Philadelphia Soul Beat Baltimore Brigade, Advance to ArenaBowl XXX

The Philadelphia Soul hosted the Baltimore Brigade at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA on Saturday night. The winner would advance to ArenaBowl XXX.

After Philadelphia got on the board, Baltimore made it a 7-6 game with a touchdown from Reggie Gray. The Soul would take a 13-6 lead with a touchdown from Dan Raudabaugh to Shaun Kauleinamoku. Gray’s second touchdown of the game tied the game at 13 at the end of one.

The Soul took the lead back when Raudabaugh found Darius Reynolds for a touchdown. Baltimore tied the game at 20 with a touchdown from Boyd to Brandon Collins. Philadelphia would take control from there.

After Raudabaugh found Darius Prince for a touchdown, the Brigade turned the ball over on downs. The would take a 34-20 lead, then James Romain intercepted a pass to end the first half.

Baltimore would make a comeback in the second half. After Collins’ second touchdown catch of the game, Varmah Somie intercepted a Raudabaugh pass. The Brigade would capitalize on a rushing touchdown from Boyd to make it a 34-33 game. A back and forth third quarter saw the Soul lead 48-40 at the end of three.

The fourth quarter was more of the third, with both offenses going back and forth. With the lead, Justin Lawrence sacked Shane Boyd. Baltimore would turn the ball over on downs and another Reynolds touchdown would seal the game.

The Soul would win by a final 69-54. They will host ArenaBowl XXX on Saturday, Aug. 26. They will face the winner of Monday’s semifinal between the Tampa Bay Storm and Cleveland Gladiators.

Washington Valor Finish Season Strong, Beat Baltimore Brigade 41-35

The Washington Valor closed out a dismal first season with a 41-35 win Friday night in Baltimore.

Both teams saw new starting quarterbacks for their team. Baltimore started Shane Boyd in wake of the Shane Carden concussion injury. Washington started Warren Smith, Jr over Sean Brackett.

The Valor started by taking a 14-0 lead after touchdown catches by T.T. Toliver and Josh Reese. Both teams would exchange end zone turnovers to complete a 14-0 first quarter.

The Brigade would tie it following a pick six by Varmah Somie, his second interception of the game, and they would eventually take a 28-21 lead into the fourth quarter. There, just as it did weeks ago, drama unfolded.

The Valor tied the game with a touchdown pass from Smith to Roger McClain, then Baltimore turned it over on downs for the third time, leading to Roger “Spider-Man” Jackson scoring a touchdown on fourth down to give the Valor the lead. Baltimore marched down the field to get first and goal with four seconds left. It appeared Reggie Gray had caught a touchdown as time expired, but after review, the pass was ruled incomplete.

Still, Baltimore had a chance to score with an untimed down. They failed,- and allowed Washington to get its third win this season-all against Baltimore.

For the Valor, this marks the end of a very disappointing season. One of the most hyped teams in recent memory, they suffered through a 10 game losing streak after winning in Week 1, and never recovered. But for Baltimore, they will face the defending champion Philadelphia Soul at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia next Saturday, Aug. 12.