Soul's Mykel Benson chasing elusive championship

Mykel Benson's football career has been about building a foundation for his team and then having to move on.

At Bayside High School in Palm Bay, Fla., he was part of the growing pains of a new program that eventually led to the school's first postseason berth in 2007 — two years after he graduated.

At Florida A&M, his teams were generally in the top half of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference but couldn't break through for a piece of the championship until 2010 — the year after he graduated.

Last year, he was with Arizona in the Arena Football League and expected to finally win a title, except the Rattlers were upset at home by the Soul — then Arizona moved to another league.

[Soul win 2016 AFL title]

So Benson joined the Soul this season and again stands on the verge of finally winning a championship. The only hurdle left is Tampa Bay on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center (7 p.m., Channel 6). The Soul beat the Storm in all three meetings this season and are 11-point favorites for ArenaBowl 30.

"I can't sleep," said Benson, the Arena League's top fullback for the second consecutive year. "I've been working for this. I've been in the league for seven years."

Fullback is the arena equivalent of a running back in traditional football, and Benson's 23 rushing touchdowns were nearly more than twice the total of any other AFL player. But it's the other facet of his game that is even more important.

"We've been trying to get him for years — when he was with San Antonio [in 2014]," Soul coach Clint Dolezel said. "It's run 5 percent of the time in this league, pass-protect the rest. And he does a great job in protection for us."

Benson's father, Michael, served in the Air Force and coached Mykel and his brother, Tyrone, when they were youngsters. Mykel Benson still remembers how he cried when Tyrone joined the Army and was deployed to Afghanistan for a year early in that war. He still gets halftime text messages from his dad.

"Without him," Mykel Benson said, "I wouldn't be the player that I am now."

If the Soul win Saturday, it will be the team's second straight title and third in nine years. But it will be Benson's first, he says, since he was 14.

"Now it's time to build for me," said Benson, 29. "It's going to mean a lot to me if we [win]. I got a chance to experience this last year, and it didn't go our way. This year, I'm just going to try to dominate my position and do everything I can to help us win this game."

A Soul win would be the first championship won by a pro football team in Philadelphia since the 1960 Eagles. When the Stars won the USFL title in 1984, they beat Arizona in Tampa. The Soul won its previous two titles in New Orleans (2008) and Glendale, Ariz. (2016).

Tampa Bay quarterback Randy Hippeard and wide receivers Joe Hills and Kendrick Ings were first-team all-AFL, but you know who worries Soul coach Clint Dolezel the most?

"Their kicker, [Mark] Lewis. His onside kicks are unbelievable," Dolezel said. "He's been doing this forever. A big concern of mine is the onside kicks."

Because of the short, 50-yard field, onside kicks are a vital weapon in the arena game. Lewis has been an AFL kicker since 2005.

Nine Soul players were named first-team all-Arena, including two who played at Temple: offensive lineman Wayne Tribue and defensive lineman Sean Daniels.

Tribue is the league's offensive lineman of the year. He started the season at center and moved to guard when Brennen Carvalho joined the team in May.

Dolezel on the championship game being held in Philadelphia:

"I get it — the NFL, the NFL, that's all [fans] ever see. If they just come watch these guys, they'll fall in love with the game. With it being here, I think we'll get some people that have never been [to a game] before, and hopefully we get some long-lasting fans from it."

Who: Tampa Bay at Soul

What: ArenaBowl 30

Where: Wells Fargo Center (19,500 cap.).

When: Saturday, 7 p.m.

TV: Channel 6. Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic.

Line: Soul -11. Over/under: 103.5.

Off the net: The Soul won all three meetings against Tampa Bay this season and is 8-0 overall at home … Tampa Bay's Randy Hippeard was named first-team quarterback after throwing for 80 touchdowns and 3,506 yards in 14 games. Soul quarterback Dan Raudabaugh had 82 TD passes in far fewer pass attempts (365) than Hippeard had (494) … The Soul won the ArenaBowl in 2008 and 2016. Tampa Bay has won five titles but none since 2003.