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, he capped off an MVP season by leading the Philadelphia Soul to a championship.
D’Orazio threw seven touchdown passes and ran for another score as the Soul won its first ArenaBowl, beating defending champion San Jose 59-56 on Sunday.
Philadelphia scored on all six of its first-half possessions and took the lead for good with three 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 four 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.
He hooked up for three scores with wide receiver Chris Jackson, the offensive player of the year, against San Jose. Jackson finished with 146 yards on 11 catches, and D’Orazio threw for 302 yards. Both players earned the same awards for the ArenaBowl — D’Orazio the MVP, Jackson the offensive player of the game.
“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. “We came here expecting to win the game.”
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