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Tampa Bay Storm Game Notes

June 3, 2003 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


The Tampa Bay Storm are just one victory away from advancing to their sixth ArenaBowl in team history. However, to do so they must to get past arch-rival Orlando Saturday afternoon at the St. Pete Times Forum.

The Tampa Bay-Orlando match-up is just one of the intriguing battles in Arena Football's version of rivalry week. The San Jose Sabercats and Arizona Rattlers, both Western Division foes, will meet on Sunday evening to determine the other ArenaBowl participant.

The most storied rivalry in Arena Football history, the War on I-4's 33rd installment promises to be one of the most intense contests played by the two teams. Six of the previous 32 Tampa Bay-Orlando games have come in the playoffs, with Orlando winning four of those games. In fact, the Predators have ousted the Storm from the postseason the last three times the teams have met in the playoffs.

Tampa Bay and Orlando have met twice in the AFL semifinals, with each team winning one of those contests. In 1992, the top-seeded Predators defeated the fourth-seeded and defending ArenaBowl champion Storm, 24-21, to advance to the ArenaBowl. The following season the Storm returned the favor, downing Orlando in the semifinals, 55-52, en route to Tampa Bay's second ArenaBowl championship.

This season's playoff battle will be unlike any other postseason matchup between the two teams. That's because the Storm will be facing former quarterback Jay Gruden, who is attempting to win his first ArenaBowl championship as a player in a uniform other than Tampa Bay's. Gruden won four championships as Tampa Bay's quarterback and then won two as head coach of the Predators.

The Storm have faced Gruden three times since he returned to the field in 2002, winning one of those contests. The two teams split the season series in both 2002 and 2003, but Gruden was not under center when the Storm dismantled Orlando, 52-32, in the St. Pete Times Forum on March 16, the last times the two teams met.

2003 MEETINGS

February 9, 2003 -- ORLANDO 54, Tampa Bay 51 Orlando quarterback Jay Gruden threw for 340 yards and six touchdowns against his former team as the Predators held off a late surge by the Tampa Bay Storm, downing their arch rivals 54-51 at the TD Waterhouse Centre in Orlando, Fla.

With the win Orlando improved to 2-0 on the season and picked up a huge Southern Division win. The Storm dropped in 1-1 overall and 1-1 in the division.

Gruden, who earned Game MVP honors, made countless plays in the clutch to extend drives and keep the Storm defense on the field. Orlando converted on 5-of-7 third down opportunities, as the Storm could not find a way to keep the Hall of Fame quarterback from making big plays.

And when the Storm did seem to finally get that much-needed defensive stop, they were hurt by questionable calls from the officials. Three would-be Storm touchdowns were nullified, and the officials let an Orlando defensive touchdown stand despite an obvious off-sides infraction by the Predators.

Four of Gruden's touchdown throws went to Cory Fleming. Fleming, who was named Ironman of the Game, finished with six catches for 91 yards and recorded two tackles and a pass breakup. In all, the Predators outgained the Storm 335-263 in total offense.

John Kaleo capped off another good afternoon throwing the ball. He completed 25-of-39 passes for 270 yards and six touchdowns. Offensive specialist Freddie Solomon had eight catches for 111 yards and three touchdowns, giving him over 100 yards and three touchdowns in both of his first two games as a member of the Storm.

Clif Dell, returning to Orlando for this first time, made several big catches in the game. He finished with six catches for 80 yards and a touchdown.

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
Tampa Bay Storm 7 21 10 13 51
Orlando Predators 14 23 3 14 54

March 16, 2003 -- TAMPA BAY 52, Orlando 32 The Tampa Bay Storm scored five rushing touchdowns and quarterback John Kaleo threw for two more as the Tampa Bay Storm handed the Orlando Predators their first loss of the season, 52-32, at the St. Pete Times Forum.

Tampa Bay opened up a 23-7 first-half lead on the strength of a quick-strike offense and a stingy defense. With the game tied at 7-7, Al Lucas sacked Orlando quarterback Connell Maynor for a safety and then Kaleo hit David Saunders for a seven-yard touchdown.

After forcing the Predators into missing a long field goal try, Basil Proctor bulled in from a yard out to push the Storm lead to 23-7 with 00:46 remaining in the first half.

Orlando, who trailed by 13 points at halftime, would get no closer in the game, as Tampa Bay eventually built up a 20-point margin.

Tampa Bay outgained the Predators, 234-233, in total offense. The Storm defense also forced two turnovers and sacked Orlando quarterback Connell Maynor four times.

Kaleo was 18-of-30 for 209 yards and two touchdowns. Lawrence Samuels, who was named Game MVP, caught five passes for 70 yards and a touchdown and recorded three tackles, a forced fumble, a pass breakup, and a sack on defense.

Storm 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.

Maynor was just 17-of-35 for 253 yards and three touchdowns. He also had an interception. Receiver Cory Fleming had seven catches for 119 yards and one touchdown.

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
Orlando Predators 7 6 6 13 32
Tampa Bay Storm 16 10 13 13 52

WAR ON I-4 -- A BRIEF LOOK AT THE RIVALRY Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the term war as "a struggle or competition between opposing forces or for a particular end." That may not be strong enough to accurately depict the seasonal series of skirmishes between the Tampa Bay Storm and the Orlando Predators, dubbed the War on I-4.

Every season players, coaches, and fans of the two rivals gear up for the annual match-ups. On game days, the best of friends become mortal enemies from the deep chasm caused by the rivalry. Heroes become traitors, and the intense hatred galvanizes the casual fan, forcing him to choose one side or the other.

Penned longtime observer John Cotey of the St. Petersburg Times, "It is the fiercest rivalry in all of Arena Football, driven by an unmistakable dislike for each other, fueled by a series of incredible finishes, and framed by a postseason history so rich that players on both sides have never hesitated to compare it to Auburn-Alabama, Ohio State-Michigan, or Green Bay-Chicago."

It's not just the fact that the teams are separated by only 85 miles that intensifies the match-ups between the Southern Division rivals. And it's not just the natural civic rivalry among two of central Florida's largest metropolises. It's more.

Tampa Bay and Orlando may well represent the two top franchises in Arena Football. Both can claim championships, as the Storm owns a league-high four ArenaBowl rings, winning championships in 1991, '93, '95, and '96. More recently it's been Orlando finding AFL gold, claiming titles in 1998 and 2000.

But that's not all. Some of the game's greatest players have laced up the sneakers like Army boots, put on the uniform as if he were donning fatigues, and treated every touchdown, interception, and bone-jarring hit produced in the War on I-4 as if they were medals of honor. From George LaFrance, Stevie Thomas, and Jay Gruden to Ben Bennett, Barry Wagner, and Herkie Walls, all have experienced the rivalry, and all have helped to set the tone for the ferocity.

Veterans of many so-called rivalries will admit that much of the off-field pomp and circumstance comes from trumped up hype with very little meaningful action ever taking place. But the same charge can't be levied against the Storm-Predators rivalry. Seemingly every game holds deep meaning, whether the teams are jockeying for postseason position or fighting do-or-die in the playoffs.

Tampa Bay and Orlando have met 26 times in the regular season, evenly splitting those contests. The teams have also met six times in the playoffs, with the Predators taking four of those match-ups. The Storm and Predators have even tangled in the ArenaBowl twice, with Tampa Bay taking ArenaBowl IX in 1995 and Orlando prevailing in ArenaBowl XII. To further illustrate the parity among the teams, the total point differential through 32 games is only two points – Tampa Bay has outscored Orlando 1,320 - 1,318.

The rivalry began innocently enough. Tampa Bay and Orlando met to open the 1991 season, marking the first-ever regular-season game for each franchise. The Predators won that game, as 10,354 fans witnessed the birth of a rivalry.

That loss proved to be Tampa Bay's only blemish in 1991 and the Storm evened the score later in the season before winning the ArenaBowl championship.

Orlando sought revenge and got it the next season, winning an overtime thriller in the semi-finals of the playoffs and dashing the Storm's hopes of repeating as Arena Football champions.

That's when the heat began to rise and the flames of the rivalry were fanned. The intensity overflowed from the field and into the stands, as Sherry Gruden, the wife of Storm quarterback Jay Gruden, got beer and soda poured on her and profanity lobbed her way during a game in Orlando. Later that season, before an Arena Football-record 28,745 fans in the ThunderDome, the Storm failed on a late two-point conversion and the Predators swept the regular season series.

But payback was hell for Orlando, as the teams met for a third time that season in the semi-finals of the playoffs. The Storm avenged the earlier losses and won a thrilling 55-52 contest that propelled the Storm into ArenaBowl VII. Tampa Bay would go on to beat the Tim Marcum-led Detroit Drive the following week and claim the team's second ArenaBowl championship in three seasons.

From that point on the rivalry was really pushed into high gear. The teams split in 1994 and 1996 and Tampa Bay swept Orlando in 1995. During that span Gruden led the Storm to back-to-back ArenaBowl championships in '95 and '96.

Without Gruden, Orlando swept the 1997 season series from the Storm. And on August 29, 1997, the Predators wrenched the knife even deeper into the hearts of Storm fans, hiring legendary Storm quarterback Jay Gruden as their head coach.

Once a hero, Gruden was now vilified by Storm supporters. Gruden led the Predators to a so-so regular season, in which he suffered a pair of losses at the hands of the Storm. However, Gruden's Predators heated up late and marched through the playoffs and into ArenaBowl XII. Brimming with confidence, the Storm hosted what they figured to be their fifth Arena Football championship, only to be denied by their former quarterback and their hated rivals.

Orlando suddenly became the hot team under Gruden's guidance, playing in three straight ArenaBowls and winning two championships. The Storm continued to have success in the regular season, but the tide turned, as Orlando dominated in the postseason.

As if Gruden coaching the Predators wasn't enough, the onset of the 2002 season again brought a new dimension to this intense rivalry, as Gruden returned to the playing field for the first time since leading the Storm to their last championship. Only this time he was not wearing the familiar Tampa Bay Storm uniform. Instead he donned the black and red of the hated Orlando Predators. Tampa Bay and Orlando split the 2002 season series, with each winning on the other's home floor before both teams rebounded from disappointing regular seasons to make strong runs in the playoffs.

Tampa Bay returned the favor prior to the 2003 season, stealing away two of the Predators' more popular players. WR/DB Clif Dell, a fan favorite in Orlando for his hard-nosed aggression and penchant for making big plays, signed a free agent contract with the Storm. Then, just weeks later, Tampa Bay inked BJ Cohen, Orlando's top lineman and one of the Predators' all-time sacks leaders.

Just like in 2002, the two teams again split the season series in 2003, with each team winning on its home turf. The Storm, however, got the last laugh. After Orlando narrowly escaped with a 54-51 victory at home in Week 2, Tampa Bay took out its frustration at what it considered questionable officiating in the first game with a 52-32 dismantling of the Predators on March 16 at the St. Pete Times Forum.

RAISING THE STAKES

Though most of their games have come in the regular season, the Tampa Bay Storm and Orlando Predators are no strangers to facing off in postseason play. The teams have met six times in the previous 12 postseasons, but have not met in the playoffs since the 2000 season. The Predators own a 4-2 record against the Storm in the playoffs. Orlando is also riding a three-game postseason winning streak against Tampa Bay.

August 3, 2000: The last time the teams met in the playoffs was in the quarterfinal round of the 2000 postseason, when the second-seeded Predators bounced the eighth-seeded Storm from the playoffs with a 34-24 win. The Predators used a stingy defense to turn away the Storm, stopping Tampa Bay three times inside its own five-yard line. Orlando went on to win the ArenaBowl that season.

August 7, 1999: The Storm entered the playoffs seeded No. 1 and hosted the Predators in the quarterfinal round. After ending the regular season with a league-best 11-3 overall record, the Storm appeared to be on their way to rolling up another win en route to an ArenaBowl title. The Storm led 10-0 at halftime, only to be outscored 41-9 in the second half. The Predators capped off the win with a 15-yard interception return for touchdown by Kenny McEntyre, eliminating the Storm from the playoffs for the second straight season.

August 23, 1998: The Storm and Predators battled in ArenaBowl XII in 1998, as the Storm hosted its second championship game in franchise history. The Jay Gruden-coached Predators handed Tampa Bay what was then its worst loss in franchise history, dropping the Storm 62-31. In the game, Tampa Bay quarterback Peter Tom Willis threw a team-record six interceptions, handing the Predators their first-ever ArenaBowl championship.

September 1, 1995: One year to the day after Woody Kern purchased the team, the Storm won ArenaBowl IX, 48-35, defeating their arch rivals in the process. George LaFrance was named MVP of the ArenaBowl for the third time in his career after scoring three touchdowns, including a 57-yard kickoff return. The 25,087 in attendance is still the largest crowd to ever see an ArenaBowl.

August 14, 1993: The third-seeded Storm traveled to face the second-seeded Predators in the semifinals of the playoffs. The Storm avenged a regular season sweep by Orlando with an exciting 55-52 win to advance to ArenaBowl VII against the Detroit Drive. Bobby Byrd recovered an onside kick with 31.9 seconds remaining to secure the Storm victory.

August 15, 1992: The game that pitted the top-seeded Predators against the fourth-seeded Storm became the first AFL playoff game to go into overtime after Tampa Bay tied the game with 1:28 left in the fourth quarter on a Tank Landry 12-yard touchdown run and a two-point conversion from Gruden to Stevie Thomas. In overtime, Storm kicker Donald Igwebuike missed a would-be game-winning 30-yard field goal and Orlando kicker Jorge Cimadevilla nailed a 17-yard kick to give Orlando a 24-21 win. The win allowed the Predators to advance to ArenaBowl VI, which the lost to Detroit, and ended the Storm's quest to repeat as AFL champs.

THE GRUDEN FACTOR

Jay Gruden ranks as the Storm's all-time leader in every career passing category after leading Tampa Bay to four ArenaBowl championships. Gruden, who played for the Storm from 1991-96, is also the Storm's leading career passer in the postseason. The Storm are 12-2 in playoff games in which Gruden started. In those 14 games Gruden completed 253-of-426 passes for 3,406 yards with 52 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.

As a comparison, the Storm are 5-6 in games in which Gruden did not play. PT Willis was 3-3 as a starter in the postseason, while John Kaleo is 1-2 and Shane Stafford was 1-1.

GREAT START

Tampa Bay Storm offensive specialist Freddie Solomon put together one of the top performances by a Storm receiver in playoff history last week against the Detroit Fury. Solomon hauled in eight passes for 141 yards and three touchdowns. His performance was the best-ever by a Storm player playing in his first AFL playoff game and the second-best performance ever by a Storm receiver in the playoffs.

George LaFrance turned in the best-ever receiving performance for the Storm in the postseason, catching eight passes for 155 yards and five touchdowns on August 16, 1996, against the Arizona Rattlers. However, in LaFrance's first playoff game with the Storm he caught just five passes for 42 yards and two touchdowns, while Stevie Thomas caught seven passes for 127 yards and three touchdowns in his first Storm playoff game.

Solomon's 141 receiving yards already places him 12th on Tampa Bay's all-time playoff receiving yards list.

RARE BREAKDOWN ON THE LINE

The Tampa Bay Storm offensive line finished fourth in the league in 2003 with 10 sacks allowed. In an unusual lapse on the line, the Storm allowed nearly one-third of its sacks, 3, on May 4 against the Dallas Desperados. That was the most allowed in a game this season by the Storm. Last week against the Detroit Fury, the Storm again had a lapse along the offensive front, allowing three quarterback sacks. When the two teams faced off in the regular season, the Fury did not sack Storm quarterback John Kaleo.

NEAR MISS

The Detroit Fury's best offensive plays last week against the Storm were Ron Carpenter's kickoff returns. Carpenter returned seven kickoffs for 191 yards and two touchdowns. The 191 yards were just one short of the kickoff return yards playoff record against the Storm. The record still belongs to Arizona's Hunkie Cooper, who returned kickoffs for 192 yards for the Arizona Rattlers on August 16, 1997. Though he missed out on that record, Carpenter did set the record for the longest kickoff return against the Storm in the playoffs. That came on his second kickoff return for touchdown of the game, which he took back 57 yards for the score.

MORE RECORDS

The Detroit Fury's Andy Kelly tied a playoff record against the Storm for passes completed with 25. The record was originally set by New Jersey's Rickey Foggie in 1998. Kelly set a playoff record for completion percentage against the Storm, completing 25-of-33 passes for 75.8%.

POSTSEASON ACCOLADES

Despite finishing tied for the best overall record in the league, the Tampa Bay Storm did not place any players on the first-team All-Arena squad. The Storm did, however, have three players on the second-team All-Arena unit.

WR/LB Lawrence Samuels, OL/DL BJ Cohen, and DS Omarr Smith all received second-team All-Arena honors. It marked the first time that Samuels and Smith were named All-Arena and the second time Cohen received the honor. He was previously named All-Arena in 2000 with the Orlando Predators.

But those weren't the only postseason honors for Tampa Bay players. Samuels and Cohen were also named to the league's All-Ironman team, while OL/DL Al Lucas was named to the All-Rookie squad.

TITLETOWN, FLA

In winning the AFL's Southern Division, the Tampa Bay Storm became the third major professional sports team to win a division title in Tampa in the past six months. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers began it all, winning the NFL's Southern Division en route to claiming their first-ever SuperBowl championship. Then the Tampa Bay Lightning captured the NHL's Southeast Division. The Lightning went on to win their first-ever playoff series before being ousted by the Stanley Cup finals bound New Jersey Devils.

The Storm enter the AFL playoffs with a 12-4 overall record and the No. 2 seed. Coincidentally, the Bucs also entered the NFL playoffs with an identical 12-4 record and No. 2 seed.

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