D'Orazio, Soul rock to title

NEW ORLEANS - Matt D'Orazio turned out to be one of the best insurance policies in Arena League history.

Brought in as a backup quarterback before the season, the former Chicago Rush quarterback capped an MVP season by leading the Philadelphia Soul to a championship.

D'Orazio threw 7 touchdown passes and ran for another score as the Soul won its first ArenaBowl, defeating defending champion San Jose 59-56 on Sunday.

Philadelphia, in its fifth year, has become the league's marquee team thanks to rock-star owner Jon Bon Jovi and team president Ron Jaworski, an ESPN analyst and former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback.

Philadelphia scored on all six of its first-half possessions and took the lead for good with 3 consecutive touchdowns in the second quarter, then survived a frantic San Jose rally in the final minute to hold on in the 22nd ArenaBowl.

D'Orazio replaced injured starter Tony Graziani in the third game of the regular season and threw 72 touchdowns with only 4 interceptions the rest of the way. The Soul, which went 0-6 when Graziani was out of the lineup in 2007, finished with the best record in the league (13-3) behind D'Orazio.

"I just really wanted to have fun and keep a smile on my face the whole game and enjoy this," D'Orazio said. "Not everyone gets to do this, and I did."

San Jose, which hoped to become the first repeat champion since Tampa Bay in 1995-96, lost for the first time in four ArenaBowl appearances.

"Absolutely this stings," San Jose coach Darren Arbet said.