The Pittsburgh Power opened Consol Energy Center to 7094 excited fans Friday night but fell flat on their faces to the Philadelphia Soul by a score of 84-59. Pittsburgh came out of the gates on fire but were eventually outplayed by a talented Soul squad.
A first quarter net recovery by Pittsburgh’s Bryan Williams gave the Power a 12-7 lead in the first quarter and almost popped the top on the arena. With momentum on Pittsburgh’s side, the two teams traded touchdowns later in the quarter and the Power had a 5-point lead after fifteen minutes of play.
Hometown quarterback Bill Stull was handed the keys to the Power offensive machine this week after being signed days earlier and had a roller coaster of a performance. While completing 14-of-18 passes in the first half, Stull threw for 143 yards with 3 touchdowns and zero interceptions. Despite Stull’s first half performance, Philadelphia’s offense rattled off 27 second quarter points and took 41-33 lead into the locker rooms.
After a huge indoor fireworks display at halftime, the second half was the closest thing the AFL will ever have to the “Fog Bowl” and the hazy conditions well represented the Pittsburgh offense down the stretch. The Power kept pace with Philadelphia in the third quarter but the wheels fell off in the final fifteen minutes. Going into the fourth quarter, Stull completed 21-of-27 passes. When it was all said and done, he was 26-for-42 with 299 yards, 6 touchdowns and 3 interceptions.
“Obviously down towards the end he started throwing the ball up a bit. He probably forced the ball a bit trying to make plays,” Power head coach Chris Siegfried said after the game. “ All in all with four days of practice, I thought he did a solid job.”
While Stull wasn’t fully acclimated with the offense, he expected to perform better and shouldered much of the blame after the game.
“I feel like I should have done better in every aspect of the game. I’m just all-around upset.” He said. “Bottom line is, I hate losing more than I love winning.”
While Stull was critical of his performance, the fact remained that Philadelphia scored 84 points and didn’t let up on the accelerator all night. Soul quarterback Dan Raudabaugh completed 19-of-29 passes for 207 yards and 7 touchdowns. Raudabaugh’s favorite target was Donovan Morgan who terrorized the Power once again with 12 catches for 112 yards and 4 touchdowns. Power defensive back Chris Leflore, who had an interception in the game, put the Power’s defensive effort as straightforward as possible.
“It’s just one game. We just have to watch the film but obviously you don’t want 84 points scored on you,” Leflore said.
Shining offensively for Pittsburgh was receiver Mike Washington who snagged 9 balls for 80 yards and 2 touchdowns. Randy Hymes contributed heavily as well with 7 receptions for 112 yards and 2 touchdowns, While Washington’s numbers were impressive, he emphasized after the game his need to do the little things better in order to improve the team.
“As a captain, it’s my job to get us back on track,” he said.
When asked what his team needs to work on the most before heading into Milwaukee next Thursday night, Siegfried emphasized his team’s need to protect the ball as well as reflecting upon their mistakes.
“Ball security is going to be at a premium,” Siegfried said. “ It’s not going to be a fun Saturday, that’s for sure.
Article source: http://www.examiner.com/pittsburgh-power-in-pittsburgh/power-outage-pittsburgh-drops-home-opener-84-59
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