Consol Energy Center finally belongs to the Pittsburgh Power again.
The Pittsburgh Power (4-3) led wire to wire for a crucial 65-57 divisional win over the Philadelphia Soul (3-4) in front of the home crowd Saturday night. This was the first win for Pittsburgh at home over Philadelphia in franchise history.
Tommy Grady had a stellar game controlling the Power offense, finishing the night 32 of 45 for 316 yards, eight touchdowns and zero interceptions. His favorite target on the night was Rodney Wright who hauled in 16 of those passes for 163 yards and five touchdowns. Wright definitely seized an opportunity to shine with Aaron LeSue (torn ACL) and Prechae Rodriguez (High ankle sprain) out of the lineup.
Tyrone Goard also took advantage of some playing time with a strong physical touchdown where he broke several tackles on the way to the end zone. Goard, Shaun Kauleinamoku and newcomer Hank Edwards all had a touchdown catch in the game.
Hats off to the Power offensive line on a strong job in pass protection. They also helped block for fullback Tommy Taggart on the game clinching drive which allowed the Power to run out the clock. This unit doesn’t seem to get a lot of credit but Keith Newell, Colin Madison, Jayson Palmgren and Antonio Narcisse have done a great job so far this year keeping Tommy Grady safe.
The key play in the game was a fumble recovery by Anthony Hoke which helped Pittsburgh gain an advantage in the possession battle for the game. Pittsburgh was able to capitalize on the turnover to push the lead out to 28-14 with Kauleinamoku’s touchdown. The defense forced a turnover on downs on the next series and again the offense scored to make it 35-14.
It was a much needed win for the Power who had dropped two straight road contests to the unbeaten Arizona Rattlers and Cleveland Gladiators. The win puts the Power into a 2-way tie with the Iowa Barnstormers for second place in the Eastern Division. They travel to Spokane this week for a tough matchup against the Spokane Shock (4-2).
Photo Courtesy of Pittsburgh Power Facebook page
