at Power Pre-Game Watch

Today the Philadelphia Soul play their second game of the 2012 season against their Keystone rivals the Pittsburgh Power in an early battle for sole possession of first in the American East Division. The Soul will be basically facing a team that hasn't shown itself in 2012 despite winning their first game against the Orlando Predators 40-26 in the "strike game" to start the season. It should make out to be a good one with some great match-ups to look out for which will be further explained below.

• PJ Berry vs Jeff Hughley: The marquee match-up in tonight's game will feature two players that will not be on the field at the same time for the game's vast majority. WR/KR PJ Berry is coming off a dominant 2011 campaign with the New Orleans VooDoo being named the JLS Ironman of the Year and  First Team All-Arena KR. Berry racked up 2043 kick return yards (AFL best) on 101 returns (AFL best) for an average of 20.2 yards per return (6th best in the AFL) and 5 TD's (tied for AFL best). He led the league in All-Purpose yards with 3,708 yards (47 rush, 1,593 receiving, 25 missed FG returns and 2,043 kickoff return yards) instantly cementing his status in the AFL as one of the best at what he does. WR/KR Jeff Hughley is no slouch either as his kick return average (21.3) was better than Berry's last season despite having 34 fewer returns than Berry and after his record setting performance last Sunday, Berry is the one who needs to step things up after playing sparingly in the "strike game" two weeks ago.
• WR Mike Washington: The Power's leading receiver in 2011 picked up where he left off in the Power's season opener against the Predators. Against some regulars and scrubs Washington recorded 9 receptions for 166 yards and 4 TD's for the Power two weeks ago. Last season Washington collected 114 receptions for 1,367 yards and 30 TD's leading all Power receivers in those categories. With how easily the VooDoo receivers were racing down the field on the Soul's DB's, major adjustments must be made in order to keep Washington and now Berry contained. Kizer and Robinson need to show some of their 2011 All-Arena First Team DB status in order to keep the Power off the scoreboard. 
• QB Bill Stull: Just recently assigned to the Power this season, Stull played in the Power's season finale against the Soul in a 61-48 thumping. Stull completed 24 of 40 passing for 257 yards and 6 TD's to bring the Power to a 9-9 record. Stull doesn't have nearly enough experience playing in the AFL as his opponent Dan Raudabaugh, but the former Pitt Panther played under Dave Wannstedt's pro-style offense and could potentially break-out in this league. I obviously like Raudabaugh in this match-up, but Stull can offer some surprises especially with the receiving corps.

So keep an eye out for these match-ups during the game and hopefully the Soul will be able to overcome last week's difficulties with a victory over the Power tonight in the Steel City!