Scoring points doesn’t look like it’s going to be a problem for the Philadelphia Soul this season following their Week One 77-56 victory over the Orlando Predators.
Talk about offensive production: The home team scored on all 11 possessions, until running out the clock on its final drive. The 77 points scored was one shy of the franchise record, as well as a weekend high in AFL play. Quarterback Tony Graziani took home AFL Offensive Player of the Week honors after completing 15 of 22 passes for 257 yards and a franchise-best nine touchdowns.
Four of the scores landed in the hands of Chris "Money" Jackson. Fellow receiver Larry Brackins racked up 133 yards and three touchdowns, while Mike Brown tallied 196 yards in kickoff returns, including a 56-yard score.
The victory capped off a very exciting week. Feb. 29, the Soul cut the ribbon on its new practice facility in Voorhees, N.J. The entire organization, including rocker/co-owner Jon Bon Jovi, was present and accounted for as team photos were taken on the new field. Bon Jovi arrived in town 2:30 a.m. Friday following his band’s performance in Washington, D.C.
But he wasn’t too tired to high-five the fans or chat with the media.
"[The Coliseum] is a real step up, it’s 10 steps up, from what we had the last five years," Bon Jovi said. "Now that we are here, we are here to stay. The locker rooms are great, the guys feel comfortable and hopefully it just creates that winning atmosphere."
Team President Ron Jaworski, who calls South Jersey home, is equally pleased with the new digs.
"We are very, very excited to have a place that we can now call home," he said. "For 31 years, I’ve called South Jersey my home and it certainly is my honor and privilege to now call Voorhees, New Jersey, and the Coliseum the home of the Philadelphia Soul. It’s going to be a blast."
This week, the Soul will be there preparing for Sunday’s road game against the Chicago Rush. Philadelphia is 0-2 all-time in trips to the Windy City. The opposition is the only other team to tally 70 points in a Week One 70-47 victory over defending Arena Bowl champ San Jose. The game is being televised nationally at 1 p.m. on ESPN2,
Soul bites
Big crowd
The Soul posted the AFL’s highest attendance figure of Week 1 with 17,896 fans watching the victory over the Orlando Predators. No. 2 was the Cleveland Gladiators with 17,391. Average attendance was up 10 percent compared to last season’s inaugural week and was the second-highest Week 1 figure in league history.
Total attendance for the eight games during Week 1 was 111,829 with an average of 13,979. The total exceeded Week 1 of the 2003 season, which was 104,247 and the previous record for an eight-game inaugural week.
Injury report
The Soul placed wide receiver Kenny Henderson on the injured reserve list Monday. Henderson’s broken collarbone occurred with nine seconds left in the first half when he caught his only touchdown pass of the game. Henderson finished the contest with two catches for 39 yards. He is expected to miss at least six weeks of action.
Happy belated birthday
Philadelphia Soul cheerleaders and players wheeled out a giant birthday cake on stage after Bon Jovi concluded "Livin’ on A Prayer" at his Sunday night Wachovia Center concert. The team’s co-owner and bandleader Jon Bon Jovi, 46, was taken by surprise, as Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora lead the "Souled Out" crowd of nearly 20,000 in a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday."
Jon Bon Jovi said kiddingly, "now get off the [expletive] stage so I can go back to work."
Appropriately, the band then played "Just Older."
