Roster
| Quarterbacks Fullbacks Wide receivers | Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Kicker | Injured reserve
Refused to report
League suspension
Other league exempt
Inactive reserve
Recallable reassignment
rookies in italics | |||
| 2017 Philadelphia Soul season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Ron Jaworski Craig Spencer Pete Ciarrocchi |
| General manager | Phil Bogle |
| Head coach | Clint Dolezel |
| Home field | Wells Fargo Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 13–1 |
| League place | 1st |
| Playoff finish | Won Semifinals 69–54 (Brigade) Won ArenaBowl XXX 44–40 (Storm) |
The 2017 Philadelphia Soul season was the twelfth season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The Soul played at the Wells Fargo Center. The Soul won their second ArenaBowl the previous season beating the Arizona Rattlers. The Soul lost once in the regular season and repeated as ArenaBowl Champions in the playoffs after defeating the Tampa Bay Storm 44–40 in ArenaBowl XXX.
Front office
| Head coach
Offensive coaches
Defensive coaches
| |||||
| Quarterbacks Fullbacks Wide receivers | Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers
Defensive backs
Kicker | Injured reserve
Refused to report
League suspension
Other league exempt
Inactive reserve
Recallable reassignment
rookies in italics | |||
The 2017 regular season schedule was released on January 5, 2017. [1]
| Week | Day | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Location | Attendance | Report | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | ||||||||
| 1 | Bye | ||||||||
| 2 | Saturday | April 15 | 7:00 PM EDT | at Tampa Bay Storm | W 56–52 | 1–0 | Amalie Arena | 9,071 | [2] |
| 3 | Saturday | April 22 | 7:00 PM EDT | at Washington Valor | W 49–31 | 2–0 | Verizon Center | 12,122 | [3] |
| 4 | Saturday | April 29 | 7:00 PM EDT | Baltimore Brigade | W 69–34 | 3–0 | Wells Fargo Center | 11,833 | [4] |
| 5 | Saturday | May 6 | 7:00 PM EDT | at Cleveland Gladiators | W 69–67 | 4–0 | Quicken Loans Arena | 10,389 | [5] |
| 6 | Saturday | May 13 | 7:00 PM EDT | Baltimore Brigade | W 61–56 | 5–0 | Wells Fargo Center | 9,857 | [6] |
| 7 | Saturday | May 20 | 7:00 PM EDT | Cleveland Gladiators | W 64–46 | 6–0 | Wells Fargo Center | 7,667 | [7] |
| 8 | Saturday | May 27 | 1:00 PM EDT | at Washington Valor | W 48–47 | 7–0 | Verizon Center | 9,873 | [8] |
| 9 | Bye | ||||||||
| 10 | Saturday | June 10 | 7:00 PM EDT | Cleveland Gladiators | W 59–49 | 8–0 | Wells Fargo Center | 10,103 | [9] |
| 11 | Saturday | June 17 | 7:00 PM EDT | Tampa Bay Storm | W 62–41 | 9–0 | Wells Fargo Center | 9,081 | [10] |
| 12 | Saturday | June 24 | 7:00 PM EDT | at Cleveland Gladiators | W 59–28 | 10–0 | Quicken Loans Arena | 10,580 | [11] |
| 13 | Bye | ||||||||
| 14 | Saturday | July 8 | 7:00 PM EDT | at Baltimore Brigade | L 42–49 | 10–1 | Royal Farms Arena | 5,990 | [12] |
| 15 | Saturday | July 15 | 7:00 PM EDT | Washington Valor | W 68–41 | 11–1 | Wells Fargo Center | 10,149 | [13] |
| 16 | Bye | ||||||||
| 17 | Saturday | July 29 | 1:00 PM EDT | at Baltimore Brigade | W 70–21 | 12–1 | Royal Farms Arena | 5,327 | [14] |
| 18 | Saturday | August 5 | 7:00 PM EDT | Tampa Bay Storm | W 41–28 | 13–1 | Wells Fargo Center | 9,071 | [15] |
| Round | Day | Date | Kickoff | Opponent | Results | Location | Attendance | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFL Semifinals | Saturday | August 12 | 4:00 PM EDT | Baltimore Brigade | W 69–54 | Wells Fargo Center | 9,287 | [16] |
| ArenaBowl XXX | Saturday | August 26 | 7:00 PM EDT | Tampa Bay Storm | W 44–40 | Wells Fargo Center | 13,648 | [17] |
| Team | Overall | Points | Records | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | PCT | PF | PA | Home | Away | GB | STK | |||
| (1) Philadelphia Soul | 13 | 1 | .929 | 817 | 590 | 7–0 | 6–1 | — | W3 | ||
| (2) Tampa Bay Storm | 10 | 4 | .714 | 710 | 662 | 6–1 | 4–3 | 3.0 | L1 | ||
| (3) Cleveland Gladiators | 5 | 9 | .357 | 696 | 715 | 3–4 | 2–5 | 8.0 | W1 | ||
| (4) Baltimore Brigade | 4 | 10 | .286 | 620 | 749 | 3–4 | 1–6 | 9.0 | L4 | ||
| Washington Valor | 3 | 11 | .214 | 565 | 692 | 2–5 | 1–6 | 10.0 | W1 | ||
(#) - playoff position secured
The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The franchise was one of the original four that launched the Arena Football League for its inaugural season in 1987. The club was relocated to Tampa Bay area for the 1991 season, being the last of the original teams to either fold or leave its market. After 26 years in the Tampa market, the team ceased operations in December, 2017.
The Philadelphia Soul can refer to one of two successive professional arena football teams in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They both have competed in the Arena Football League (AFL). The Soul made six ArenaBowl appearances, winning their first appearance and losing their next two appearances. The Soul won in their fourth appearance, against the Rattlers in 2016, winning 56–42. They also won in their fifth appearance in 2017 against the Tampa Bay Storm, winning 44–40 before losing in their sixth appearance in 2019 to the Albany Empire 45-27.
Shane Boyd is a former American football quarterback. He was signed by the Tennessee Titans as an undrafted free agent in 2005. He played college football for the Kentucky Wildcats. Boyd was also a member of the Cologne Centurions, Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans, Montreal Alouettes, California Redwoods, Indianapolis Colts, Sacramento Mountain Lions, Milwaukee Mustangs, Tampa Bay Storm, Portland Thunder, Bluegrass Warhorses, San Antonio Talons, Arizona Rattlers, Cleveland Gladiators and Baltimore Brigade.
Antoine "T. T." Toliver is a former arena football wide receiver. He played football and basketball at Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida. In 1995, he was named the Class 5A Player of the Year in football and was also runner-up for Florida's Mr. Football Award. In basketball, Toliver helped Mainland win the Class 6A state championship in 1995 and 1996. He played college football and basketball at Hinds Community College, where he was named the 1997–98 Junior College Player of the Year as a quarterback. He later transferred to Bethune-Cookman University, where he played basketball but not football.
Larry Brackins is a former American football wide receiver. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2005 NFL Draft. He played college football at Pearl River Community College. Brackins was also a member of the New York Jets, New York Sentinels, Philadelphia Soul, Dallas Vigilantes, Orlando Predators and Cleveland Gladiators.
Daniel Aaron Southwick is an American football quarterback for the Billings Outlaws of the Arena Football League. He played college football for BYU, Oregon State, Dixie State, and Occidental. He previously played for the Louisville Fire of the af2; Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL); Dallas Vigilantes, Tampa Bay Storm, Portland Thunder, Spokane Shock, Los Angeles Kiss, Orlando Predators, Cleveland Gladiators, Philadelphia Soul, and Columbus Destroyers of the Arena Football League (AFL); Massachusetts Pirates, Jacksonville Sharks, Jersey Flight, and Columbus Lions of the National Arena League (NAL); and the FCF Zappers of Fan Controlled Football (FCF).
Larry Beavers is an American football wide receiver and kick returner who is currently a free agent.
Kent Richardson is an American football cornerback who is a free agent. He played college football at West Virginia.
Shane Austin is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at University of Hawaiʻi. Austin went undrafted in the 2012 NFL Draft and signed with the Everett Raptors of the Indoor Football League (IFL) after the draft. After starting the Raptors final games of the season, Austin was able to gain the attention of the Pittsburgh Power of the Arena Football League (AFL). Austin was named the starting quarterback for the Power, but a broken hand caused him to miss two months of the season. Austin then was assigned to the Cleveland Gladiators where he was named the backup to Chris Dieker. With Dieker struggling for the Gladiators, Austin was given the opportunity to start and lead the Gladiators to a 14–1 record as a starter and a berth in ArenaBowl XXVII. The Gladiators lost to Arizona Rattlers in the ArenaBowl, but Austin was named Second Team All-Arena.
Mykel “Boom Boom” Benson is a former American football fullback. He was signed by the Milwaukee Mustangs as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played college football and college baseball at Florida A&M University.
Warren Smith is an American football quarterback for the Albany Empire of the National Arena League (NAL). He played college football at the University of Maine.
ArenaBowl XXIX was the championship game of the 2016 Arena Football League season. It was played between the American Conference Champion Philadelphia Soul and the National Conference Champion Arizona Rattlers. The game was played at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Arizona.
The 2017 Arena Football League season was the 30th season in the history of the Arena Football League (AFL). Prior to the start of the season, the league contracted to five teams. Due to this, for the first time since 1991, the league was not divided into conferences or divisions. The 14-game regular season began on April 7, 2017, when the two new teams, the Baltimore Brigade and the Washington Valor, faced off in the Verizon Center, and ended on August 5, 2017, when the Tampa Bay Storm lost against the Philadelphia Soul.
The 2017 Baltimore Brigade season was the first season for the franchise in the Arena Football League. The Brigade played at the Royal Farms Arena.
The 2017 Washington Valor season was the franchise's inaugural season and the city of Washington's first Arena Football League season since the Washington Commandos left in 1990. The Valor played their home games at the Verizon Center.
The 2017 Tampa Bay Storm season was the 30th and final season for the franchise in the Arena Football League, and their 26th while in Tampa Bay. The Storm played at Amalie Arena.
The 2017 Cleveland Gladiators season was the 18th season for the franchise in the Arena Football League, and their eighth in Cleveland. The Gladiators played at the Quicken Loans Arena. The Gladiators drew an average home attendance of 10,173 in the 2017 AFL season.
Chris Bonner is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Colorado State University Pueblo and attended Clairemont High School in San Diego, California. He has been a member of the Tampa Bay Storm of the Arena Football League (AFL).
ArenaBowl XXX was the championship game of the 2017 Arena Football League season. The game was broadcast on AFLNow, Twitter and WPVI-TV. It was played between the Philadelphia Soul and Tampa Bay Storm at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. It was the Soul's third ArenaBowl championship and fifth appearance while it was the Storm's tenth appearance. The Soul set an ArenaBowl record for largest comeback victory after overcoming a 20–7 deficit.
The 2018 Arena Football League season was the 31st season in the history of the Arena Football League (AFL). Prior to the start of the season, the league contracted from five to four teams with one team folding, one going on hiatus, and one added expansion team. The 12-game regular season began on April 13 and ended on July 7.
