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Storm Hosts The Orlando In The War On I-4

June 4, 2013 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


TAMPA BAY - The "War on I-4" continues this Saturday, June 8 as the Tampa Bay Storm (7-4, 2-1) returns home to take on the Orlando Predators (2-8, 0-3) on "NET10 Wireless Arena Football Saturday" on CBS Sports Network...Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM.

This will be the 52nd matchup between these two heated rivals, and 22nd contest on the Storm's home turf. Tampa Bay comes into the game with the overall advantage in this storied rivalry, as it is currently 26-25 all-time against the Predators. However, Orlando holds the advantage in points, leading the Storm by 35.

These two teams met in Orlando earlier in the season, where the Storm prevailed 53-35 to keep them perfect on the road. Home-field advantage has proven to be virtually non-existent in this series, as the home team in these matchups is 23-19 during the regular season (Tampa Bay at 12-9 and Orlando at 11-10).

The Storm is fresh off a last-second victory over the Iowa Barnstormers. A victory that saw Joe Hills haul in the game-winning touchdown with 0.3 seconds left in the game. The win was crucial to stay within a game of South Division leader, Jacksonville Sharks.

Although Orlando enters this game having lost its previous three matches, season records should be ignored when these two squads meet. This is especially true now that the Predators have acquired ArenaBowl XXIV MVP Aaron Garcia, a quarterback who has a personal record of 7-3 against the Storm. He currently holds two AFL records with 57,736 passing yards and 1,254 passing touchdowns.

Storm quarterback Adrian McPherson also grabbed a few records of his own this season. McPherson broke the AFL single-season record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with his 23rd against San Jose in Week 8, and broke the Storm single-season record for rushing touchdowns by any player with his 24th against the Pittsburgh Power in Week 9. He currently leads the league in rushing with 392 yards and 29 touchdowns.

Garcia will use a host of weapons against the Storm including former Tampa Bay receivers T.T. Toliver and Prechae Rodriguez. Toliver is the team's leading receiver with 78 receptions for 1,008 yards. Rodriguez will also look to do some damage to his former team, however last time out, the Storm held him to just four receptions for 22 yards.

Defensively, the Storm will need to keep Garcia on his heels. The Orlando quarterback has 17 interceptions on the season. However, since joining the Predators Garcia has thrown only four. Look for the Storm defense to try and force Garcia into making the same mistakes that plagued him earlier in the season when he was a member of the San Jose SaberCats.

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