Storm Top Brigade, 69-56, as Offense and Special Teams Shine
July 16, 2017 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Baltimore Brigade News Release
BALTIMORE, MD. - The Baltimore Brigade (4-7) fell, 69-56, to the Tampa Bay Storm (9-3) Saturday night at Royal Farms Arena. Storm WR Kendrick Ings was named MVP for his four-score performance. Brigade WR Reggie Gray, who scored four touchdowns of his own, moved into 12th on the AFL's all-time receiving touchdowns list and 19th on the all-time receptions list.
"Tampa is a good team," Brigade Head Coach Omarr Smith said after the game. "We made some mistakes that allowed them to get ahead of us. We didn't make enough plays to win the game."
Hills opened the scoring, hauling in a two-yard pass from QB Randy Hippeard to give Tampa Bay a 6-0 lead. Brigade WR Reggie Gray hauled in a four-yard score to give Baltimore a 7-6 lead, but Tampa Bay responded, taking a 13-7 lead with under a minute left in the quarter. Gray scored his second touchdown of the night with 7:22 left in the first half, giving the Brigade a 14-13 lead. Two Storm kickoff returns, three total touchdowns by Brigade QB Shane Carden and a pair of touchdown passes from Hippeard highlighted a back-and-forth final seven minutes of the first half, after which the Storm led the Brigade, 42-28.
WR Brandon Thompkins caught an 11-yard touchdown pass with 11:38 left in the third quarter to bring the game back within one score, but Ings returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown, his second such return of the game. Gray caught his season-high fourth touchdown of the night with 6:34 left in the third quarter, cutting the Tampa Bay advantage to 49-42. Baltimore was unable to tie or take the lead as the teams traded scores for the remainder of the game. Hills caught his third touchdown of the night with 3:08 left to seal the Storm win.
KEY STAT: Brigade WR Reggie Gray caught a season-high four touchdown passes, moving into a tie for 12th place on the AFL's all-time touchdown list. He also became the 19th player in league history to record 750 receptions over the course of a career.
MVP: Tampa Bay WR Kendrick Ings - 243 all-purpose yards and four total touchdowns OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: Tampa Bay WR Joe Hills - eight receptions, 73 yards and three touchdowns DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME: Tampa Bay LB LaRoche Jackson - five solo tackles, three tackle assists and an interception
Next week, the Brigade head to Washington, D.C. for their first road game in over a month, taking on the Valor on Sat., July 22 at 7 p.m. at Verizon Center. The game will be broadcast live on Monumental Sports Network.
• Discuss this story on the Arena Football League message board...
Arena Football League Stories from July 16, 2017
- Storm Top Brigade, 69-56, as Offense and Special Teams Shine - Baltimore Brigade
- Soul Sweep Valor, 68-41 - Philadelphia Soul
- Storm Washes Away Baltimore for Season Sweep - Tampa Bay Storm
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.
