Streaking Storm Face Tough Rattlers

Published on March 26, 2003 under Arena Football League (AFL)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


The Tampa Bay Storm return home for the first of back-to-back games at the St. Pete Times Forum when they host the Arizona Rattlers at 7:30 pm on Friday, March 28. One of the hottest teams in the league, the Storm enter Friday's showdown with a six game winning streak, the longest current winning streak in the league. Tampa Bay is 4-0 at home this season, but Friday's game against the Rattlers will certainly be no cakewalk. Arizona, always one of the top teams in the Arena Football League, enters the contest coming off of an emotional one-point loss to division rival San jose in a rematch from last season's ArenaBowl championship game. The Rattlers, despite losing four games thus far, feature one of the game's top signal callers in Sherdrick Bonner, and one of the the AFL's most respected head coaches in Danny White.

TAMPA BAY VS ARIZONA: THE FACTS
Date/Time: Friday, March 28, 7:30 pm (ET)
Location: St. Pete Times Forum (18,200), Tampa, Fla.
Television: Phoenix only (WB-61)
Radio: 620-AM WDAE (Jack Harris and Jason Dixon)
The Series: Tampa Bay leads, 5-4 (Storm leads regular season 4-3)
Last Meeting: Rattlers won, 55-49 in overtime (June 15, 2001, in Tampa)

THE TAMPA BAY - ARIZONA SERIES

Despite all of Tampa Bay's success over the years, the Storm and Rattlers have always played to hard-fought decisions. The Storm lead the all-time series 5-4, but Arizona has won three straight. Only Albany/Indiana and Orlando have beaten Tampa Bay more times. The last time the Storm beat the Rattlers at home was 1996.

THE STAKES

The race for the No. 1 playoff seed is heating up, as the Storm are in a tie with Orlando, Georgia, Los Angeles, and San Jose for the best record in the AFL. Tampa Bay, Georgia, and Orlando also are all tied atop the Southern Division standings, so the 2003 campaign has essentially been whittled down to an eight-game season.

NUMEROLOGY

1: Wins needed for Storm head coach Tim Marcum to reach 150 career wins
6: Number of wins needed by Storm head coach Tim Marcum to reach 100 career wins with Tampa Bay
127: Number of passing yards needed by Storm QB John Kaleo to reach 20,000 career passing yards
8: Number of points needed by Storm WR/DB Alvin Ashley to reach 900 points scored

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 post-season victories. He enters his 9th season with Tampa Bay, owning a 149-53 overall record. He is 94-41 overall as head coach of the Storm.

Arizona's Danny White is in his 12th season as head coach of the Arizona Rattlers. White, and AFL Hall of Fame member, has led the Rattlers to two ArenaBowl championships and is second on the all-time wins list, behind Marcum.

THE STORM LAST WEEK

The Storm won their fifth straight game, using another dominating defensive performance to top the Indiana Firebirds, 41-20, Sunday afternoon at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind. Tampa Bay intercepted Indiana passes on four consecutive possessions and jumped out to a 38-7 lead near the end of te third quarter.

Storm quarterback John Kaleo was named Game MVP after completing 20-of-34 passes for 218 yards and four touchdowns. David Saunders, named Ironman of the Game, caught six passes for 60 yards, including three touchdowns. Tampa Bay outgained the Firebirds, 266- 189, in total offense, and sacked Indiana quarterback Jim Ballard twice.

THE STORM NEXT WEEK

Tampa Bay remains at the friendly confines of the St. Pete Times Forum for the first of two games this season against the Georgia Force. The Force enter the weekend tied with the Storm atop the Southern Division standings after beating the Orlando Predators last week. Tampa Bay swept the Force last season, beating them on the final week of the regular season to advance to the playoffs and keep Georgia from getting into the postseason.

THE RATTLERS LAST WEEK

The Rattlers had control of Sunday's game for 57 minutes, but the defending champion SaberCats came alive in the final three minutes to shock the Rattlers 59-58.

Mark Grieb found James Roe in the back of the end zone as time expired to tie the game. Daron Alcorn's extra point propelled the SaberCats to their 17th straight home win. Arizona held a 58-46 lead with 3:32 to go, but Grieb found Jerry Reese for the 12-yard touchdown to cut the lead to 58-52. The SaberCats recovered the ensuing onside kick to set up the game winning score. Sherdrick Bonner was 17-28 for 219 yards and eight touchdowns to lead the Rattlers. His counterpart Grieb was 23-of-36 for 289 yards and five touchdowns. Orshawante Bryant took over the offensive specialist position for Arizona and responded with six catches for 92 yards and three touchdowns.

Hunkie Cooper continued is stellar play, catching six balls for 62 yards and two touchdowns. WR/DB Randy Gatewood set a new franchise record with his seventh interception of the season. Gatewood now has 22 career interceptions, tied with Cecil Doggette for the most in franchise history.

THE LAST TAMPA BAY-ARIZONA MEETING

Arizona 55, TAMPA BAY 49 (OT) (June 15, 2001) - Despite training four times by 14 points, losing one of their starting defensive specialists before the game and their top returner/receiver in the second quarter, missing two field goals, never leading, and turning the ball over three times, the Tampa Bay Storm still forced overtime against the Arizona Rattlers with a fourth quarter surge, only to see Calvin Schexnayder's fifth receiving touchdown spoil the comback bid. Arizona jumped out to a 14- 0 lead on two touchdown passes from Sherdrick Bonner to Schexnayder before the Storm finally got on the board with a touchdown pass from John Kaleo to James Bowden. The second quarter saw each quarterback trade interceptions on four straight possessions, with Arizona finally capitalizing on one with a score with five minutes left in the half. The Storm was within seven points at the half, but fumbled away the opening kickoff of the third quarter. After the Rattlers pulled ahead by two touchdowns, the Storm used a 45-yard touchdown by Clinton Hart and a two-yard Kaleo touchdown run to pull even with the Rattlers with 12 minutes left. The two teams traded missed field goals in the final 10 seconds, forcing overtime. In the extra period the Storm were stopped on four consecutive plays and the Rattlers scored two plays later to claim the victory.

TURNING THE TABLES

In an offensive game, the Tampa Bay Storm are proving that defense can carry a team a long way. The Storm lead the league in scoring defense, allowing just 41.2 points per game, and are second in the AFL in total defense, giving up 244.4 yards per game. The red-hot Storm defense is a big reason why Tampa Bay has put together a five game winning streak and is tied for the league's best overall record. In the last three games the Storm have allowed a total of 79 points, or just 26.3 points per game.

Last week's effort against the Indiana Firebirds was a microcosm of how things have gone for the Storm during the winning streak. In their 41-20 win, Tampa Bay forced four turnovers and held Indiana to just seven first-half points. The Firebirds scored on three of nine possessions in the game, and at one point Tampa Bay intercepted passes on four consecutive Indiana drives. In the game the Storm scored 24 points off of turnovers.

Tampa Bay jumped out to a 24-7 halftime lead and by late in the third quarter led 38-7. Big leads have been another common denominator during Tampa Bay's current five-game winning streak. The Storm have outscored their opponents 155-71 in the first half of the last five games, and have outscored their opponents 244- 149 in the first half this season.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Not only did the Storm have two players who recorded interceptions against Indiana quarterback Jim Ballard, but they had two players record two interceptions on back-to-back drives.

Tampa Bay defensive specialist Omarr Smith came up with the first interception of the game, picking off Ballard in the endzone late in the second quarter. Following a Storm touchdown, Smith again stepped in front of a Ballard pass, setting up a Tampa Bay field goal as the second quarter came to a close.

The Firebirds received the kickoff to start the third quarter, but Ballard was again haunted by turnovers, this time by Corey Sawyer, who intercepted a pass at the Tampa Bay 13-yard line, fell to the ground, got back up, and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown. It appeared as if the turnover streak would come to an end, however, on Indiana's next offensive possession, as Ballard drove his team down to the Tampa Bay four-yard line. But the Firebirds again came up empty, as Ballard's pass into the endzone ricocheted off the iron below the next and went high into the air, falling into the waiting arms of Corey Sawyer.

The Storm once again drove the field for a touchdown, pushing the Tampa Bay lead to 38-7 with 4:07 left in the third quarter and effectively ending any Indiana hopes of a comeback and an end to their losing streak.

SACK ARTIST

Leading the team in receptions and touchdowns is something Lawrence Samuels is used to -- but leading the team in sacks? With a pair of sacks in the last two weeks, Samuels is the only WR/LB in the league to lead his team in sacks. He is tied with David White and Kelvin Kinney with 2.0 sacks on the season.

The two sacks by Samuels this season are just the second and third of his long career. Samuels' only other sack came during the 1996 season when he sacked Florida Bobcats quarterback Fred McNair.

With a pair of sacks against the Indiana Firebirds, the Storm now have 13 sacks on the season. That total puts them third in the league in that category, behind only Dallas and Orlando. The Storm are also third in the league in sacks allowed, giving up just five this season.

The Detroit Fury lead the league in sacks allowed with just two, while the San Jose Sabercats have allowed four.

ON THE RUN

The Tampa Bay Storm running game is beginning to take shape, with both David White and Basil Proctor stepping up offensively as the season hits the mid-point. Two weeks ago against the Orlando Predators, the Storm scored five rushing touchdowns, trying a team record, and compiling a team season-high 25 rushing yards. And last week against Indiana the running game was again effective, re-establishing the team season high with 53 yards rushing. Proctor led the charge, carrying eight times for 28 yards. White rushed just three times but finished with 23 yards on the ground.

For the season the Storm rank fifth in the league in rushing offense with 17.8 yards per game. Tampa Bay is also third in the league with 73 rushing attempts and tied for third in the AFL with 15 rushing touchdowns. White and Proctor are both tied for the league-lead with 31 carries on the season. White is seventh in the AFL in rushing yards with 71 and Proctor is eighth with 61 rushing yards. White is also tied for third in the league with six rushing touchdowns, while Proctor is tied for seventh with five.

COMING AROUND

David Saunders, who was the Storm team MVP last season, had his best game of the season last week against the Indiana Firebirds and appears to be rounding back into shape after missing all of training camp and the first four weeks of the 2003 season with an injured ankle.

Saunders caught a team-high six passes for 60 yards, including a game-high and career-high tying three touchdowns. In four games this season Saunders is fourth on the team with 12 catches for 121 yards. Included in those totals are five touchdown receptions.

DENIED

Their total defensive effort not withstanding, the Tampa Bay Storm have been particularly adept this season at ratcheting up their defense when it counts - on third and fourth downs and inside the red zone. Against the Firebirds the Storm defense held the Indiana offense to 0-for-3 on third conversion tries and 0-for-1 on fourth down. Further, the Storm allowed the Firebirds inside the red zone just three times in the game, with Indiana scoring on two of those occasions.

Tampa Bay leads the AFL in opponents' third down conversion percentage and opponents' fourth down conversion percentage. The Storm have allowed opponents to convert on just 17-of-43 (39.5%) third down tries and 2- of-10 (20%) fourth down conversion attempts.

Additionally, the Storm's red zone defense ranks fourth in the league, allowing opponents to score 28-of-35 times once inside the red zone. The league leaders in red zone defense have allowed opponents to score on 28-of-36 times inside the red zone.

THE STREAK CONTINUES

Though it's relatively modest as far as winning streaks go, the Tampa Bay Storm improved the league's longest current winning streak to five games last Sunday afternoon with a win over the Indiana Firebirds. The streak is the longest for the Storm since the 2001 season, when Tampa Bay won seven straight games to start the year. Since then and prior to the current streak, the longest Storm winning streak was just two games.

NOSE FOR THE BALL

If there's a play to be made on defense, it's a good bet that Tampa Bay defensive specialist Omarr Smith is going to be in the middle of it. Smith, who recorded a teamhigh 7.5 tackles and two pass breakups to go along with his two interceptions against Indiana, is near the top of the leader board in several of the league's defensive categories this season.

Smith leads the league in fumble recoveries, having pounced on six loose balls this season. That doubles up the next closest competition. Smith also has four interceptions on the season, which ties him for fourth in the league in that category. Additionally, Smith's 51.5 total tackles ranks third in the Arena Football League.

In his first season with the Storm after signing as a free agent from San Jose, the reigning World Champions, Smith leads the team in tackles and fumble recoveries and is second in interceptions and pass breakups.

STILL GOING ...

Storm head coach Tim Marcum, who earlier this season coached his 200th AFL game, recorded his 149th win last Sunday against the Indiana Firebirds, increasing his own record for most wins in a career. The AFL Hall of Fame member has also set league marks for all-time games coached (202), winning percentage (.738, minimum 20 games), regular season wins (127), post-season victories (22), years of service (15), league championships (6), and championship game appearances (9).

In his ninth season with the Storm, Marcum needs just six wins to reach his 100th victory as head coach of the Storm.

1 VS 2

The closest coach to reaching Marcum's ever-increasing record for all-time wins and games coached is Arizona Rattlers head coach Danny White, who entered the season with 115 all-time wins and enters Friday night's game with 119. White, who has been head coach of the Rattlers since the 1992 season, is also second to Marcum in all-time playoff wins with 15 and is the only active coach other than Marcum with more than one ArenaBowl championship. Marcum, White, and Jay Gruden, who won two ArenaBowls as head coach of the Orlando Predators, are the only three coaches in the history of the AFL who have coached teams to more than one ArenaBowl championship.

ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER KALEO MILESTONE

In what has been a season of milestones for Storm quarterback John Kaleo, the veteran AFL quarterback has a chance this week to reach yet another impressive plateau. Kaleo enters Friday's game against Arizona with 19,873 career passing yards, just 127 shy of the 20,000 mark. When he reaches that milestone he will become just the seventh player to reach the 20,000 passing yards mark. Earlier this season Orlando quarterback Jay Gruden and Grand Rapids quarterback Clint Dolezel surpassed the milestone.

This is will be the fourth major career milestone for Kaleo this season. In Week 1 against Carolina he surpassed the 18,000 passing yards mark and in Week 5 against Detroit he surpassed 19,000 career passing yards. Kaleo went over 300 career passing touchdowns on March 8, 2003, against Buffalo.

THERE'S SOME HISTORY BETWEEN US

Other than the Albany/Indiana Firebirds and the Orlando Predators, the team with the most wins against the Tampa Bay Storm is the Arizona Rattlers. The Storm hold a slight 5-4 advantage in the all-time series, which has been played since Arizona joined the league in 1992.

Tampa Bay leads the regular-season series 4-3, and the teams split two games in the playoffs. Arizona has a three-game winning streak against the Storm, the longest such streak any team has against Tampa Bay.

The Rattlers and Storm last faced off in 2001, when Arizona won a barn-burner, 55-49, in overtime. The Storm last beat Arizona in the 1997 season opener, a 42- 30 decision in Arizona. Tampa Bay's last win over the Rattlers in Tampa was a 55-54 playoff win on August 16, 1996, as the Storm were en route to their fourth ArenaBowl championship. Tampa Bay's last and only regular season home win against the Rattlers came earlier that season in a 69-48 win on July 27. Two of the nine games in the series have gone into overtime, with Arizona winning both contests.

KING OF THE SOUTH

Being on top of the division is nothing new for the Tampa Bay Storm, who have won six division championships since the AFL went to division play in 1992. But lately the Storm have struggled to get to where they currently sit at the halfway point in the season. With the Storm's win over Indiana and Orlando's loss to the Georgia Force last week, there is a three-way tie between the Storm, Force, and Predators for Southern Division superiority.

The Storm never led the division last season and have not led a division race past the halfway point in the year since the 2001 season, when the Storm started 7-0. But Tampa Bay quickly dropped off the map in the second half of that year, winning only three of their last seven games and finishing in a tie for the division lead with the Nashville Kats.

THE RACE IS ON

The battle for the coveted No. 1 seed in the playoffs will undoubtedly go down to the wire this season, with five teams tied for the best record in the league at the halfway point in the season. Along with the Storm, San Jose, Los Angeles, Orlando, and Georgia all have 6-2 overall records, while Dallas and Grand Rapids trail closely behind at 5-3 overall.

While they don't totally control their own destiny, the Storm play all but one of the aforementioned teams and will have a huge say in how the final standings shape up.

Tampa Bay split the season series with Orlando but owns the points tiebreaker with the Predators if it comes down to that, and has also claimed a win over the Grand Rapids Rampage. The Storm also still have two games against the Georgia Force and play San Jose and Dallas later in the season. The only team on the list that Tampa Bay does not play is Los Angeles. However, the Avengers still have tough games against San Jose, Dallas, and Orlando, and play a quality Arizona squad two more times this year.

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 33 touchdown passes this season, he now has 303 career touchdown passes. He needs just 127 passing yards to become just the seventh player in AFL history to break the 20,000 career passing yards mark.

Gary Compton, who in Week 1 became the third player in AFL history to surpass 10,000 receiving yards, is just two points shy of taking over fourth place on the league's alltime points scored list, vaulting past former Storm kicker Mike Black in that category. Compton recently became only the fifth player to score over 1,200 career points.

Black currently sits in fourth place with 1,205 career points. After passing Black, Compton's next target will be former Storm receiver George LaFrance, who retired following the 2000 season with 1,292 career points.

Storm WR/DB Alvin Ashley is himself moving close to a couple of AFL milestones as the 2003 season plows ahead. Ashley needs just three touchdowns to reach 150 career touchdowns and 12 receiving touchdowns to become the seventh player to reach 150 career receiving touchdowns. Ashley also has 14,508 career all-purpose yards, just 492 all-purpose yards shy of becoming the fifth player to reach 15,000 career all-purpose yards. In fact, when Ashley reaches 15,000 all-purpose yards and 150 receiving touchdowns, he will become just the fourth AFL player to do that.

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Arena Football League Stories from March 26, 2003


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