Professional athletes are often defined by their trophy case. Former Shippensburg University star and Philadelphia Soul defensive end Jake Metz will get a chance to add an Arena Bowl title to his resume today.

The Philadelphia Soul will meet the Arizona Rattlers in Glendale, Arizona in Arena Bowl XXIX. The Arena Bowl is the Arena Football League’s equivalent of the NFL’s Super Bowl.

“I’m really pumped to be in the Arena Bowl,” Metz said. “The fact that I am a hometown guy and playing for Philly; I have been a sports fan of Philadelphia my whole life and it really means a lot to be able to represent the city now. It’s the city I grew up in, so to be able to win a championship here would be awesome.”

The Soul had a strong regular season, finishing with a 15-3 record [including playoffs] and emerging as the American Conference champion. Philadelphia knocked off the Tampa Bay Storm in the first round 63-41, before outlasting the Jacksonville Sharks, 55-50 to earn a spot in the Arena Bowl.

“That’s the matchup that we wanted. We wanted to show them we were the better team and that we should have won last year,” Metz said.

“We really brought it to them this year and to get that off of our back and now we’ve got the big game ahead of us and that’s what we’re focused on.”

The matchup with the Sharks was a big one for the Soul, since Philadelphia fell to the Sharks 61-56 last season in the American Conference Championship game after the team posted another 13-3 record.

Now the Soul will meet the National Conference Champion Arizona Rattlers in their home arena for the championship. The Rattlers finished the season 15-3 [includes playoffs], with a perfect 10-0 at Talking Stick Resort Arena, also known as “The Snake Pit.” The Rattlers have posted a 48-4 record at home with Talking Stick Resort Arena.

The Soul plan to get after the Rattlers quarterback Nick Davila early and often in order to keep the high-powered offense under fire. Davila had a great season, passing for 4,198 yards and 110 touchdowns this season.

“We’re really looking to get after the quarterback,” Metz said. “They’ve got a very good one there, if we can slow him down and get some turnovers we know we can handle the game because the offense is going to do their job for sure.”

That Philadelphia offense consists of star quarterback Dan Raudabaugh, who threw for 4,303 yards and 101 touchdowns. The team will rely on Raudabaugh, as well as star receivers Darius “Money” Reynolds and Shaun Kauleinamoku.

The two teams faced each other twice during the regular season, splitting the two matchups, with each team winning the game in their home arena. The Soul got the best of the Rattlers in the first matchup, 65-58, while the Rattlers bested Philadelphia, 80-63 on June 17.

For Metz, getting the chance to be a part of a long playoff run has been something special.

“It’s awesome. You work the whole season to get to the playoffs. It’s gone by really quick but when you’re here you just gotta go all in and embrace it,” Metz said.

“We’ve been busting our butts all year to get where we are right now and this is where we want to be so we’re going to make sure that we take advantage of it.”

Along with the team’s success, Metz has enjoyed a ton of personal success as well. Earlier, Metz was named the Defensive Lineman of the Year and is currently a finalist for Defensive Player of the Year. Metz led the Arena Football League with eight sacks this season.

“It’s hard work paying off. I consider myself a hustle player, so I never stop hustling at all and I know that has helped me get there,” Metz said.

“The coaching I have here is awesome and they’ve helped me so much at this level. I’ve really been able to use that to my advantage and that’s really helped me get to the quarterback for sure.”

Metz also has been very thankful to be recognized for his accomplishments on the field.

“It makes all that hard work pay off,” Metz said. “You put in so much hard work and you have to really dedicate your time to the sport to be acknowledged like that so it really means a lot.”

This season has been a very special one for the Shippensburg University alum who is more than excited for a chance at the coveted Arena Bowl title. Metz and the Soul are ready to leave it all on the field in an effort to bring the Foster Trophy back to the city of Philadelphia.

Shippensburg University head coach, Mark “Mac” Maciejewski had high praise for the former Raider.

“It’s Red Raider pride,” Maciejewski said. “He’s done a great job, I’m very proud of him. He worked his tail off when he was here to get that opportunity. Anytime that happens it feels like a little piece of us is going with him, it’s all good stuff.”

The Soul and Rattlers will kick off at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN.

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