ArenaBowl XXXII

Last updated
ArenaBowl XXXII
Philadelphia Soul Albany Empire
2745
1234Total
PHI1470627
ALB14217345
DateAugust 11, 2019
Arena Times Union Center, Albany, New York
MVP Tommy Grady (QB, Albany)
Attendance12,042
Winning coach Rob Keefe
Losing coach Clint Dolezel
TV in the United States
Network ESPN2
AnnouncersJon Meterparel, Sherdrick Bonner, Meredith Gorman and J. J. Raterink

ArenaBowl XXXII was the 32nd and most recent ArenaBowl and the championship game of the 2019 Arena Football League season. The game took place on August 11, 2019, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m. EDT on ESPN2. [1] It featured the winners of the two semifinals, the No. 1 seed Albany Empire and the No. 3 seed Philadelphia Soul.

Contents

AFL Commissioner Randall Boe also confirmed that the league's expansion plans for next season would be unveiled during the game; [1] however, these plans were pushed back to several weeks after the game [2] after Boe said that negotiations for the two new teams would not be finished in time. [3] The league ultimately filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on November 27 of that year, making the game the final one in the league's history until the league was purchased in 2023 and the league was revived. [4] [5]

Venue

As the higher seed, the No. 1 Albany Empire hosted ArenaBowl XXXII at the Times Union Center. [6]

2019 playoffs

Semifinals ArenaBowl XXXII
        
1 Albany Empire 6162123
4 Baltimore Brigade 26 21 47
1 Albany Empire 45
3 Philadelphia Soul 27
2 Washington Valor 33 41 74
3 Philadelphia Soul 6948117

Teams

Albany Empire

The Empire, led by head coach Rob Keefe, finished the regular season 10–2 and earned the No. 1 seed for the second straight season. They defeated No. 4 Baltimore home and away in the semifinal to advance to their first ArenaBowl.

Philadelphia Soul

The Soul, led by head coach Clint Dolezel, finished the regular season 7–5 and earned the No. 3 seed for the second straight season. They defeated No. 2 Washington home and away in the semifinal to advance to their sixth ArenaBowl; they are 3–2 in previous appearances.

Series record

The all-time series between the Empire and the Soul dates back to the Empire's inaugural game on April 14, 2018. Entering the game, Albany led the series 4–3.

Albany victoriesPhiladelphia victories
No.DateLocationWinnerScore
1 April 14, 2018 Albany, NY Philadelphia 56–35
2 May 19, 2018 Philadelphia, PA Albany 41–36
3 June 16, 2018 Albany, NY Philadelphia 75–74
4 July 7, 2018 Albany, NY Albany 71–57
5 May 11, 2019 Philadelphia, PA Albany 57–48
6 June 29, 2019 Philadelphia, PA Philadelphia 54–43
7 July 20, 2019 Albany, NY Albany 72–27
Series: Albany leads 4–3

Game summary

Scoring summary
Qtr.TimeTeamScoring playScore
112:09Philadelphia Darius Prince 34 yard pass from Dan Raudabaugh; Kenny Spencer kick goodPhiladelphia 7, Albany 0
6:58Albany Maurice Leggett 54 yard interception return; Adrian Trevino kick goodPhiladelphia 7, Albany 7
4:58Philadelphia B. J. Bunn 38 yard pass from Dan Raudabaugh; Kenny Spencer kick goodPhiladelphia 14, Albany 7
1:56Albany Quentin Sims 11 yard pass from Tommy Grady; Adrian Trevino kick goodPhiladelphia 14, Albany 14
29:59AlbanyQuentin Sims 6 yard pass from Tommy Grady; Adrian Trevino kick goodPhiladelphia 14, Albany 21
4:56PhiladelphiaDarius Prince 4 yard pass from Dan Raudabaugh; Kenny Spencer kick goodPhiladelphia 21, Albany 21
3:23AlbanyQuentin Sims 25 yard pass from Tommy Grady; Adrian Trevino kick goodPhiladelphia 21, Albany 28
0:22AlbanyQuentin Sims 11 yard pass from Tommy Grady; Adrian Trevino kick goodPhiladelphia 21, Albany 35
310:06Albany Mykel Benson 8 yard pass from Tommy Grady; Adrian Trevino kick goodPhiladelphia 21, Albany 42
413:09Philadelphia Lonnie Outlaw 3 yard pass from Dan Raudabaugh; Kenny Spencer kick missedPhiladelphia 27, Albany 42
9:59AlbanyAdrian Trevino 31 yard field goalPhiladelphia 27, Albany 45
1234Total
Philadelphia1470627
Albany14217345
StatisticsPHIALB
First downs1914
Total yards300208
Rushes–yards7–05–8
Passing yards300200
Passing: Comp–Att–Int26–39–116–25–0
Penalties–yards3–253–9
TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
PhiladelphiaPassing Dan Raudabaugh 26/39, 300 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Adrian Ferns 5 car, 1 yd
Receiving B. J. Bunn 10 rec, 129 yds, 1 TD
AlbanyPassing Tommy Grady 16/25, 200 yds, 5 TD
Rushing Mykel Benson 3 car, 14 yds, 1 TD
Receiving Quentin Sims 9 rec, 93 yds, 4 TD

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References

  1. 1 2 Levack, Jeff (June 25, 2019). "AFL Planning To Announce Expansion Teams At Arena Bowl". 104.5 The Team ESPN Radio. Retrieved July 1, 2019.
  2. ↑ Dougherty, Pete (11 August 2019). "AFL expansion likely to be announced soon". www.timesunion.com. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  3. ↑ Boe, Randall (8 August 2019). "We've narrowed the list for @officialafl expansion to five markets—we're in negotiations now and are committed to adding 2 new teams for 2020. We want to be thoughtful and get it right even if it takes more time. Look forward to announcements soon. #BetOnUS". @randallboe. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  4. ↑ Gleeson, Scott (November 27, 2019), "Arena Football League files for bankruptcy, ceases all operations", USA Today , retrieved November 27, 2019
  5. ↑ "News: Arena Football League Relaunch The Arena Football League (AFL) - The AFL Returns in 2024!". demosite475.footballshift.com (Press release). February 2023. Retrieved January 18, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Arena Football League 101". Arena Football League. Retrieved July 6, 2019.
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