Soul fall to Shock, 65-47, in Spokane

The Philadelphia Soul fell behind 21-0 early, and were unable to mount a comeback as they lost to the Spokane Shock, 65-47, at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on Friday night.

"You can't put yourself in that type of hole to start a game and expect positive results," said Soul head coach Doug Plank. "Turnovers, penalties and poor execution are obstacles that add up to defeat in any place - let alone a venue like Spokane. We will regroup and make the adjustments needed for next week. We can't roll into a divisional game with Cleveland and perform like that."

The Soul (7-3) were lead by quarterback Dan Raudabaugh, who completed 30-40 passes for 360 yards, six touchdowns, and three interceptions. Tiger Jones proved to be Raudabaugh's favorite target, as he collected 12 receptions for 164 yards and four touchdowns.

After the Shock (5-4) jumped out to an early 7-0 lead, it was a pair of turnovers on the first two Soul  possesions that doomed ultimately doomed them. The Shock took advantage of the extra possesions, adding two more touchdowns to increase their lead to 21-0 at the end of the first quarter.

Philadelphia finally got on the board when Raudabaugh hit Jones for a 9-yard touchdown, cutting the lead to 21-7. The teams then traded rushing touchdowns - a Brandon Thompkins 2-yard touchdown run for the Shock and a Derrick Ross 18-yarder for the Soul.

The Shock would add another touchdown and a field goal before the half, taking a 37-14 lead into the locker room.

The second half started much like the first for Raudabaugh and the Soul. Shock's Terrence Sanders came up with an inerception and returned it for a 42-yard touchdown pushing the Shock lead to 44-14 with 12:01 remaining in the third.

Philadelphia would answer with an 8-yard Jones touchdown to make it, 44-21.

The Soul were able to cut the deficit to 10 early in the fourth quarter - thanks in large part to two onside kick recoveries - but the Shock's lead proved too be too much to overcome, as they would go on to win 65-47.

The Soul will continue their road trip next Sunday when they travel to face the Eastern-Division rival Cleveland Gladiators at 4 p.m. at the Quicken Loans Arena.