Empire season finale to determine post-season draw
This is the fourth meeting between the Albany Empire and Philadelphia Soul. The Soul owned week No. 1, 56-35, Albany got revenge in Week No. 5, 41-36 and Philadelphia edged out Albany in Week No. 7, 75-74.
ALBANY, N.Y. » Winners of back to back games, the Albany Empire matchup against the Philadelphia Soul at home for the regular season finale on Saturday, July 7 at 6 p.m. at the Times Union Center.
Though the Empire have gone winless against the Soul at home this season, a win for Albany would secure the No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs.
The first matchup to look out for is between Philadelphia receiver Aaron Wascha and the Empire defensive backfield. Saying Wascha torched the Empire defense would be an understatement. The rookie put up huge numbers with 12 catches for 208 yards and a whopping seven touchdowns.
Wascha has become one of the top threats in the Soul offense in recent weeks, climbing up the league’s receiving touchdown leaderboard with 20 on the season; tied for third overall. With Philadelphia’s star quarterback Dan Raudabaugh finishing out the final two games for the Soul, expect him to ride the hot hand and feed Wascha all night.
The next matchup to lookout for is on special teams in the onside kick game. Though it may confuse fans or be unpopular opinion, onside kicks are common strategy inside of one minute of each half. Albany needs to continue to stay aggressive with the on- side kicks and recover a couple of their own. If the Empire can recover one or two onside kick attempts, it will give the Albany offense extra possessions and ultimately put more points on the board.
On the flip side, the Empire need to recover any Soul on-side kick attempts as well to prevent extra possessions for Philadelphia. In the one-point loss just a few weeks ago, Albany recovered all but one Soul on-side kick attempt. The extra possession that the Soul were able to create eventually led to the game-winning touchdown in the waning seconds of the game.
The final match-up and key to victory for an Empire win is to keep Collin Taylor involved. Everybody knows that Hills and Jones will receiver the lion’s share of targets from Grady and frequent the end zone, but don’t look away from a veteran like Taylor. ‘ Mr. Reliable’ Taylor has put up a quiet 32 catches for 469 yards and nine touchdowns proving to be a viable threat in Albany’s explosive offense. A week ago, against the Valor, Taylor compiled five catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns. Not only does he serve as a more than capable third weapon for Grady in the passing game, but Taylor also plays a huge role on special teams.
Whether he is taking a kick off the net or recovering a short kickoff, if the ball is in Taylor’s hands you can sit back and know that the ball will be safe. Don’t be surprised to see Taylor in the end zone as Grady spreads the wealth with all of his weapons.
Going into the final week of the regular season, a three-way tie exists for first place between the Albany Empire, Baltimore Brigade, and Philadelphia Soul (all 7- 4).
With a win against the Soul, the Empire clinch the No. 1 seed outright (Albany owns tiebreaker over Baltimore). In the
event of an Albany loss to Philadelphia, the No. 1 seed would rest on the result of the BaltimoreWashington match-up ( Baltimore owns tiebreaker over Philadelphia).
This is the fourth meeting between the Albany Empire and Philadelphia Soul. The Soul owned week No. 1, 5635, Albany got revenge in Week No. 5, 41- 36 and Philadelphia edged out Albany in Week No. 7, 75-74.
A packed house on
Saturday could mean more than just another big showing by the Empire fans, just announced this week, the ArenaBowl will be played at the venue of the participating team with the highest average home attendance on the season.
“The fans are what make the AFL great,” Commissioner Randy Boe said. “We are excited to award the opportunity to host ArenaBowl XXXI to the fans that have supported their team the most all season.”
The Arena Bowl is scheduled for the weekend of July 28.