Soul lineman Keith Newell celebrates homecoming in Trenton

The Soul had to vacate the Wells Fargo Center this summer for the Democratic National Convention. They played all but two of their home games at the beginning of the season and have one of their two home games left on Saturday against the LA Kiss, which is named after its owners, the band Kiss.

And while the Sun National Bank Center in Trenton - where the game will be played - may not feel like home for most of the team, Saturday's game for one player will be like a homecoming.

Soul offensive lineman Keith Newell was born and raised just blocks away from the arena and happily recited the directions to his family's house from where we stood on the field.

"It's nostalgic," Newell said of his return to the arena in which he graduated from Trenton Central High School. "There's nothing like playing in front of your hometown. I don't care where you're from, what you do or how far you go, if you have an event where you can play in front of your community, it's a very special opportunity."

His homecoming may be sweet, but it wasn't easy getting to this point, Newell said. After graduating from Delaware State in 2012, he wasn't even scouted by any team in the NFL or AFL.

Newell, 27, then tried out for the Trenton Freedom of the Professional Indoor Football League, made it and excelled there until he was asked to try out for the Pittsburgh Power, the Soul's neighbors and rivals until they ceased operations in late 2014. Newell made the team and played in 14 games for them in his rookie AFL season before the team disbanded.

The Soul picked him up in 2015, and he has been fighting for a starting spot in the offensive lineup ever since.

Working in Philadelphia hasn't kept the 6-foot-6, 310-pound Delaware State graduate with a degree in psychology from doing good work back home.

Newell spends his offseasons helping special needs students at a middle school near the Sun National Bank Center. He has also worked security for the local schools in Trenton. After retiring from football, he said he wouldn't mind a career teaching or counseling in his hometown.

First, though, he'd like to lock down a place in the Soul's starting lineup and maybe catch the eye of a team in the NFL.

Asked about his plans for the next five years, he said, "Hopefully still playing football, hopefully in a different league, I'll say, and hopefully making a whole lot more money."