Dothan’s Brackins leads Philadelphia Soul into AFL playoffs

Larry Brackins is on the Soul train — three stops away from an Arena Football League championship.

Brackins, the former Dothan High standout, is in his second year with the Philadelphia Soul, the AFL franchise co-owned by rocker Jon Bon Jovi.

The Soul earned the league’s best regular-season record (13-3) and open the playoffs in a nationally televised game today against the New York Dragons (6 p.m., ESPN).

While Soul teammate Chris “Money” Jackson is the No. 1 receiver on one of the league’s best offenses, Brackins has thrived as the second option, creating a potent tandem facing AFL secondaries.

Jackson was second in the league in receptions (140) and yards (1,719) and had 49 touchdowns. Brackins has caught 107 passes for 1,395 yards and 29 touchdowns in his second year in Philadelphia.

They have posted those big numbers even with the Soul forced to use two quarterbacks.

Tony Graziani wasn’t ready to go after injuries cost him most of the season, so Matt D’Orazio — the offensive player of the game for Chicago in ArenaBowl XX — gets the nod against the Dragons. For the rest of the playoffs, the quarterback will be decided on a “game by game” basis, Munsey said.

“Tony’s played well, he’s done a lot of great things and I’ve always brought him back as our starter,” Munsey said. “The difference this time is Tony’s had no practice time and hasn’t played in games or practices in four of five weeks and I can’t afford to do that.”

The Soul won their first nine games and the Eastern Division title, earning a bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. D’Orazio threw for 3,331 yards and 72 touchdowns (with only four interceptions), and lineman Gabe Nyenhuis set a team record with 9.5 sacks.

The Soul are blessed — and cursed — to play in a city starved for a championship.

While the fifth-year Soul hardly have the history of the 76ers, Eagles, Phillies and Flyers, they’re more than a blip in a crowded sports market. The Soul drew 131,817 fans this season for an average of 16,477 and sold out four of their eight home games.

Bon Jovi, who declined comment this week, said earlier this season he had consulted with the New England Patriots and New York Giants on the design of their championship rings.

Dan Gelston of the Associated Press and staff writer Ken Rogers contributed to this report.