receiver Larry Beavers

The Georgia Doom have signed former NFL wide receiver Larry Beavers. He spent time with the Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints.

Beavers holds the NCAA record for kickoff returns (10) and is also second all-time in receiving yards (2,366) according to the Doom press release. His arena football career began in 2011 when he signed with the Iowa Barnstormers.

Over the last six seasons, he’s also played with the Pittsburgh Power (2012), New Orleans Voodoo (2013-15), Las Vegas Outlaws (2015), Cleveland Gladiators (2016, 2017) and Philadelphia Soul (2017). He also had a stint with the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League (CFL) in 2011.

Beavers was very limited during his time in 2017. He recorded 4.5 tackles on defense and returned seven kicks for 117 yards on special teams.

He will be joining talented wide receiver Christian Wise on the Georgia Doom expansion franchise. Expect Beavers to see more playing time on offense, as well as defense and special teams.

One reason he may have been limited, especially on offense, was because Philadelphia already had wide receivers such as Ryan McDaniel, Darius Reynolds and Shaun Kauleinamoku.

Georgia will begin their first season in tis American Arena League on Saturday, March 24 when they host their in-state rival and possibly the most dangerous team in the league in the Atlanta Havoc. Their season ends on June 9, also against the Havoc.

Philadelphia Soul Sign Wide Reciever Larry Beavers

The Philadelphia Soul have signed wide receiver Larry Beavers. Beavers spent the 2016 season and little time in the 2017 season with the Cleveland Gladiators.

Beavers is playing his sixth season in the Arena Football League out of Wesley College. He was named to the Arena Football League All-Arena Second Team in 2016 after recording 50 catches for 703 yards and eight touchdowns.

“I am excited to have Larry on our roster,” Soul head coach Clint Dolziel said on his new receiver. “He is a great receiver will be a welcoming addition to our strong receiving core.”

The Soul bring on Beavers to join the already talented Soul offense. He will be a great addition for Dan Raudabaugh, as well. He has struggled with his passing a bit this season, despite having some of the best receivers in the league in Shaun Kauleinamoku, Ryan McDaniel and Darius Reynolds.

Also, with Raudabaugh throwing to him, expect Beavers to increase his numbers from last season. Despite it being more than halfway through the season, Raudabaugh does so well in spreading out the ball, Beavers could score nine touchdowns in the team’s final six games.

The Soul are the defending ArenaBowl champions. They forced five turnovers, including two interceptions by James Romain, to defeat the Arizona Rattlers in ArenaBowl XXIX last August.

Now, in their 30th season, the league has five teams, including two expansion teams, the Washington Valor and Baltimore Brigade. Philadelphia will look to be the first defending champions since the Arizona Rattlers won three in a row from 2012-2014. ArenaBowl XXX will be played Saturday, Aug. 26, one year after the Soul won it all.

Through Week 10, only the Soul and Tampa Bay Storm have clinched a playoff spot. The two teams will meet for the second time this season on Saturday. The game will be at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.

Cleveland Keeps A Couple Keys To Their Offense

The Cleveland Gladiators are bringing back dual-threat quarterback Arvell Nelson and offensive lineman D.J. Brandel. Nelson, 28, is returning for his second season in Cleveland. He is a local product from Cleveland that played his college ball at Texas Southern.

Nelson started the season at jack linebacker for Cleveland, and after many injuries Nelson got his first start in Week 5 vs the Orlando Predators. Nelson led all quarterbacks in rushing with 211 yards. He also finished the season with 11 scores.

Brandel, 25, is also returning for his second season season in Cleveland, He earned second team All-Arena honors last season. Brandel played in all but one game for the Glads in 2016.

He also showed off his hands, as well, something that is asked of lineman in the arena game a lot more compared to outdoor. Brandel brought in five passes for 36 yards and two touchdowns.

With Cleveland’s strength being the defensive side of the ball, and the addition of top level defensive back Rayshaun Kizer. The Glads are doing a nice job of rounding out a complete team.

The team also announced wide receiver Larry Beavers was placed on reassignment.

Gladiators Defeat KISS 56-52

The Los Angeles KISS were in the perfect position to defeat the Cleveland Gladiators for the third time this season on Sunday night, when LA was hosting a first round playoff game at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California. Los Angeles had the 46-34 lead in the early stages of the fourth quarter, and they held the 46-41 lead with two minutes left to go in the game. The KISS had the ball in the Geico Blue Zone, but on fourth down, LA didn’t opt to attempt a field goal, and fullback Rory Nixon was stopped short, giving the Gladiators possession with under two minutes remaining.

Cleveland had a third down inside the Blue Zone, and quarterback Arvell Nelson threw an incomplete pass, but an illegal defense penalty committed by the KISS gave the Gladiators an automatic first down. Cleveland would take advantage of the penalty, as Nelson scored on a QB sneak, giving Cleveland the 47-46 lead. Nelson would also tack on two extra points after converting the two-point try, which meant the KISS would need a field goal to tie the game. Los Angeles had burned all of their timeouts, so they could only stop the clock by getting out of bounds.

LA had 30 seconds to tie the game, but it turned out that they wouldn’t get the chance to tie the game. The ensuing kickoff bounced off the net, and Fred Williams couldn’t come up with it, and that meant bad news for the KISS. Cleveland’s Larry Beavers picked up the football, and he would end up scoring the game-clinching touchdown. Los Angeles didn’t go away, as Nathan Stanley hooked up with Williams on an eight-yard touchdown pass, which cut the Gladiators lead to 56-52.

Garrett Lindholm missed the extra point, which meant the KISS would need a touchdown to win the game if they recovered the onside kick. Los Angeles attempted the onside kick, but Cleveland was able to recover it easily, and the Gladiators outlasted the KISS, 56-52.

Cleveland came out of the gates firing, as they ended the first quarter with a 20-6 lead. Los Angeles had a much better second quarter, as they only trailed by two points heading into halftime. Another strong quarter in the third gave LA the 12-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Los Angeles was unable to beat Cleveland for the third time this season, as the KISS finished the season with a 7-10 record, which is LA’s best record in franchise history.

Nathan Stanley completed 19 of his 34 passes for 205 yards and five touchdowns. Donovan Morgan caught nine passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns in his final game in the AFL. Nelson completed 13 of his 26 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns. He also scored one touchdown on the ground. Collin Taylor caught eight passes for 95 yards and one touchdown. The Gladiators will be moving on to the National Conference Championship Game, where they will play the Arizona Rattlers for the right to go to the ArenaBowl.