Jul 12, 2008 - 7:38 PM
0 shoutsBy PA SportsTicker
PHILADELPHIA 70, CLEVELAND 35 -----------------------------
PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) -- Matt D'Orazio and the Philadelphia Soul put an abrupt end to the surprising playoff run of the Cleveland Gladiators.
D'Orazio threw for 184 yards and eight touchdowns as Philadelphia rolled to ArenaBowl XXII with a 70-35 victory over Cleveland in the National Conference championship.
It will be the first trip to the ArenaBowl for the top-seeded Soul, who posted the best record in the league during the regular season at 13-3.
The Gladiators, who managed to win just two games last season before moving the franchise out of Las Vegas, advanced the conference championship after edging the second-seeded Georgia Force on the road last week.
However, Cleveland ran out of answers on Saturday as D'Orazio tossed four touchdowns in the first half to give Philadelphia a 35-14 lead with 4:36 remaining before halftime.
Although they managed to cut the deficit to 14 points on a scoring run by Marlion Jackson in the closing minutes of the first half, the Gladiators fell behind, 49-28, when Mike Brown returned a kickoff 57 yards for a touchdown.
Larry Brackins had seven catches for 92 yards and three TDs and Brent Holmes also scored three times for the Soul, who await either San Jose or Grand Rapids in the ArenaBowl in New Orleans on July 27.
Raymond Philyaw threw for 303 yards and four TDs but also made two of Cleveland's three turnovers.
SAN JOSE 81, GRAND RAPIDS 55 ----------------------------
SAN JOSE, California (Ticker) -- Mark Grieb threw eight touchdown passes as the San Jose SaberCats advanced to Arena Bowl XXII with an 81-55 win over the Grand Rapids Rampage on Saturday.
Grieb completed 24-of-30 passes for 249 yards and Omarr Smith had a team playoff-record three interceptions that led to touchdowns as San Jose cruised to victory in the American Conference championship.
The defending champion SaberCats (13-5) will face the Philadelphia Soul, who posted a 70-35 triumph over the Cleveland Gladiators on Saturday. The game will be played on July 27 at New Orleans.
Cleannord Saintil, who had 11 receptions for 113 yards and five touchdowns, had two scores in the second quarter to spark a 24-7 run and help San Jose build a 38-14 advantage at the half.
Jam MacPherson completed 30-of-51 passes for 314 yards and four touchdowns to pace the Rampage (8-11), who saw their five-game winning streak and first playoff run in five years come to an end.
Kenny Higgins had 12 catches for a game-high 142 yards and two scores, while Cole Magner had 10 grabs for 103 yards.
