Surging Storm Back on the Road

Published on March 19, 2003 under Arena Football League (AFL)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


Fresh off of handing arch rival Orlando its first loss of the season, the Tampa Bay Storm end a three-game home stand and return to the road on Sunday afternoon to face the Indiana Firebirds. The game is a match-up of teams headed in opposite directions. The Storm have won four consecutive games and are within one game of the Southern Division-leading Orlando Predators. The Firebirds, on the other hand, have lost four straight games and have been reeling since losing starting quarterback Raymond Philyaw to an injury to his throwing hand three weeks ago. Tampa Bay is 1-2 on the road this season, but did win its last game away from home - a 58-56 victory over the Grand Rapids Rampage. Since then the Storm won three straight at home, including last Sunday's win over Orlando. In that game the Storm used a ferocious pass rush to sack Orlando quarterback Connell Maynor four times and knock him to the turf 16 times.

TAMPA BAY VS INDIANA: THE FACTS
Date/Time: Sunday, March 23, 12:00 pm (ET)
Location: Conseco Fieldhouse (16,060), Indianapolis, Ind.
Television: none
Radio: 620-AM WDAE (Jack Harris and Jason Dixon) The Series: Tampa Bay leads, 9-6 (Series tied 1-1 as Indiana Firebirds )
Last Meeting: Storm won, 53-52 (May 31, 2002, in Indianapolis)

THE TAMPA BAY - INDIANA SERIES

Though the Firebirds are playing in only their third season in Indiana, the series between the Storm and Firebirds dates back to 1991 when the Storm began play in Tampa Bay. Then known as the Albany Firebirds, the second-year team lost to the Storm in the teams' first-ever meeting, 59-53, at Tampa Bay on June 29, 1991. The Storm lead the all-time series 9-6, and lead the regular-season series 7-5. Tampa Bay won at Indiana last season, 53-52.

THE STAKES

With its win last weekend against previously unbeaten Orlando, the Storm are now within one game of the Southern Division lead. Tampa Bay must continue to win, however, to keep pace in the race for the top playoff seed and homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. The Storm are currently tied for second place in the league with four other teams at 5-2 overall, with the Predators sitting atop the league standings at 6-1.

NUMEROLOGY

2: Wins needed for Storm head coach Tim Marcum to reach 150 career wins

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

345: 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 148-53 overall record. He is 93-41 overall as head coach of the Storm.

Indiana's Mike Dailey is in his seventh season as head coach of the Firebirds and thirteenth season in the Firebirds organization. Last season he led the Firebirds to a 7-7 regular season and a berth in the Arena Football League playoffs. During Dailey's previous six seasons, the Firebirds have accumulated five post-season appearances, including an ArenaBowl championship in 1999, and three Eastern Division Championships.

THE STORM LAST WEEK

Tampa Bay knocked arch rival Orlando from the ranks of the unbeaten, downing the Predators 52-32 at the St. Pete Times Forum. The win was the fourth straight for the Storm, who moved to within a game of the Southern Division-leading Predators. The Storm stifled the Orlando offense with non-stop pressure from its defensive front. Tampa Bay recorded four sacks in the game, including a safety, and knocked Orlando quarterback Connell Maynor to the turf 16 times. The Storm rushed for five touchdowns in the game -- two apiece by Basil Proctor and Freddie Solomon. Quarterback John Kaleo finished 18-of- 30 for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Lawrence Samuels and Solomon each had five catches in the game to lead the Storm. Samuels, who was named Game MVP, had 70 yards and a touchdown, while Solomon had 69 yards. He finished with 200 all-purpose yards in the contest. Lineman Al Lucas was named Ironman of the Game after tying for the team lead with 4.0 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack that resulted in a safety.

THE STORM NEXT WEEK

Tampa Bay returns home for the first of back-to-back home games Friday, March 28, when it hosts the Arizona Rattlers. The match-up will be the first between the teams since the 2001 season, when the Rattlers defeated the Storm 55-49 in overtime. Tampa Bay has not beaten Arizona since the first game of the 1997 season, when the Storm won 42-30 at Arizona. Tampa Bay has not beaten Arizona at home since the 1996 season, and the Rattlers have beaten Tampa Bay three straight times.

THE FIREBIRDS LAST WEEK

The Indiana Firebirds suffered their fourth consecutive loss at the hands of the Los Angeles Avengers, 42-20. The four-game losing streak is the first for the ‘Birds since the 1992 season when the team lost five in a row. Los Angeles quarterback Tony Graziani completed 14-of-29 pass attempts for 181 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Avenges to their fifth win of the season. Thirdyear OS Chris Jackson led the Avengers in receiving with six catches for 91 yards and two scores before being named MVP of the contest. Former Firebird Greg Hopkins caught five balls for 51 yards and two touchdowns in his second game against his former team on his way to Ironman of the Game honors. Indiana' s starting quarterback Jose Davis completed just 9-of-23 pass attempts for 76 yards before being benched at the end of the third quarter. Jim Ballard, who was signed this past Friday, came on and was efficient, completing eight of his eleven pass attempts for 69 yards and two touchdowns in one quarter of action. WR/DB Jeremy McDaniel led the ‘Birds in receiving with five catches for 50 yards in his first game as a Firebird.

2002 STORM-FIREBIRDS MEETINGS

Tampa Bay 53, INDIANA 52 (May 31, 2003) -- The Tampa Bay Storm finished the game scoring nine consecutive points, erasing an eight-point fourth quarter deficit. The comeback was capped off by a Mike Black 21-yard field goal as time expired to give the Storm a one point win. Scott Milanovich earned a victory in his first career start after a mid-season quarterback change. Milanovich set a Storm single-game record with 31 completions on 47 attempts. He threw for 321 yards and had five touchdowns on the night. OS Calvin Schexnayder had eight catches for 100 yards and two receiving touchdowns in his first game with the Storm. He also rushed for two additional scores. As he had done all night long, Indiana quarterback Raymond Philyaw had the Firebirds offense driving and looking to widen the gap. But on second down from the Storm 17-yard line, Philyaw's pass was tipped at the line by Eric Thomas. The ball sailed straight into the waiting arms of defensive specialist Corey Sawyer, who intercepted the pass at the four-yard line and returned it 19 yards to the Storm 23-yard line. With 1:49 left on the clock, Milanovich and the Storm offense put together a six-play, 22-yard drive that would eat up remainder of the play clock and set up Black for the game-winning kick. Black was perfect from 21 yards out, allowing the Storm to steal one on the road.

RUNNING UP THE SCORE

The Tampa Bay Storm flexed its power game on Sunday afternoon against the Orlando Predators, scoring five of its seven touchdowns via the ground. The five rushing touchdowns by the Storm tied a team record originally set on July 12, 1997, when the Storm rushed for five touchdowns against the Anaheim Piranhas. In that game Andre Bowden scored four rushing touchdowns and Les Barley added another.

Against the Predators the Storm had three players score rushing touchdowns, with fullback Basil Proctor and offensive specialist Freddie Solomon each scoring two. Fullback David White also added a rushing score.

The Storm have 15 rushing touchdowns on the season, with White, Proctor, and Solomon each scoring three. The 15 rushing touchdowns by the Storm rank third in the league this season, behind San Jose and Georgia.

TKO

He may not have been knocked out of the game, but Orlando quarterback Connell Maynor suffered an early TKO and was rendered useless through much of the contest after the relentless pressure by the Storm defensive front Sunday afternoon. Maynor was sacked four times by Tampa Bay and was knocked to the turf on 16 of the Predators' 39 pas plays. Maynor finished the game completing just 17-of-35 passes for 253 yards.

With four sacks on Sunday, the Storm now have 11 on the season, which is second best in the league behind only the Orlando Predators. Kelvin Kinney and David White each lead the Storm with 2.0 sacks, while Al Lucas and BJ Cohen each have 1.5 sacks.

THEY PROTECT, TOO

Not only do the Storm linemen and fullback/linebackers relentlessly rush the passer, but they also have been protecting the Storm quarterbacks this season. Tampa Bay ranks second in the league in sacks allowed, giving up just four on the season. Last week the Storm faced the top pass rush statistically in the league and Tampa Bay held Orlando without a sack. It was the first time this season that the Predators had been held without a sack in a game.

STREAKERS

By beating the Orlando Predators, the Storm not only knocked off the league's only remaining unbeaten team, but they also increased their own winning streak to four games. That streak is now the longest current winning streak in the AFL, tying the San Jose Sabercats for that honor. It is also the longest winning streak for the Storm since the 2001 season, when Tampa Bay won seven straight to open up the season. However, the Storm finished 3-5 down the stretch that season, including suffering a loss to the Indiana Firebirds in their first game of the postseason.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

The Tampa Bay Storm defense is proving that Arena Football isn't just an offensive game. The Storm held the high-powered Orlando Predators to just 32 points last Sunday, by far their lowest scoring output of this season and the least number of points scored by the Predators since scoring 25 points in back-to-back games to open the 2001 season.

Tampa Bay's defensive performance against the Predators comes on the heels of another fine defensive performance against the Buffalo Destroyers. In that game the Storm allowed just 27 points. The season low for points allowed by the Storm came in Week 1 of the season when the Carolina Cobras scored just 20 points in a 60-20 loss to the Storm.

Tampa Bay ranks third this season in scoring defense, allowing just 44.3 points per game. The Storm are fourth in total defense, allowing 251.6 yards per game. That doesn't bode well for the Indiana offense, which ranks 14th in the league in scoring offense with just 43.7 points per game. Even worse, in Indiana's last three contests, the Firebirds have scored a total of 93 points, or 31.0 points per game.

WRAPPING UP ORLANDO

By beating the Predators, the Storm evened the all-time regular season series between the two teams at 13-13. The Storm also took over the lead in all-time points scored in the series, 1,320-1,318. The 20-point win by Tampa Bay is the biggest margin of victory in the series since a 50-26 Orlando win in 2000. It represents the biggest Storm win in the series since a 63-37 Tampa Bay win in Orlando in 1999. If history is any indication, the Storm and Predators will likely meet again this season after the playoffs get going. Tampa Bay and Orlando have met six times in the postseason and three times in the last five years, but not since the 2000 season. The two season post-season hiatus between facing of in the playoffs matches the longest period the teams have ever gone without playing in the postseason.

TURNOVERS TELL THE STORY

It's an old football adage that the teams that turn the ball over the least usually have the most success. That will certainly be seconded by Storm head coach Tim Marcum, especially when comparing what his team did last season and what his team has done this year.

Last season the Storm finished the regular season with a -11 turnover margin, which was 14th in the 16 team league. Not coincidentally, the Storm finished the regular season with a 6-8 record, the first-ever Storm losing season. This year Tampa Bay has a +5 turnover margin, which is fourth-best in the league.

Taking a closer look at this season, the Storm have turned the ball over more than their opponents one time, a 54- 51 loss at Orlando. On the other hand, Storm opponents have turned the ball over more than the Storm in four games this season. Tampa Bay is 3-1 in those contests. In all, Tampa Bay has committed just five turnovers compared to 12 by its opponents in five wins and has committed four turnovers compared to three by its opponents in two losses.

BACK TO THE ROAD

The Tampa Bay Storm return to the road after a long and prosperous home stand. The Storm played their last three games at the friendly confines of the St. Pete Times Forum after previously embarking on a three-game road trip. In the three games at home the Storm were 3-0, winning by an average margin of 55-39.

However, the Storm must leave the Forum, at least for one week, and return to the road where they have suffered both of their losses this year. Tampa Bay is 1-2 on the road this season, but is coming off of a big win over the Grand Rapids Rampage in their last road contest. Following Sunday afternoon's game, the Storm return home for back-to-back games against the Arizona Rattlers and the Georgia Force.

QUICK STARTS ...

Head coach Tim Marcum's pregame speeches must be working, because in the last three games the Storm have outscored their opponents 90-36 in the first half. That total includes a 26-0 lead over the Buffalo Destroyers and a 23-7 advantage over the Orlando Predators.

But that trend didn't just start in the last three games. So far this season the Storm have outscored their opponents 220-142 in the first half, which includes a 92-66 advantage in the first quarter and a 128-76 edge in the second quarter. As a comparison, the Storm hold a slight 170- 166 scoring advantage over their opponents in the second half.

... LEAD TO BIG LEADS

In last Sunday's game against Orlando, the Storm were able to once again jump on an opponent early and carry a big lead into the second half. Though they've not always been able to hold on to those leads, the Storm have made a habit this season of jumping out ahead of opponents and widening the gap. Against the Predators, Tampa Bay jumped out to a quick 23-7 advantage and led 26-13 at halftime. The Storm eventually built up a 20- point second half cushion and cruised to a 52-32 win. That game marked the sixth time in seven games that the Storm led by 14 points or more in the second half. Only in Tampa Bay's February 9 matchup against the Predators did the Storm not hold a 14+ point second half advantage. In fact, the Storm never led in that game, marking the only such occurrence this season.

GETTING SOME RESPECT

Though one of the most important positions on the defensive side of the ball, nose guard is usually a spot where stats are hard to come by and recognition for a job well done is limited. If a nose guard is doing his job - disrupting the center-quarterback exchange and collapsing the pocket - it's usually the defensive ends and linebackers that clean up and receive the glory.

However, that changed this week when Storm nose guard Al Lucas was named Ironman of the Game following the Storm's 52-32 win over Orlando. Then on Tuesday the Arena Football League recognized Lucas as the ADT Defensive Player of the Week. Lucas tied for the team lead in tackles, collecting 4.0 stops against the Predators. That total included 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack that resulted in a safety. Lucas also registered six quarterback pressures in the game, leading a Storm line that sacked Orlando quarterback Connell Maynor four times and knocked him down 16 times. Lucas leads all Storm linemen with 9.5 tackles on the season and has 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.

The ADT Defensive Played of the Week award given to Lucas marked the second time this season that a Storm player received the honor. Defensive specialist Corey Sawyer was named ADT Defensive Player of the Week following his Week 1 performance against the Carolina Cobras when he recorded two interceptions in the game.

AND ANOTHER ONE DOES IT

With 119 yards on seven catches, Orlando WR/LB Cory Fleming became the sixth receiver this season to eclipse the 100-yard mark against the Storm defense. In fact, there have only been two games this year that an opposing receiver has not reached the century mark, and on February 23 at Grand Rapids, two receivers caught passes for over 100 yards.

The Storm are 3-2 this season when an opposing receiver reaches 100 yards, including wins over Grand Rapids (Willis Marshall 113, Terrill Shaw 103), Detroit (Junior Lord 100), and Orlando (Cory Fleming 119). Opposing receivers have gone over 100 yards in both of the Storm loses this year (Travis McGriff 155 at Orlando and Mike Horacek 105 at Las Vegas).

QB MERRY-GO-ROUND

The Tampa Bay Storm certainly have no sympathy for the troubles the Indiana Firebirds are having this season with injuries and inconsistent play at the quarterback position. Much like the Storm last season when John Kaleo went down with a season ending knee injury, the Firebirds are having problems finding a quarterback to play consistently while starter Raymond Philyaw recovers from an injury to his throwing hand.

The Firebirds were 3-0 to start the season when Philyaw was under center, but have since dropped four in a row after the injury, which was suffered on February 23 against the Arizona Rattlers. The Firebirds scored an average of 51.7 points in games that Philyaw started and finished. Since then the Firebirds are averaging just 36.8 points per game.

Indiana has used three quarterbacks since Philyaw went done, with each having varying degrees of success. Craig Whelihan was the first to replace Philyaw, as he finished the Arizona game and started against the Colorado Crush. He completed 19-of-35 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns against Colorado, which has proven to be the Crush's first and only win of the season. Whelihan started the next week against Orlando, but didn't make it out of the first half before he was benched in favor of rookie Jose Davis. Davis completed 16-of-21 passes for 166 yards and two touchdowns while nearly leading the Firebirds to a win before a late comeback by the Preds spoiled those plans. Whelihan was cut the next week and Davis started against Los Angeles, but like Whelihan the week before was pulled for ineffective play at the end of the third quarter. Jim Ballard entered the game at that point and completed 8-of-11 passes for 69 yards and two touchdowns in one quarter of play.

Who will start at quarterback against the Storm is anyone's guess, but it will almost certainly not be Philyaw. Philyaw is officially listed as doubtful, with a target date for his return March 29 at the earliest.

NOT ‘MUST SEE TV'

NBC and the Arena Football League have again notified the Storm that their game against Indiana, originally scheduled to air on the network, has been removed from the TV lineup. The same happened to the Storm's home game against the Detroit Fury on March 2. The next scheduled Storm televised game is a home contest against the Georgia Force on April 6. Kickoff for hat game is scheduled for 12 noon at the St. Pete Times Forum.

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 345 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 14,496 career all-purpose yards, just 504 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 19, 2003


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