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Storm Set Sights on Number One Seed

May 7, 2003 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


With two games left in the 2003 regular season, the Tampa Bay Storm control their own destiny in the fight for the overall No. 1 seed in the playoffs and homefield advantage throughout. But in order to assure itself of the No. 1 seed, the Storm must win their final two regular season contests, which won't be an easy task. First up for Tampa Bay is a home contest against the defending ArenaBowl champion San Jose Sabercats. The Sabercats also enter the contest with plans on gaining the top spot in the playoffs. San Jose is just one game behind the Storm in the overall AFL standings, and a win over Tampa Bay would give San Jose an edge in the head-to-head tie-breaker, should it come down to that. The Storm and Sabercats played a couple of exciting contests a season ago, with San Jose taking a pair of hotly-contested ball games. This one should be no different, as each team attempts to gain the upper hand as the playoffs approach.

TAMPA BAY VS SAN JOSE: THE FACTS
Date/Time: Sunday, May 11, 3:00 pm (ET)
mLocation: St. Pete Times Forum (19,200), Tampa, FL
Television: NBC Sports (Tom Hammond, Pat Haden, and Lewis Johnson)
Radio: 620-AM WDAE (Jack Harris and Jason Dixon) The Series: Tampa Bay leads, 5-2
Last Meeting: Sabercats won 55-48 (at San Jose, August 3, 2002)

THE TAMPA BAY - SAN JOSE SERIES

This series has been one of streaks since the two teams first met in the 1996 season. The Storm won the first five games of the the series, but San Jose has rallied with two straight wins over the Storm. Both of San Jose's victories over Tampa Bay came last year, as the Sabercats had never previously beaten the Storm prior to 2002.

THE STAKES

Obviously, this is a huge game for both teams. If the Storm beat San Jose, and then beat Goergia next week, the Storm will claim the No. 1 seed in the playoffs. If the Storm lose to San Jose, they can still earn the No. 1 seed, but it would likely come down to tie-breakers between teams, with the Storm having no guarantees of the top spot. For the Sabercats, they need the Storm to lose one of their final games to be able to catch Tampa Bay in the standings.

NUMEROLOGY

1: Number of wins needed by Storm head coach Tim Marcum to reach 100 career wins with Tampa Bay

6: Rushing attempts needed for Andre Bowden to become the AFL's all-time leader in that category

11: Consecutive games the Storm defense has recorded an interception

49: Number of receiving yards Lawrence Samuels needs to reach 1,000 receiving yards for the season

THE COACHES

In his 15th season as a head coach, Tim Marcum is the winningest head coach in AFL history. The AFL Hall of Fame member holds AFL career coaching records in ArenaBowl championships, wins, winning percentage, games coached, and postseason victories. He enters his 9th season with Tampa Bay, owning a 154-54 overall record. He is 99-42 overall as head coach of the Storm.

Darren Arbet is in his fifth season with the Sabercats and recently became the eighth AFL head coach to reach 50 career victories. Arbet was twice named the AFL's Coach of the Year -- in 2000 and 2002 -- and has San Jose primed to make a run at a second consecutive ArenaBowl championship.

THE STORM LAST WEEK

Tampa Bay downed the Dallas Desperados 67-64 last week, allowing Tamp Bay to clinch a first round playoff bye and at least one home playoff game. The Storm were led by six touchdown passes from quarterback John Kaleo, who also rushed for a touchdown. Six different receivers caught touchdown passes for Tampa Bay, who was led by Freddie Solomon's five catches for 83 yards. Lawrence Samuels, who caught an 11-yard touchdown pass, also scored on a five-yard interception return for touchdown.

THE STORM NEXT WEEK

The Storm finish out theregular season with a road trip to Georgia, where they will face the Georgia Force, a Southern Division rival. The Force and Storm met earlier this season, with Tampa bay winning a 58-39 decision in the St. Pete Times Forum. The Storm are 3-0 all time against Georgia.

THE SABERCATS LAST WEEK

Mark Grieb threw a 9-yard scoring pass to James Roe with four seconds left in regulation then ran for the 2-point conversion to give the San Jose SaberCats a come-from-behind 56-55 win over the Grand Rapids Rampage. Grieb's last second touchdown pass was his sixth of the game and second to Roe. Grieb completed 21-of-31 attempts for 251 yards and no interceptions to earn game MVP honors. Rampage quarterback Clint Dolezel tossed his seventh scoring pass of the game, a 3-yard strike to Terrill Shaw, to give Grand Rapids a 55-48 lead with 34 seconds left in the game. Kevin McKenzie got the SaberCats within striking distance for the game-winner by returning the ensuing kickoff 49 yards to the Rampage 9-yard line. Following a rushing attempt for no gain and an incomplete pass, Grieb connected with Roe. Grieb faked a handoff to McKenzie on the 2-point try and ran into the corner of the endzone untouched for the game-winning points.

2002 STORM-SABERCATS MEETINGS

San Jose 61, TAMPA BAY 54 (April 27, 2002)

With the game tied and San Jose looking for the go-ahead score late in the fourth quarter, San Jose receiver Bob McMillen snagged a dump pass from quarterback Mark Grieb deep in his own territory, rumbled upfield, cut across the grain, and headed for the endzone. But at the five-yard line he was caught from behind by Tampa Bay defensive specialist Keita Crespina, who punched the ball loose. The ball then squirted into and through the back of the endzone for a Storm touchback.

However, with the Storm driving for the go-ahead score, McMillen made amends, snaring an errant Shane Stafford pass out of the air at the San Jose five-yard line and returning it 45 yards for a touchdown. Darren Alcorn's kick gave the Sabercats a 61-54 advantage with 0:34 remaining in the game. Quarterback Mark Grieb led the San Jose attack throwing for 334 yards and seven touchdowns, completing 17-of-24 pass attempts on his way to game MVP honors. Grieb's favorite receiver of the evening was James Hundon, who finished the game with six catches for 132 yards and two touchdowns.

Tampa Bay Quarterback Shane Stafford made his first start of the 2002 season, completing 24-of-41 passes for 270 yards and three touchdowns in a losing effort. He also had the costly interception. In all, the Storm totaled 298 yards of offense.

Ironman of the Game Lawrence Samuels tied career highs with 11 receptions and two touchdowns. He finished with 102 yards receiving in the contest. The contest, which marked the first loss to the Sabercats by Tampa Bay, featured 11 lead changes and no lead larger than 10 points.

SAN JOSE 55, Tampa Bay 48 (August 3, 2002)

The San Jose Sabercats scored a 35-yard touchdown with 1:00 left in the game and the Sabercats held the Storm out of the endzone as time expired, as San Jose defeated the Tampa Bay Storm, 56-48, Saturday afternoon in the quarterfinals of the Arena Football League playoffs. San Jose quarterback John Dutton hit James Roe on a 35-yard pass play for the winning score, giving the Sabercats' quarterback his sixth passing touchdown of the game. With the win the Sabercats advanced to the semifinals of the playoffs. Tampa Bay saw its season come to an end with a 7-9 overall record. The loss was the second of the season by Tampa Bay to San Jose, both coming by a touchdown. The Storm actually led by 18 points in the third quarter after scoring 15 unanswered points coming out of the halftime locker room. That gave the Storm a 35-7 scoring binge, during which Tampa Bay came from 10 points down to lead 45-27 mid-way through the third quarter. However, San Jose outscored Tampa Bay 21-0 and took a 48-45 lead before Storm kicker Pete Elezovic tied the game at 48-48 with 2:45 left in the game. The Storm got the ball down to the one-yard line and had it 4th-and-goal from the two-yard line with 0:02 left in the game, but failed to get the ball into the endzone, as Barry Wagner broke up Shane Stafford's attempted pass to David Saunders with no time left, giving the Sabercats the win.

STORM CLINCH WEEK OFF

With its win over the Dallas Desperados and losses by the Arizona Rattlers and Grand Rapids Rampage, the Tampa Bay Storm clinched a top-four seed in the playoffs and a first round bye. The Storm are the only team thus far to have clinched a first-round bye in the postseason. Along with the first-round bye, the Storm are also assured of playing at least one playoff game at the St. Pete Times Forum.

Three weeks ago Tampa Bay became the first team in the league to clinch a spot in the 2003 postseason, extending their league record for consecutive playoff appearances to 13 seasons.

GETTING CLOSER

The Tampa Bay Storm are now just two wins away from clinching the No. 1 overall seed in the playoffs. The Storm control their own destiny in the race for No. 1 and simply need to win their final two regular season games to ensure themselves of the best record in the league.

However, that task will not be an easy one. The Storm still have games against San Jose and Georgia on their slate. The Sabercats are the defending ArenaBowl champions and would be the third-seeded team in the league if the playoffs were to begin today. Georgia would be seeded fifth in the playoffs if the postseason were begin today.

In another scenario, the Storm could actually clinch the top seed this weekend should Tampa Bay beat San Jose and Los Angeles lose to Colorado. However, the 2-12 Crush will face the Avengers without star offensive specialist Damien Harrell, who is out for the season with a dislocated wrist.

What's the importance of the No. 1 overall seed. Well, in the 16 seasons of the AFL playoffs, the team seeded No. 1 in the postseason has hosted the ArenaBowl game on 14 occasions.

The only teams seeded No. 1 in the playoffs who didn't host the ArenaBowl were Tampa Bay in 1999 and San Jose in 2000.

WINNING FORMULA

The Tampa Bay Storm can tie the team record for regular season wins with a victory Sunday over the San Jose Sabercats. The team record for regular season wins is 12, which was accomplished by the 1996 and 1998 Storm squads. Tampa Bay is currently 11-3 this season.

Should the Storm win both of its remaining regular season games, they will break the team record for regular season wins and tie the AFL record. Last season the San Jose Sabercats won 13 regular season games en route to the 2002 ArenaBowl title.

UNCHARTED WATERS

As we enter the 15th week of the regular season, the 2003 regular season will officially become the longest in the history of the league. Teams played 14 regular season games last season and had done so since the 1996 season, when the switch was made from 12 to 14 regular season games.

RACE BEGINS AT HOME

The race for the No. 1 seed begins where the Tampa Bay Storm hope it will ultimately end - at the St. Pete Times Forum. The Storm need a win at home and a win on the road next week to lock up the top seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

The Storm are 6-1 this season at home, and until their last home contest against the Colorado Crush, were undefeated inside the friendly confines of the Forum. Tampa Bay is averaging 56.7 points per game at home this season and is allowing its opponents just 38.0 points inside the Forum. Only two opponents this season have scored 40 or more points against the Storm at home. As a comparison, the Storm are outscoring their opponents an average of 53.7-48.3 on the road this season, and five of the seven home teams have scored 40 or more points against the visiting Storm.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

But that's not to say the Storm are pushovers away from home. Tampa Bay has won five straight road contests since dropping its first two road games of the season. Last week against the playoff-bound Desperados, the Storm turned in another strong road showing, scoring 67 points, one shy of a season high.

SURGING SAMUELS

Storm wide receiver/linebacker Lawrence Samuels is making a late season surge at the Ironman of the Year award, taking another step toward the honor with his performance last week at Dallas. Samuels, who was named Co-Ironman of the Game, scored twice, once on an 11-yard touchdown and once on a five-yard interception return. He also recorded three tackles, recovered a fumble, and handled the key onside kick at the end of the game to seal the Storm victory.

Samuels' performance against Dallas also earned the 10-year pro AFL Ironman of the Week for Week 14. Samuels has continued to get better with age, and this season is no different. Samuels is having his best-ever campaign, topping single season career highs in numerous categories. This year Samuels in second on the Storm in receptions (71), receiving yards (951), receiving touchdowns (17), scoring (122 points), all-purpose yards (999), fumble returns (3), and sacks (3.5). He is also third in interceptions (4) and fourth in total tackles (30.5). He has set single season career highs in receptions, receiving yards, scoring, interceptions, fumble returns, all-purpose yards, and sacks. Additionally, he needs three receiving scores and 12 tackles to break his career single season records in those categories.

Samuels has been able to find the endzone 20 times this season, and has done it in a multitude of fashions. He has caught 17 touchdown passes and has also scored via a kickoff return, interception return, and fumble return. Additionally, he has scored on a two-point conversion for Tampa Bay this season.

MAKING HIS CASE

With numerous Storm players up for post-season honors, one player who continues to quietly make his case in lineman BJ Cohen. He turned in another solid effort on the line last week against Dallas, recording two tackles, one of which was for loss and the other was a sack. He also made a tackle on fourth down during Tampa Bay's key fourth quarter goal line stand that helped the Storm keep the Desperados from getting back into the contest.

Cohen, the Storm's leading tackler among linemen, has 18.5 tackles this season, including 6.0 sacks and 5.5 tackles for loss. He also has three quarterback hurries, two interceptions returned for touchdowns, a pass breakup, a forced fumble, and a blocked kick. And that's just on the defensive side of the football.

The league's unofficial all-time leading receiver from the tight end position, Cohen has added to his record this season with a pair of receptions, including a touchdown, on the offensive side of the ball. For his career Cohen has 25 catches for 332 yards and eight touchdowns.

Cohen's six sacks are third in the league this season and just 0.5 shy of tying his single season career high. His 5.5 tackles for loss are a career high and lead the league. Cohen's two interceptions tie his career high in that category and his two interceptions returned for touchdowns ranks third in the league this season.

THE MAGICAL PLATEAU

When the Tampa Bay Storm put 60 or more points on the scoreboard, the opponent might as well go warm up the bus. That's because Tampa Bay is 38-0 all-time when scoring 60 or more points, including last Sunday's 67-64 victory over the Desperados. This season the Storm have scored 60 points or more four times, posting wins over Carolina, Detroit, Arizona, and Dallas.

ROUNDING INTO FORM

Though he's participated in just eight practices with Tampa Bay, WR/DB Antoine "T.T." Toliver is making a sudden impact just as he did last season. Toliver was on the Storm's preseason roster this season after playing the final five games of the 2002 regular season, but was also a member of the Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice squad.

Toliver was released by the Bucs two weeks ago and was with the Storm the next day, attempting to join the team as a twoway player. And, so far, his progress has been outstanding.

Toliver's first game came after just four practices and was against the New York Dragons. He didn't catch a pass in that game and made one tackle. His biggest contributions came on special teams, when he returned three kickoffs for 46 yards.

Last week against Dallas Toliver was more of a factor. He caught two passes, including a fantastic 36-yard touchdown reception on his first career catch. He also tallied 44 kickoff return yards, made three tackles, broke up a crucial pass in the endzone at the end of the first half, and recovered an onside kick. He finished the game with 119 all-purpose yards and was named co-Ironman of the Game.

Last season Toliver played only on the defensive side of the ball, working at defensive specialist after the Storm lost both of their starting defensive specialists in one game. Through five regular season contests, Toliver recorded 39.5 tackles, which was third on the team, and recorded a season-high three interceptions. He was also excellent on special teams, closing out the regular season with 274 kickoff return yards and 317 combined return yards, which was a team single game record.

Toliver's professional success has come after never playing a down of college football at he Division 1 level. Toliver attended Bethune-Cookman College but played only basketball, and prior to that played both sports at Hinds Community College in Mississippi. However, he played neither wide receiver nor defensive back at that lever, instead running the offense at quarterback. Toliver prepped at Mainland High School in Daytona, Fla., where he was a basketball teammate of NBA star Vince Carter.

GOING THE OTHER WAY

The Tampa Bay Storm boast numerous weapons on the offensive side of the football that have been able to make plays and haul in huge passes. But the Storm defenders have made sure not to be overlooked as well.

With a pair of interceptions last week against Dallas, Tampa Bay now has 22 interceptions in the season. The Storm have intercepted passes in 10 consecutive games, and have two players in the top ten of the league's interceptions list. Omarr Smith is tied for third in the league with eight interceptions this season, while Corey Sawyer is tied for seventh with six.

Lawrence Samuels also has four interceptions for the Storm.

SPEAKING OF SMITH

Storm defensive specialist Omarr Smith is looking to repeat as an AFL champion, but standing in his way this weekend are his former teammates with whom he won his first ring. Smith, who played for the San Jose Sabercats last season, now will line up against them Sunday afternoon for the first time.

After playing wide receiver/defensive back for three years in San Jose, Smith has flourished as a defensive specialist and is in the running for the AFL's Defensive Player of the year. Smith leads the Storm defense and ranks in the top five of many of the league's defensive categories. He has set career highs this season for tackles (80.0), interceptions (6), pass breakups (13), passes defensed (19), and fumble recoveries (5).

REACHING THE CENTURY MARK

Tampa Bay Storm fullback David White needs just three yards to reach the 100-yard rushing plateau. If he accomplished this he would be the first Storm player to do so since Andre Bowden rushed for 156 yards in 2000.

Basil Proctor is also close to reaching 100 rushing yards for the season. Proctor currently has 85 rushing yards and needs just 15 to eclipse 100 rushing yards for the second time in his career.

Should both backs reach 100 rushing yards, it would be the first time since the 1999 season that two Storm back rushed for 100 yards. That year Bowden and Les Barley, the top two rushers in Storm and AFL history, both gained over 100 rushing yards. There have been six seasons when the Storm has had two or more players rush for over 100 yards. In fact, in the Storm's inaugural season of 1991, three Tampa Bay player rushed for more than 100 yards - Lynn Bradford (261), Bo Wright (139), and Bowden (110).

REACHING THE CENTURY MARK, PART 2

With the next Storm win, head coach Tim Marcum and owner Woody Kern will celebrate their 100th victories with the club. Kern brought Marcum to Tampa in 1995 after purchasing the team, and the two have had a successful relationship since. The two are 99-42 overall in Tampa Bay and have won a pair of ArenaBowl rings.

REVERSAL OF FORTUNE

Last season, with the Storm and Orlando Predators struggling for much of the season, the Southern Division was consider by some to be the weakest division in the league. However, the always-tough division came to life late in the season, getting three of its four teams into the playoffs and seeing all three advance to the second round after first-round wins. And, in the second round, the Southern Division nearly shocked the league after Orlando advanced to the semifinals and both Tampa Bay and Carolina nearly pulled off shocking wins over the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds.

This season the Southern Division has picked up where it left off a season ago and has regained its reputation as of the best in the league. The Tampa Bay Storm and Orlando Predators have battled through much of the season for the league's best record, with the Predators claiming that title early and the Storm taking over about midway through. In fact, if the playoffs started today, three Southern Division teams would be included in the top five seeds.

IF THE PLAYOFFS STARTED TODAY...

If the playoffs were to begin today, the Storm would be the top seeded team and receive a bye in the first round of the postseason.

Following Tampa Bay, if the playoffs were to begin today, would be Los Angeles (10-4), San Jose (10-4), and Orlando (10-4), all of which would get first round byes. Georgia (8-6) would have the fifth seed, followed by Arizona (8-6), Grand Rapids (8-6), Las Vegas (7-7), Dallas (8-6), Chicago (7-7), Detroit (7-7), and New York (6-8).

STORM AND AFL SALUTE THE MILITARY

The Tampa Bay Storm and the Arena Football League are offering free and discounted tickets to all military personnel and their families for the remainder of the 2003 AFL season. All military personnel and their families may receive up to four free terrace level tickets for each game with a proper military ID. Additionally, $10 reserved seats may be purchased with proper military ID. These tickets are available only at the St. Pete Times Forum Box Office. To order tickets over the phone or for more information on this special promotion, call (813) 301-6600.

MILESTONES

John Kaleo, who in Week 1 became the ninth player in league history to eclipse the 18,000 career passing yards mark, became the ninth player in league history to throw for 18,000 yards and 300 touchdowns in a career with a five-touchdown performance in Week 6 against the Buffalo Destroyers. With 66 touchdown passes this season, he now has 336 career touchdown passes, which places him ninth all-time in that category.

Additionally, with 276 yards in Week 9 against Arizona, Kaleo became just the seventh player to eclipse 20,000 career passing yards.

Gary Compton, who in Week 1 became the third player in AFL history to surpass 10,000 receiving yards, recently became only the fifth player to score over 1,200 career points. Compton currently sits in fifth place on the league's all-time scoring list, one spot behind teammate Mike Black. Black currently sits in fourth place with 1,221 career points. Should he pass Black, Compton's next target would be former Storm receiver George LaFrance, who retired following the 2000 season with 1,292 career points.

After signing with the Storm on March 26, FB/LB Andre Bowden became just the second player in AFL history to go over 1,200 rushing yards for his career in his first game back with the Storm, rushing for seven yards and a touchdown against the Arizona Rattlers. Bowden, who is second in the league in career rushing yards and is the Storm all-time leader in that category, needs just six carries to surpass league all-time leader Les Barley in career rushing attempts.

Lawrence Samuels is just 49 yards away from joining Freddie Solomon in the 1,000 receiving yards club. Samuels has already eclipsed his previous career highs for receptions and receiving yards and needs just two touchdown catches to match the 19 he scored with the Storm in 2000.



Arena Football League Stories from May 7, 2003


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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