By: Alex “Shaggy” Shragis
Photo By: Don Mennig
Despite losing 21-17, Philadelphia played its best game of the season this weekend against Sean Mott and the DC Breeze. The feisty Phoenix finished with a 93% completion rate, their second highest of the year, and tied their opponents in the first, third, and fourth quarters. A pair of unanswered three goal runs in the second quarter from the Breeze was all that separated these two teams at the end of the game.
Philadelphia’s defense was aggressive, as the Phoenix reached their second multi-block game of the season. Becker Joseph had his rookie coming out party with two blocks and an assist, while Chase Rawlins and Nick DiGiorgio also had two blocks each. The Phoenix were 4 for 9 on break chances, and nine break opportunities are the most Philly has forced against a playoff bound opponent all season — they had more break chances against Pittsburgh and Montreal, teams with a combined five wins, two against the Hotbirds, but fewer against Carolina, New York, Boston, or Toronto.
The offense did not have a clean night by any stretch of the imagination, and at least one former Phoenix head coach bemoaned the huck statistics; without Scott Heyman and Owen Erdman to bolster their deep game Philly completed just 9 of 19 hucks, a dismal 47%. However, the Phoenix offense held DC to just eight breaks on 15 break chances, a 53% clip that is a Hotbird best for the season. When the team turned it over — and they did so frequently — there was no quit in this unit, they fought tirelessly to win the disc back, as evidenced by blocks from O-Line players Chase Rawlins, Dustin Damiano and Mike Campanella. Also an immense amount of credit to the coaching staff, who made clear scheme and line adjustments after the second quarter to stem the bleeding.
This was also a coming out party for new head coach Adam Callahan. There were several points during the game when it seemed as if things were getting out of control, particularly from a referee perspective. Adam refused to back down, coming on to the field multiple times to argue with referees and defend his players. This was a confrontational side of Callahan that Phoenix fans have not seen all season, and it bodes well for the future.
Philly faces a difficult test this weekend, as they travel south for a rematch against DC. The Phoenix have had a much more difficult time on the road, losing games by an average of 14.25 points when they travel, as opposed to losing by an average of only four at home. This 10 point gap has held true for common opponents: Philly lost by seven in Montreal after beating them by one at home, and lost by 14 in Boston after losing by just four at home. With a reinvigorated Adam Callahan and an invested offensive line, hopefully Philly can fare better on the road for the rest of this season.
One quick fix might be to figure out who they want throwing deep and who the team wants receiving the disc. Of the players with the most hucks this season, Ezra Beidler-Shenk and Colin White are completing 66.67% and 76.92% respectively, while Chase Rawlins is completing just 55.56% of his hucks. One reason for this discrepancy might be that Beidler-Shenk and White get to throw their hucks to Rawlins, while in return Rawlins does not get to huck to himself. As Philly’s best option at receiver, with nearly 700 more receiving yards than any other player, moving Rawlins further downfield can only help the offense find a rhythm. Though the Hotbird home games may have wrapped for the season, Philadelphia still has two road games streaming live on WatchUFA.tv. Tune in this weekend to stream the Phoenix vs D.C. rematch July 11 at 7 p.m.
Follow the Hotbird action through the end of the regular season at WatchUFA.tv, check out the many summer youth programming opportunities in the area or find more ways to hook up with the Hotbirds at phoenixulti.com.
