Tommy Taggart leads Soul to victory

TOMMY TAGGART rushed for 47 yards and three touchdowns and Dan Raudabaugh threw for five scores as the visiting Soul beat New Orleans, 55-42, yesterday.

Xavier Boyce had four catches for 59 yards and two touchdowns and Ryan McDaniel chipped in 6-56-1 as the Soul (5-0) played without leading receiver Marco Thomas, who is nursing a hamstring injury. Soul coach Clint Dolezel said that Thomas would have been available had it been a playoff game.

LaRico Stevenson led the Soul's defense with nine tackles and an interception.

Taggart's 47 rushing yards is a season high. A popular measuring stick is to multiply AFL rushing totals by three times to get the equivalent of traditional football. By that standard, Taggart's total is equivalent to 141 yards. The Soul was forced to spend an extra day in New Orleans - never a bad thing - when yesterday's game was pushed back from Saturday because of a Pelicans NBA playoff game.

"It's always good to get a win especially with the schedule change this week," Dolezel said. "We have a few things to clean up as we came out in the second half a little complacent. The defense continues to improve every week and we need to continue that trend across all facets - offense, defense and special teams."

Portland visits the Soul Saturday at 6 p.m. The Thunder (2-3) has lost its last two, including Saturday's 64-45 visit to San Jose, the league's other 5-0 team.

- Ed Barkowitz