Soul edge San Jose behind clutch picks

Defensive back Kent Richardson pulled off an interception hat trick to help give the Soul the edge in a 61-55 win over the San Jose Sabercats on Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

"It's one thing to be on the spot to make a play, it's another thing to make the play: the tackle, the catch, the block or whatever, Ken did it [Saturday]," Soul coach Doug Plank said. "Those three interceptions, that was the difference in the game."

The Soul (4-1) entered the game coming off a team-record 92-42 win over Georgia on April 7.

The first half ended with the Soul trailing, 28-26.

In the second half, the Soul stayed on the heels of the Sabercats before taking their first lead, with Dan Raudabaugh throwing a 3-yard TD pass to Tiger Jones to take a 40-34 lead with 11:25 left in the game after Richardson's first interception to end the third quarter. The Soul followed each of Richardson's last two picks with touchdowns to create some distance from the Sabercats.

San Jose had the ball at its own 19 with 10 seconds left and trailing 61-55, but Mark Grieb fumbled with one second left in the game and Philly recovered to seal the win.

Raudabaugh appeared erratic at times, but finished 18 for 41 passing, for 239 yards passing and seven touchdowns.

Jones was the Soul's leading receiver with 89 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Fullback Derrick Ross scored both in the air and on the ground with two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown. He finished with 28 rushing yards and 39 receiving yards.