NEW ORLEANS, La. – Former Hampton University football standout Jason Thomas and the San Jose SabreCats lost ArenaBowl XXII to the Philadelphia Soul Sunday afternoon at the New Orleans Arena, 59-56.

It was the first time the SabreCats, the 2007 ArenaBowl champions, had ever lost the Arena Football League’s championship game. San Jose was looking to become the first repeat AFL champion since Tampa Bay accomplished the feat in 1995-96.

San Jose quarterback Mark Grieb went 29-for-44 through the air, throwing eight touchdowns and one interception. The SabreCats came into the playoffs with a regular-season best 13-3 record, claiming the American Conference championship before being denied their second straight ArenaBowl title.

Thomas (Savannah, Ga.), in his second year in the AFL, played for the Chicago Rush last season, starting 14 regular-season and two playoff games. The SaberCats were 11-5 in the regular season, undefeated in the AFL’s American Western Division.

A seventh-round draft pick by the San Diego Chargers in 2000, Thomas played for the Baltimore Ravens in 2002 and 2003. Thomas blocked for the Pirates from 1997-99 after transferring from South Carolina, earning All-MEAC honors his final two years.

Thomas also was an NCAA Division I-AA All-American as a senior. He graduated from Hampton in December 1999 with a degree in sports management and has been pursuing a master’s in secondary education at Morgan State.

For more information on the AFL and the AFL playoffs, visit www.arenafootball.com.

For more information on Hampton University football, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811 or visit the official athletics website at www.hamptonpirates.com.

The original story was published here: http://www.hamptonpirates.com/News/football/2008/7/29/HAMFTB%20(7-29-08).asp?path=football

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