Sports stats



Tampa Bay and Orlando Battle to Reach Playoffs in "War on I-4"

June 5, 2008 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


Tampa - The 43rd installment of the War on I-4 comes to Tampa Saturday night as the Storm hosts the Orlando Predators as each team fights to get into the playoffs. Kickoff for the fiercest rivalry in the Arena Football League is set for 7:30 p.m. at the St. Pete Times Forum (Catch 47, 620 AM-WDAE).

The evening is highlighted by Military Night Out presented by Special Operations Warrior Foundation. Military Night Out is an opportunity for local businesses to sponsor military personnel to attend the "War on I-4." There are five Sponsorship levels local businesses can participate in. A minimum of 25 percent of the sponsorship will be donated to the Special Operations Warriors Foundation as well tickets.

Tampa Bay took the first game of this season's series 48-41 in a defensive battle as the Storm forced six turnovers to snap a four-game skid against the Predators. Orlando holds a two-game advantage in the overall series history, 22-20, as Tampa Bay looks to sweep the series for the first time since 1999.

The Orlando team that comes to Tampa this weekend may not look much like the team Tampa Bay defeated earlier in the season in Week 9. Since Week 9 the Predators have lost two of its top three receivers (Chas Gessner and Rob Johnson), starting quarterback Shane Stafford has been benched and brought back in, defensive back Kenny McEntyre suffered an injury this past week and kicker Jonathan Vaughn went to injured reserve.

Nevertheless Jay Gruden has retooled his team and has them prepared for the game. He went out and signed Kevin Nickerson and DeAndrew Rubin to lineup next to T.T. Toliver at wide receiver and signed a veteran kicker in Todd France. The addition of Nickerson and Rubin to Toliver provides the Predators offense with plenty speed on offense as each player averages over 12 yards a reception.

Tampa Bay is not without its injuries and changes. The team has missed leading wide receiver Hank Edwards for two games and may have lost Terrill Shaw due to an injury he sustained this past week against Georgia. However, rookie Tyrone Timmons (6-foot-4) stepped up to join Lawrence Samuels (6-2) out wide and has six touchdowns in the past two games. With Edwards (6-3) close to coming back the Predators' defensive backfield will have difficulty matching up with the size of the Storm receivers as no Orlando defensive back stands over six feet.

With six receptions against Orlando Samuels will be only the sixth receiver in all of professional football to reach 1,000 career receptions joining the likes of Jerry Rice, Chris Carter and Marvin Harrison. He has 118 career receptions for 1,368 yards during the regular season against the Orlando Predators.

• Discuss this story on the Arena Football League (1987-2008) message board...

Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from June 5, 2008


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.

Other Recent Tampa Bay Storm Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central