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Soul win second ArenaBowl

The Soul won their second ArenaBowl championship Friday night, holding off the high-powered Arizona Rattlers, 56-42, in front of 13,390 fans at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz.

The Soul won their second ArenaBowl championship Friday night, holding off the high-powered Arizona Rattlers, 56-42, in front of 13,390 fans at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz.

"I couldn't be more proud of this team and this organization," said Soul head coach Clint Dolezel. "We have worked extremely hard for six months to get to this point and it is fantastic to see our hard work pay off."

The Soul, which also won the Arena Bowl in 2008, denied the Rattlers their sixth title.

Soul wide receiver Shaun Kauleinamoku led the receivers with eight receptions for 110 yards and three touchdowns, which included the Soul's last three scores.

Receiver Darius Reynolds added five receptions for 69 yards and two touchdowns and Ryan McDaniel chipped in four receptions for 68 yards and one touchdown.

Arizona's Maurice Purify led all receivers with nine catches for 126 yards and two touchdowns.

Soul quarterback Dan Raudabaugh completed 20 of 36 passes for 278 yards and six touchdowns.

Rattlers quarterback Nick Davila, who won his third AFL MVP award on Thursday, completed 23 of 38 passes for 281 yards and four touchdowns.

The Soul took a 35-21 lead into intermission, but the Rattlers tied the game at 42 just as the fourth quarter began

Kauleinamoku scored twice in the final 11 minutes to wrap up the win, an 11-yard TD with 10 minutes, 27 seconds remaining and another for 30 yards with 4:04 left.

The game wasn't without controversy.

The starting time of 4 p.m. locally and playing in the Gila River Arena had some Rattlers fans unhappy.

It marked the first time the team has not played a home game in the friendly confines of Talking Stick Arena in Phoenix.

The Rattlers went 10-0 this year at Talking Stick Resort Arena, which has been their home arena since their inception in 1992.

Why the inconvenience?

The WNBA's Phoenix Mercury had a game Friday night at Talking Stick Resort Arena.

And ESPN, which has the rights to broadcast the game, dictated the time and day for the game, so Arizona had to find an alternative location.

ESPN wasn't budging as it was broadcasting the California vs. Hawaii college football game at 7 Friday night.