Philadelphia Claims Arena Bowl Title

PHILADELPHIA 59, SAN JOSE 56

NEW ORLEANS (Ticker) -- Matt D'Orazio and the Philadelphia Soul made sure history did not repeat itself in ArenaBowl XXIII. D'Orazio threw seven touchdown passes and ran for another score as the Soul secured their first league title with a 59-56 victory over the defending champion San Jose SaberCats on Sunday afternoon.

Chris Jackson caught three scoring passes for the Soul (14-3), who booked their trip to the Big Easy with a 70-35 demolition of the Cleveland Gladiators at the Wachovia Center two weeks ago. To claim its first title, Philadelphia had to go through powerful San Jose, which made its second consecutive appearance in the ArenaBowl and fourth in seven seasons.

Last season, the SaberCats won their third league title by defeating the Columbus Destroyers. They could not repeat the feat Sunday thanks to D'Orazio, who also led the Chicago Rush to the title in 2006. This season, he paced the AFL in passer rating (131.3) and completion percentage (72.4) en route to winning the league's Quarterback of the Year Award. D'Orazio completed 26-of-43 passes for 302 yards in this one, connecting with Jackson - the AFL Offensive Player of the Year - once in each of the first three quarters. The final one was a 32-yard score to give Philadelphia an insurmountable 44-27 advantage with 7:56 left. Jackson, who led the league in touchdowns with 49, caught 11 passes for 146 yards for the Soul, whose owner, rocker Bon Jovi, led the raucous celebration as time wound down.

Mark Grieb tossed six touchdown passes for San Jose (11-6), which failed to become the first team since the Tampa Bay Storm (1995-96) and only the third club to win four ArenaBowls, joining Tampa Bay (five) and Detroit (four). The SaberCats made it interesting in the final seconds, scoring 14 points in 11 ticks to fall just short of a remarkable comeback within the final minute.

Arena Football League Commissioner Resigns

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- Two days before the league's championship game, Arena Football League commissioner David Baker announced his resignation on Friday. Baker, 55, held the position for 12 years. He told the league's Board of Directors of his decision, saying it was "time." Baker had received a contract extension last year. This season, the league has seen attendance, television ratings and merchandise sales all increase. The Arena Bowl will be played Sunday in New Orleans, with the Philadelphia Soul facing the San Jose SaberCats.

SoCal Arena Football Capsule

TAMPA BAY 72, LOS ANGELES 47

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- Brett Dietz tossed six touchdowns Saturday, leading the Tampa Bay Storm to a 72-47 victory over the Los Angeles Avengers. Dietz completed 27-of-39 passes for 327 yards for the Storm (8-8), who finished their season with a four-game home winning streak. Lawrence Samuels led Tampa Bay with 11 catches for 99 yards and two touchdowns. Sonny Cumbie completed 18-of-31 passes for 273 yards and five touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions for the Avengers (5-11), who allowed a league-worst 63 points per game this season.

SoCal Arena Football Capsule

LOS ANGELES 51, KANSAS CITY 48

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Timon Marshall scored on a 3-yard run with 34 seconds to play, lifting the Los Angeles Avengers to a 51-48 victory over the Kansas City Brigade on Saturday. Sonny Cumbie threw for four touchdowns and 270 yards for Los Angeles, which twice had to rally from 11 points down. Marshall also had eight catches for 96 yards and a receiving touchdown for the Avengers (5-10). Kansas City (3-12) had taken its final lead at 48-43 on Quincy Carter's 14-yard scoring pass to Mike Horacek with 7:01 left in the game. Carter, a former starter with the Dallas Cowboys, finished 21-of-34 for 223 yards, four touchdown passes and one interception. He also ran for a touchdown.

SoCal Arena Football Capsule

UTAH 65, LOS ANGELES 56

SALT LAKE CITY (Ticker) -- Joe Germaine threw two of his six touchdown passes in the fourth quarter as the Utah Blaze posted a 65-56 triumph over the Los Angeles Avengers.

With Utah trailing, 50-45, Germaine connected with Huey Whittaker for a five-yard TD with 6:46 remaining in the fourth, putting the Blaze ahead for good. It was the third time in the game the duo hooked up for a score. Germaine hit J.J. McKelvey for a 28-yard touchdown just over four minutes later for a 58-50 bulge. Kelvin Morris then returned a fumble 14 yards for a TD with 24 seconds left to seal the win.

Germaine completed 16-of-30 passes for 240 yards with one interception and Rodney Filer scored twice on the ground for Utah (5-10).

Sonny Cumbie went 23-of-42 for 282 yards and four touchdowns for the Avengers (4-10). LaShaun Ward and Kevin Ingram each caught two TD passes, while Michael Cobbins ran for a pair of scores.

SoCal Arena Football Capsule

SAN JOSE 66, LOS ANGELES 56 ---------------------------

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Mark Grieb tossed seven touchdown passes to guide the San Jose SaberCats to a 66-56 triumph over the Los Angeles Avengers. Grieb completed 25-of-35 passes for 298 yards for the SaberCats (9-5), who have won six of their last seven games. James Roe had 10 catches for 117 yards and three scores for San Jose. Sonny Cumbie completed 21-of-35 passes for 262 yards and five touchdowns for the Avengers (4-9), who have lost five of their last six contests.

SoCal Arena Foootball Capsule

CHICAGO 72, LOS ANGELES 28 --------------------------

ROSEMONT, Illinois (Ticker) -- Russ Michna threw six touchdown passes to lead the Chicago Rush to a 72-28 victory over the Los Angeles Avengers. Michna completed 18-of-22 passes for 223 yards for Chicago (9-2), which clinched its second straight Central Division title with the win. Travis LaTendresse had eight receptions for 91 yards and three TDs and Dan Alexander ran for two scores for the Rush. Sonny Cumbie was 14-of-31 for 118 yards and one TD with four interceptions for the Avengers (4-8), who were held to one TD in each quarter and trailed 44-14 at the half.

SoCal Arena Football Preview

NEW YORK 52, LOS ANGELES 48-----------------

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Aaron Garcia threw for six touchdowns Saturday, leading the New York Dragons to a 52-48 comeback win over the Los Angeles Avengers. Garcia went 21-of-34 for 208 yards for the Dragons (6-4). Jason Willis hauled in nine receptions for 127 yards and four scores. The Dragons raced out to a 20-0 lead early in the second quarter, but quickly saw the lead evaporate, trailing 41-34 heading into the fourth. However, Garcia rallied his team behind three TD passes in the final quarter to pull out the win. Sonny Cumbie finished 13-of-20 for 134 yards with three TDs for the Avengers (4-7). Kevin Ingram led Los Angeles with 11 catches for 115 yards and two scores.

LOS ANGELES 79, UTAH 62------------------------

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Tim Hicks threw eight touchdowns to lead the Los Angeles Avengers to a 79-62 victory over the Utah Blaze in Arena League action on Saturday. LaShaun Ward hauled in seven passes for 169 yards and four scores for Los Angeles (3-4), which outscored Utah, 28-7, in the third quarter. Hicks, who finished 18-of-29 for 284 yards, threw three touchdowns in the period - two to Ward. Los Angeles scored twice in the final 45 seconds of the second quarter to take a 44-34 lead at the break. Joe Jermaine completed 28-of-40 passes for 263 yards and nine touchdowns for Utah (0-7). J.J. McKelvey caught 11 passes for 171 yards and five scores.

SoCal Arena Football Capsule

COLORADO 67, LOS ANGELES 54 ---------------------------

DENVER (Ticker) -- John Dutton passed for eight touchdowns and added a rushing score to lead the Colorado Crush to a 67-54 win over the Los Angeles Avengers. Dutton finished 32-for-50 for 334 yards with an interception for the Crush (2-3), who ended a three-game slide. Ben Nelson made 13 catches for 174 yards and five TDs.

With Colorado trailing, 34-28, at halftime, Dutton hooked up with Nelson twice for scores to give the Crush a short-lived 41-34 lead. After the Avengers knotted the game at 41-41, Dutton found Nelson for the third time in the third quarter from 37 yards out to give the Crush the lead for good at 48-41. Tim Hicks finished 21-for-39 for 295 yards and five touchdowns with two interceptions for the Avengers (2-4), who have dropped four straight contests.

SoCal Arena Football League

GRAND RAPIDS 84, LOS ANGELES 59----------

GRAND RAPIDS, Michigan (Ticker) -- The high-powered offense of the Grand Rapids Rampage was on full display once again. James MacPherson threw for five touchdowns to lead Grand Rapids to a convincing 84-59 victory over the Los Angeles Avengers on Sunday afternoon.

It was the second straight week that the Rampage's offense torched the scoreboard as they notched 92 points in a win at Kansas City last Saturday. MacPherson completed 18-of-22 passes for 215 yards. Kenny Higgins caught three scores and Chris Martin had three kickoff returns for TDs - including two in the first half - to give the Rampage (2-2) an impressive 56-28 lead at the break.

Sonny Cumbie went 19-of-36 for 211 yards with five touchdowns and Kevin Ingram hauled in 13 catches for 148 yards and four scores for the Avengers (2-3).

Arena Football Capsule

PHILADELPHIA 71, LOS ANGELES 34 -----------------------

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Matt D'Orazio completed 28-of-42 passes for 338 yards and eight touchdowns to lead the Philadelphia Soul to a dominating 71-34 victory over the Los Angeles Avengers.

Chris Jackson had 10 catches for 167 yards and six TDs while Larry Brackins and Clif Dell also added touchdowns for the Soul (4-0), who closed the game with 37 unanswered points. Sonny Cumbie threw for 152 yards and completed two of his three touchdown passes to Kevin Ingram, who finished with 12 catches and 113 yards to lead the Avengers (2-2).

Los Angeles' Lonnie Ford tied the score, 34-34, with his second rushing touchdown of the game with 7:21 remaining in the third quarter. But, the Soul responded with three offensive touchdowns, two defensive TDs and a safety in the final 22:21 to seal the victory.

SoCal Arena Football Capsule

GEORGIA 58, LOS ANGELES 34 --------------------------

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Chris Greisen threw seven touchdown passes to lead the Georgia Force to their first win of the season, a 58-34 triumph over the Los Angeles Avengers.

Greisen completed 26-of-41 passes for 366 yards and Willi Marshall added a rushing TD for the Force (1-2). Four different receivers caught a touchdown pass for Georgia. Charles Pauley had 10 receptions for 134 yards and two TDs and Troy Bergeron caught seven passes for 151 yards and three scores.

Sonny Cumbie was 20-of-38 for 317 yards and five TDs for Los Angeles (2-1). He was sacked twice and threw an interception.

SoCal Arena Football Capsule

LOS ANGELES 65, ARIZONA 33 --------------------------

PHOENIX (Ticker) -- Sonny Cumbie competed 15-of-29 passes for 267 yards and seven touchdowns to lead the Los Angeles Avengers to a 65-33 rout against the Arizona Rattlers.

Timon Marshall and Kevin Ingram both made six catches and scored a pair of TDs for the Avengers (2-0), who scored 16 unanswered points between the third and fourth quarters to forge a 51-21 advantage with 13:13 left to play. Damen Wheeler and Eddie Canonico each had an interception for Los Angeles while Josh Jefferies recovered a fumble and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown.

Jeff Smoker threw for 220 yards and two TDs for the Rattlers (1-1) while splitting time with Lang Campbell, who also found the end zone twice - throwing for one score while rushing for another. Arizona's Siaha Burley made six catches for 101 yards and three touchdowns.

Arena Football Capsules

CLEVELAND 61, NEW YORK 49 -------------------------
CLEVELAND (Ticker) -- Raymond Philyaw threw for five touchdown passes to lead the Cleveland Gladiators to a 61-49 Arena League victory Monday night. It was the season opener for both teams. Otis Amey caught seven passes for 101 yards, including a pair of touchdown receptions, and ran for a score for the Gladiators, who pulled away after New York had rallied to take a 35-33 lead late in the third quarter. Marlion Jackson's 32-yard run with 1:00 left in the third quarter put Cleveland ahead for good, 40-35, and his 6-yard scoring pass from Philyaw extended the lead to 54-42. Philyaw finished 18-of-23 for 240 yards and an interception. Rohan Davey completed 21-of-30 passes for five touchdowns and an interception for New York. Three of the scoring passes went to Kevin Swayne, who had 10 catches for 130 yards.


CHICAGO 70, SAN JOSE 47 -----------------------
ROSEMONT, Illinois (Ticker) -- Sherdrick Bonner tossed six touchdown passes as the Chicago Rush cruised to a 70-47 victory over the San Jose SaberCats in the season opener for both teams. Bonner, who spent the first 14 seasons of his AFL career with Arizona before coming to Chicago this offseason, passed for 261 yards. Damian Harrell made five catches for 128 yards and two scores and Dan Alexander ran for a touchdown for the Rush (1-0), who forced five turnovers - all leading to scores. It was the most turnovers by the SaberCats since 1999. San Jose quarterback Mark Grieb passed for 353 yards and five touchdowns but was intercepted three times. The SaberCats also fumbled the ball five times, losing it twice. James Roe and Rodney Wright each hauled in 12 receptions and Cleannord Saintil had a career-high 10 catches for 129 yards for San Jose (0-1).

SoCal Arena Football Capsule

LOS ANGELES 59, NEW ORLEANS 42 --------------

LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Sonny Cumbie completed 23-of-38 passes for 368 yards and seven touchdowns to lead the Los Angeles Avengers to a 59-42 comeback victory over the New Orleans Voodoo in the opening game of the Arena Football League season.

Timon Marshall had nine catches for 116 yards and three touchdowns while Kevin Ingram made eight catches for 79 yards and a TD for the Avengers (1-0), who won their first playoff game in team history last season. Wendell Williams had four catches for 65 yards and one touchdown and returned the opening kickoff for another score as the Voodoo (0-1) took a 33-28 lead into the locker rooms. However, Los Angeles rallied by outscoring New Orleans, 31-9, in the second half en route to the decisive victory.