Destroyers fall to Storm, 46-36, at Nationwide Arena

April 25, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Columbus Destroyers News Release


COLUMBUS, OH – The Columbus Destroyers carried the momentum of two consecutive home victories into the first half of Sunday's contest with the defending ArenaBowl champion Tampa Bay Storm, jumping out to an early 12-point lead. However, the Storm would go on to score 21 unanswered points midway through the game to hand the Destroyers their first home defeat since March 13 with a final count of 46-36 in front of 15,108 fans at Nationwide Arena.

With the loss, the Destroyers fell to 3-8, while the Storm improved to 5-7 on the season.

The game's momentum swung on the Destroyers' first possession of the second half, when, under pressure, quarterback Ryan Vena tried to throw the ball away to avoid being sacked for a safety. Instead of finding a receiver the ball was batted around until it found its way into the clutches of Storm lineman Kelvin Kinney for an interception and touchdown. The score put Tampa up by ten, a lead which they would never relinquish.

Quarterback Ryan Vena led the Destroyers in passing and rushing, throwing 28 passes, 16 of them finding their mark for 175 yards, three touchdowns and the one interception. He also ran the ball five times for 27 yards and one touchdown. Quarterback Shane Stafford led the Storm and the game going 18-for-26 for 212 yards and one touchdown.

Offensive specialist Sedrick Robinson led Columbus in receiving, catching six balls for 69 yards taking two of them the distance for scores. Robinson was Vena's primary target with the team's leading receiver, Cornelius White, out with an ankle injury. Wide receiver/linebacker Lawrence Samuels led all receivers for the Storm hauling in seven passes for 81 yards.

DS JoJo Polk had a standout day registering 7.5 tackles and one pass breakup.

Columbus broke the scoring column first on a five-yard touchdown run, courtesy of fullback/linebacker Wilmont Perry. Perry has scored in each of the last four games, registering a total six touchdowns through the air and on the ground in the process. Perry, along with fellow fullback/linebacker Ricky Wood were sidelined with injuries, forcing the Destroyers to play without them both for most of the second half. The Destroyers jumped out to the early 12-point advantage after holding Tampa on fourth down at the Storm 12 yard-line, leading to their second touchdown. Columbus' second score came on a two-yard scamper from Vena for his team-leading eighth rushing touchdowns of the season.

The two teams would trade touchdowns for the duration of the first half with the Destroyers claiming a 22-17 lead at the break.

Tampa scored consecutive touchdowns to open the second half to turn their halftime deficit into a into an early third quarter lead. First, Stafford scored on a five-yard touchdown run. Then Stafford hit Carlos James on the two-point conversion to put the Storm on top 25-22 with 11:12 left in the third quarter. The Storm then extended their lead on the Kinney interception to take a double-digit lead.

Columbus kept pace with Tampa Bay however, cutting the Storm's lead to three midway through the fourth quarter on an 11-yard touchdown connection between Vena and Robinson, making the score 39-36. The touchdown was Robinson's second on the afternoon.

Stafford only threw for one touchdown on the day, however that toss proved to be the clinching score late in the fourth quarter. With 5:25 left in the game, Stafford hit offensive specialist Freddie Solomon on a 17-yard touchdown play, giving the Storm a 46-36 advantage, which was the margin of victory for Tampa Bay.

The Destroyers will travel to Carolina to play the Cobras next Saturday, May 1 at 7:30 p.m. (ET) The team then returns home on Sunday, May 9 to take on the Georgia Force at Nationwide Arena. Kickoff for that game is set for 3 p.m. (ET)

Destroyers tickets, starting as low as $9, may be purchased at the Nationwide Arena Ticket Office, at all Ticketmaster Ticket Centers, online at www.columbusdestroyers.com by phone at (614) 431-3600. Tickets are also available at the Blue Jackets Zones at Chiller Dublin and Chiller Easton.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from April 25, 2004


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