New Orleans, LA-Bret Munsey , former Concord player and coach, brought Philadelphia its first ever AFL championship with a 59-56 win over last year's champion San Jose.
Both teams were able to find early offensive success, scoring touchdowns on their first three possessions. The first defensive stop wasn't until the second quarter when Philadelphia made San Jose turn the ball over on downs. Philadelphia stayed hot scoring on every possession in the first half. Both teams' offensive cooled off in the third quarter as Philadelphia hung on to a 12 point lead. San Jose nearly pulled off one of the greatest come backs in Arena League history scoring 22 in the fourth quarter including 16 points in 11 seconds by a touchdown and onside kick. Philadelphia was able to hold San Jose off by scoring two touchdowns in the 4th quarter and recovering the final onside kick of the game.
Under Munsey the Soul has had several record breaking seasons. In Munsey's first season as a head coach he finished 9-7 which was the highest win total for the Soul. This year he shattered that record, finishing 16-3 overall (including playoffs) and won the team's first Eastern Division Title.
During Munsey's time as a Concord player the team won three conference championships, including the Mountain Lion's last conference championship in 1990. He also began his coaching career here in Athens as an Assistant Coach in 1992.
