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Tampa Bay Storm game notes

February 2, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


COMING OFF BIG WIN, STORM LOOK TO CONTINUE MOMENTUM
The Tampa Bay Storm enter Sunday's contest against the Austin Wranglers after dismantling the defending ArenaBowl champion San Jose SaberCats, 63-33, last weekend. The Storm, however, must quickly turn their attention to the Austin Wranglers, a team which the Storm split their regular season series a year ago. The Wranglers feature a ferocious pass rush, led by linemen Tom Briggs, Bryan Henderson, and Angel Rubio. The Wranglers also have offensive specialist Tacoma Fontaine, who had a terrific rookie season in 2004. The Storm will again be without four contributors – WR/DB T.T. Toliver, WR/LB David Saunders, FB/LB David White, and OL/DL Rod Williams – who are all on the Injured Reserve list.

STORM PUT IT TOGETHER ON BOTH SIDES OF THE BALL AGAINST SAN JOSE
The Tampa Bay Storm became the Perfect Storm last Sunday against the San Jose SaberCats, posting an impressive 63-33 win over the defending ArenaBNowl champions. The Storm were led by QB Shane Stafford, who tossed a career-high and team record-tying eight touchdown passes. He also completed a career-high 28 passes on 35 attempts. Stafford engineered 10 drives in the game, and on all 10 drives the Storm scored points. He was named Offensive Player of the Game and later picked up Player of the Week honors from the AFLWA and Offensive Player of the Week honors from the AFL. The Tampa Bay defense also had a huge hand in the win. The Storm defense recorded seven stops in the game, including one on the game's first possession to swing the momentum of the contest in favor of Tampa Bay. WR/LB Lawrence Samuels had two interceptions on the defensive side of the ball and caught nine passes for 78 yards and two touchdowns in earning Ironman of the Game honors. Tramain Jones was named the Defensive Player of the Game after recording a career-high 11.0 tackles and three pass breakups.

THE SERIES
Overall record: Series tied, 1-1
Regular Season: Series tied, 1-1
Playoffs: Never met
Last Meeting: Tampa Bay won 58-52 in OT (at Tampa, April 18, 2004)

RADIO – 620 AM WDAE
Jack Harris, play-by-play
Jason Dixon, analyst

TV
No TV

2005 STORM SCHEDULE/RESULTS

DATE OPPONENT RESULT
Jan. 30 San Jose SaberCats W, 63-33
Feb. 6 Austin Wranglers 12:00 pm
Feb. 11 at Orlando Predators 7:30 pm
Feb. 25 at New Orleans VooDoo 8:00 pm
Mar. 6 Grand Rapids Rampage 1:00 pm
Mar. 13 Arizona Rattlers 12:00 pm
Mar. 20 at Philadelphia Soul 12:00 pm
Mar. 26 at Los Angeles Avengers 10:30 pm
April 2 Georgia Force 7:30 pm
April 9 Orlando Predators 7:30 pm
April 17 at Austin Wranglers 1:00 pm
April 24 at Nashville Kats 1:00 pm
April 30 New Orleans VooDoo 7:30 pm
May 8 at Georgia Force 1:00 pm
May 15 New York Dragons 1:00 pm
May 22 at Columbus Destroyers 3:00 pm
All times Eastern and subject to change

COLOSSAL MATCH-UP
The Storm-SaberCats contests are always intriguing, and this season is no different. The game features the past three Arena Football champions. San Jose won the AFL championship in 2004 and 2002. The Storm won it in 2003. The two organizations are among the few that have won multiple ArenaBowl championships. The Storm are the league's all-time leader in championships, having won five in their history. San Jose's two championships match those of the Orlando Predators and Arizona Rattlers, the only other active franchises with multiple ArenaBowl championships. The now-defunct Detroit Drive won four ArenaBowls, three under the guidance of current Storm head coach Tim Marcum.

STRANGE SERIES
After losing the first five games they played against Tampa Bay, San Jose had to wonder whether it could ever pull off a victory against the Storm. Now, however, the pendulum has swung, as the Storm have dropped five consecutive contests against San Jose.

The Tampa Bay-San Jose rivalry began in 1996 with a 36-22 Storm victory. From there the Storm won the next four contests over the course of three seasons, with the last Tampa Bay victory being a 52-48 decision in 1999. Following a two-season layoff in 2000 and 2001, the series resumed in 2002. A reinvigorated SaberCats squad finally picked up their first win of the series in 2002, defeating the Storm 61-54. Since then San Jose has won four straight, including twice knocking the Storm from the playoffs. In both of those seasons San Jose went on to win the ArenaBowl championship.

STARING DOWN THE CHAMPS
The Storm open the 2005 season against the defending ArenaBowl champions. But facing the defending champs is nothing new for Tampa Bay, as they have previously played the defending champions eight times in their 14-year history.

The first such meeting came in 1993 when Tampa Bay took on the Detroit Drive, winners of the 1992 ArenaBowl championship. That matchup came in ArenaBowl VII, and the Storm scored a 51-31 victory. The next time the Storm took on the defending champions came in 1999. That season Tampa Bay faced the 1998 champion Orlando Predators three times, winning twice. In 2000 the Storm lost to the 1999 champion Albany Firebirds and in the 2001 season the Storm faced the 2000 champion Predators twice, losing both times. In 2003 the Storm lost to San Jose, the 2002 champions, before going on to claim a championship of their own later that year.

Overall the Storm are 3-5 in contests against the defending ArenaBowl champions. The Storm won the first three and have since lost the last five such games.

SUCCESSFUL IN SEASON OPENERS
Tampa Bay has a 9-5 record in season openers over the course of their first 14 years. The Storm have faced San Jose once to open a season. That came in 1998, when Tampa Bay won 45-23 at San Jose. The Storm have won their past two season openers and three of their last four.

EXACTING REVENGE
Tampa Bay has a spotty record when attempting to avenge a loss that knocked them from the playoffs. Such will be the case this weekend when Tampa Bay attempts to exact some revenge on the San Jose SaberCats. The SaberCats defeated the Storm,




56-52, during the 2004 playoffs, denying Tampa Bay the opportunity to repeat as ArenaBowl champions.

The Storm have faced opponents 13 times during the season following the one that it beat Tampa Bay in the postseason. In those games the Storm are 5-8.

The first such occasion came in 1993 against Orlando following the 1992 postseason when Orlando beat Tampa Bay and eliminated the Storm from the postseason. In 1993 Orlando beat the Storm twice in the regular season, but Tampa Bay gained a measure of revenge with a playoff win over Orlando. In 1999 the Storm again played Orlando three times after the Preds eliminated the Storm from the 1998 postseason. In 1999 Tampa Bay won twice in the regular season before Orlando won a big postseason game against the Storm. The next season Orlando beat Tampa Bay on two of three occasions, with the Predators again picking up a postseason win to bump the Storm from the playoffs. The following season Orlando beat Tampa Bay in both regular season matchups.

Tampa Bay faced Indiana in 2002 and beat them one season after the Firebirds eliminated the Storm in the 2001 playoffs. Then in 2003 the Storm dropped a contest against San Jose after San Jose beat the Storm in the 2002 postseason.

FAMILIAR FACES
The team that takes the field against San Jose on Sunday will not be drastically different from the one that San Jose faced in the playoffs last season. The Storm return 20 players from last seasons roster, including all of its starters and key reserves. In all, 18 of the 20 players that dressed against the SaberCats return. The only players from the 20-man playoff roster that did not return this season were kicker Ignacio Brache and WR/DB Carlos James.

HEY ROOK
The Storm have always been a veteran-laden team under head coach Tim Marcum. The same is the case this season, but the Storm roster does include an inordinate number of rookies. This season's opening day roster includes rookies Kenny Christian, Ronney Daniels, Lynaris Elpheage, Herb Haygood, DeMarcus Johnson, Elfrid Payton, Lawrence Richardson, and Omar Smith.

Elpheage, Smith, Payton, and Johnson are all included on the team's 24-man roster, while Daniels, Haygood, and Richardson will start the season on the team's injured reserve list. Kenny Christian is on the team's practice squad to start the year.

GOING TO THE ‘BIRDS
The Storm roster includes a certain Midwestern flare this season. That's because the Storm roster features four players – Ricky Hall, Jarrod Penright, Mike Sutton, and Anthony Derricks – who played for the Indiana Firebirds last season. In addition, Storm assistant coach Mark Stoute served as an assistant coach for the Firebirds in 2004.

The Storm signed Hall and Derricks as AFL free agents, the only AFL free agents signed by the Storm in the offseason who did not previously play for Tampa Bay. Penright and Sutton were acquired by the Storm through the



2004 Dispersal Draft. Additionally, Jeff Cogell, a member of the team's practice squad, also was acquired by Tampa Bay from Indiana in the Dispersal Draft.

A CHAMPIONSHIP ON THE WAY?
The past three ArenaBowl champions have included a player on their roster named Omarr Smith. Three years ago, WR/DB Omarr Smith was named Ironman of the Game in ArenaBowl XVI as the San Jose SaberCats destroyed the Arizona Rattlers to claim their first crown. Then Smith signed with the Storm as a free agent and moved to defensive specialist. There he was an All-Arena selection and won an ArenaBowl XVII championship ring. Smith returned to the SaberCats for the 2004 season and once again found himself on the winning squad in the ArenaBowl, cashing in on his third straight ArenaBowl ring.

This season the Storm went out and signed an Omar Smith of their own. He's not the same player who has won back-to-back-to-back ArenaBowl championships, but hopefully his presence will bring the title back to Tampa Bay.

The Storm's Omar Smith is a natural center who will be playing OL/DL in the AFL for the first time. He spent three seasons in the NFL with the Oakland Raiders and New York Giants. He was most recently with the Giants during the team's 2004 training camp.

TOUGH DAY AT THE OFFICE
The Storm suffered some potentially devastating injuries during their scrimmage against the Orlando Predators on January 22. The scrimmage, which served as the final day of training camp for both teams, produced numerous injuries for the Storm.

No injury, however, was as costly as the torn MCL suffered by WR/DB T.T. Toliver. Toliver, an All-Ironman selection a season ago, was the Storm's starting WR/DB and the team's top kick returner. In 2004, Toliver led the team with 2,095 all-purpose yards and 1,233 kickoff return yards. He finished second on the team in scoring (108 points) and third in receptions (64) and receiving yards (749). Defensively he was third in the team with 55.5 tackles and finished tied for the team lead with three interceptions.

Aside from the injury to Toliver, the Storm lost FB/LB David White to a high ankle sprain, OL/DL Rod Williams with a finger injury, and OL/DL Rashied Simmons to a neck injury. Tampa Bay entered the scrimmage with WR/LB David Saunders out with an ankle injury.

CAN HE TRANSLATE TO THE SMALL FIELD?
Storm FB/LB Elfrid Payton may be one of the oldest rookies in AFL history. At 37 years old, however, he is no stranger to the football field. Payton has made a name for himself north of the border, becoming one of the top players in Canadian Football League history.

Payton is a pass rush specialist in the CFL and over 14 seasons has amassed 154 quarterback sacks. The stands just four sacks shy of the CFL's all-time sacks record currently held by Grover Covington. Payton is a four-time CFL All-Star, a seven-time CFL divisional all-star, and a four-time CFLPA All-Star. He is a 16-time CFL Player of the Week Award winner, a three-time CFL Player of the Month honoree, and was named the CFL's Most Outstanding Defensive Player in 2002. He won a Grey Cup with the Edmonton Eskimos in 2003 and with the Baltimore Stallions in 1995, and has




played in four Grey Cup games. Payton holds the CFL's single-game sacks record, recording five against Winnipeg on July 22, 1999.

Payton spent the 2004 CFL season with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, a franchise with which he spent five CFL seasons. In 2004, Payton played in 14 regular season games and recorded 35 tackles and five sacks, rebounding nicely after suffering a season-ending knee injury just two games into the 2003 season. He also played four seasons for the Montreal Alouettes and two for the Edmonton Eskimos. He also played for the Toronto Argonauts, Baltimore Stallions, and Shreveport Pirates. Payton was a CFL teammate of current Storm lineman Kelvin Kinney in 2001 with the Toronto Argonauts and in 2002 and 2003 with the Edmonton Eskimos.

TAKING AIM AT THE RECORD BOOK
Tampa Bay Storm WR/LB Lawrence Samuels enters his 12th AFL season in 2005 and his 11th season as a member of the Storm. One of Tampa Bay's all-time greats, Samuels is on pace to become the team's all-time receptions leader this season. He enters the season in second place on the all-time receptions list with 474 catches as a member of the Storm. He needs just 46 receptions to pass Stevie Thomas for the career lead.

Samuels also ranks second on the club's receiving yards list and third on the receiving touchdowns chart. Samuels has 5,879 receiving yards in his Storm career. He needs 1,906 yards to pass Thomas and move into first place in that category. He has 87 touchdown receptions and needs 41 to pass George LaFrance for second place.

Samuels has made his name on the defensive side of the ball as well. He currently ranks second (307) on the team's career tackles list, just 41 behind career leader Tracey Perkins. He is also second on the team's career interceptions list 15 behind Perkins.

Samuels ranks third on the Storm's career all-purpose yards list, having tallied 6,133 in his Storm career. He needs 3,317 to pass Thomas and move into second place.

LOOKING FOR A REPEAT PERFORMANCE
Veteran Storm lineman Nyle Wiren is hoping for a successful follow-up to his spectacular 2004 season in which he garnered second-team All-Arena honors and compiled a career-high six sacks. Wiren started the season tied for ninth place on the team's career sacks list. He quickly climbed up the charts, and by the end of the season was tied for second place on the team's career sacks list with 14.5.

What made Wiren's feat so amazing was the fact that he played the second half of the season with a torn labrum in his shoulder. The injury, which occurred in Week 6 vs New York, kept Wiren out for four games and is normally a season-ending injury. But Wiren came back and played through the injury, collecting three sacks after he returned.

The seven-year veteran still has a ways to go before he can move into first place on the list. That spot is currently held by Storm great Andre Bowden, who had



33.0 sacks in his Storm career. Wiren can, however, move past Deatrich Wise into sole possession of second place with his next quarterback sack.

LOOKING FOR A GREAT COMEBACK SEASON
Storm lineman Kelvin Kinney can be one of the most dominant pass rushers in the AFL when healthy. Not only can he sack the quarterback, but he also causes constant disruption in the opposing backfield.

Last season Kinney failed to record a sack for just the second time in his five-year AFL career. Kinney was, however, never fully healthy in 2004 after tearing his groin in Week 1 against Orlando. Kinney also suffered shoulder and calf injuries during the season, fighting through the pain to play in 11 games. Prior to 2004, Kinney recorded five sacks for the Storm in 2003 and seven sacks from 2001-02 in Detroit. The only other AFL season in which Kinney did not record a sack was in 2000 when he played in four games for the San Jose SaberCats.

TONS OF EXPERIENCE ON THE SIDELINE
If there's one thing the Storm coaching staff has, it is Arena Football coaching experience. Headed by Tim Marcum, the AFL's all-time winningest coach, the three-man coaching staff has a total of 37 years of AFL coaching experience entering the season.

Marcum has 16 seasons under his belt, all as a head coach. He enters his 11th season in Tampa Bay, and prior to that served as the head coach of the Detroit Drive and Denver Dynamite. Under his guidance his teams have won seven ArenaBowl titles and have played in 10 of the 18 championship games.

Storm assistant coach Dave Ewart is in his third season with the Storm and his 11th season in the AFL. Prior to joining the Storm he served as head coach of the Florida Bobcats. He has also been the head coach of the Texas Terror and St. Louis Stampede and served as an assistant with the Bobcats, Stampede, New England Sea Wolves, and Cleveland Thunderbolts.

Assistant coach Mark Stoute is in his first season with the Storm and his 12th year in the AFL. He is a former head coach of the Toronto Phantoms and was an assistant with the Indiana Firebirds, New England Sea Wolves, Florida Bobcats, Charlotte Rage, and Connecticut Coyotes.

READY TO MAKE A MOVE
Storm quarterback Shane Stafford currently resides in fourth place on all of the team's career passing lists. But with a solid season he can move into third place on every list, including attempts, completions, passing yards, and passing touchdowns.

Stafford started 14-of-16 games in 2004 and completed 278-of-442 passes for 3,418 yards and 67 touchdowns. With similar or better




numbers this season Stafford will move past PT Willis into third place on the Storm's career passing lists and come very close to matching the numbers of second place John Kaleo on many of those lists.

FAST ASCENT
In just two seasons Tampa Bay Storm offensive specialist Freddie Solomon has already made a mark on the Storm career record books. Solomon enters the season in fourth place all-time in career receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. He is also third in field goal return yards and fourth in kickoff return yards, combined return yards, and all-purpose yards.

With the injury to TT Toliver, Solomon should be able to pass Toliver for third place in the return categories. An outstanding season would also put him in third place on the team's career receiving touchdowns list.

O'HARA NAMED OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR
Tampa Bay Storm quarterback Pat O'Hara has been named the team's offensive coordinator. The AFL veteran will continue to serve as one of the team's backup quarterbacks in addition to his coaching duties. O'Hara is in his 11th AFL season and his third season with the Storm. He is best remembered by Storm fans for relieving quarterback John Kaleo in the second half of ArenaBowl XVII and leading the Storm to their fifth ArenaBowl championship.

O'Hara owns three ArenaBowl rings and has played in five championship games. He spent the first six seasons of his career with the Orlando Predators, where he won ArenaBowl championships in 1998 and 2000. He also was with the Toronto Phantoms in 2001 and 2002.

O'Hara has thrown for over 13,000 yards and 200 touchdowns in his AFL career. His career totals include 988 completions in 1,749 attempts for 13,383 yards and 231 touchdowns.

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