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Storm win fifth straight, pull into tie for eighth playoff seed

May 23, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


TAMPA, Fla. - The defending ArenaBowl champion Tampa Bay Storm defeated the Southern Division leading New Orleans VooDoo, 59-51, Sunday afternoon, and in the process climbed into a tie for the eighth and final playoff spot.

The Storm, winners of five straight games, improved to 8-7 on the season. Tampa Bay currently sits in a tie with the Austin Wranglers and New York Dragons for the final postseason berth. But, the Storm own the tie breaker among the three teams, and thus would advance to the playoffs if the postseason were to begin today.

Tampa Bay is attempting to extend its league record streak of consecutive playoff appearances to 14 seasons. The Storm have never failed to advance to the postseason.

New Orleans, which had been battling for the No. 1 overall seed in the postseason, fell to 9-5 on the season and out of a tie for the league's best overall record.

Sunday's contest was never really in doubt, as the Storm dominated from the start. The game was not as close as the final score may have indicated, as Tampa Bay never trailed in the game and led by as many 26 points in the second half.

Tampa Bay quarterback Shane Stafford turned in an impressive performance against the VooDoo defense after struggling against New Orleans earlier in the season. Stafford completed 22-of-30 passes for 267 yards and six touchdowns in earning Offensive Player of the Game honors.

Stafford atoned for his performance in the teams' first meeting on March 7. In that game Stafford tossed three interceptions, all of which were returned for touchdowns, before getting benched in the third quarter. New Orleans won that game, 55-43.

Freddie Solomon was the Storm's leading receiver. He recorded game highs in receptions and receiving yards, catching eight passes for 119 yards and two touchdowns.

David Saunders also proved to be a big-play threat for Tampa Bay, tying a career-high with three touchdown receptions. He finished with six catches for 83 yards. Saunders also recorded one solo tackle, two assisted tackles, and a forced fumble. He was named the Ironman of the Game.

Tampa Bay FB/LB Umar Muhammad scored on receiving and rushing touchdowns for Tampa Bay for the second straight game. Muhammad hauled in a three-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to score the game's first points. The touchdown capped off a 46-yard scoring drive and put the Storm ahead 7-0 with 1:07 left in the first quarter.

New Orleans added its first score when kicker Brian Schmitz connected on an 18-yard field goal. The kick cut the Storm lead to 7-3 with 3:24 left in the first quarter.

Tampa Bay increased its lead with a 40-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to Solomon. The score marked the 20th consecutive game for Solomon with a touchdown reception and pushed the Storm lead to 14-3 with 40 seconds remaining in the first quarter.

John Fitzgerald hit Aaron Bailey with a 23-yard touchdown pass to cut the Tampa Bay lead to 14-10 with 11:56 left in the second quarter. But the Storm offense had an answer, as Muhammad capped off a 49-yard scoring drive with a five-yard touchdown run to push the Tampa Bay lead to 21-10 with 6:12 left in the first half.

Bailey hauled in a second touchdown pass, this one from 13 yards out, to put New Orleans back on the scoreboard. Schmitz's extra point, however, sailed wide left, and the Storm led 21-16 with 4:12 left before halftime.

Tampa Bay added a one-yard touchdown run by Andre Bowden with 51 seconds left in the first half to go ahead 28-16. Then, after TT Toliver recovered a New Orleans fumble and returned it to midfield, Saunders caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to put the Tampa Bay lead at 35-16 with four seconds left before halftime.

After halftime the Storm picked up right where they left off in the first half, as the Tampa Bay defense forced the VooDoo to turn the ball over on downs on the first possession of the third quarter. Stafford needed just one play to find Solomon in the endzone for an 11-yard touchdown that put Tampa Bay on top 42-16 with 10:33 left in the third quarter.

The VooDoo got back on the scoreboard on their next offensive possession, as Fitzgerald hit Calvin Spears on a 20-yard touchdown pass. Schmitz's extra point cut Tampa Bay's lead to 42-23 with 7:40 remaining in the third quarter.

Tampa Bay again struck quickly after recovering an onside kick. Saunders reeled in a 15-yard touchdown reception on the first play of the possession, putting the Storm on top 49-23.

New Orleans added a six-yard touchdown when Spears made a diving catch in the endzone on fourth down. Schmitz, however, again missed the extra point, keeping the Storm lead at 49-29.

Tampa Bay kicker Ignacio Brache tacked on a 32-yard field goal to put Tampa Bay on top 52-29 with 10:19 left in the game.

The VooDoo answered with a 27-yard touchdown strike from Fitzgerald to Ira Gooch. Spears caught the two-point conversion in the endzone, cutting the Tampa Bay lead to 52-37.

But the Storm offense continued to be too much for the New Orleans defense, as Stafford hit Saunders on a 32-yard scoring strike. The touchdown reception was the third of the game for Saunders, tying a career high. Brache added the extra point to push the Storm lead to 59-37 with 5:36 left in the game.

New Orleans scored a pair of late touchdowns to tighten up the score, including one on the game's final play. But it was not enough to keep the Storm from celebrating their eighth victory of the season and their fifth home win of the year.

VooDoo quarterback John Fitzgerald threw seven touchdown passes in the game, completing 25-of-41 passes for 276 yards. He threw two touchdown passes to three different receivers - Calvin Spears, Ira Gooch, and Aaron Bailey.

The Storm close out the regular season next Sunday when they travel to Dallas to take on the Desperados. New Orleans closes out its inaugural regular season with a home contest against the Austin Wranglers.



Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from May 23, 2004


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