Tampa Bay Storm game notes

Published on March 21, 2006 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


STORM/FORCE PREVIEW
The Tampa Bay Storm (5-3) hit the road to take on the Georgia Force (4-4) in a critical Southern Division match-up. The Storm have won at Philips Arena in three of the five contests it has played there all-time. This will be the second meeting between the two teams this year. The Storm were victorious in their home opener versus the Force, 61-60, during Week 3. Force QB Matt Nagy ran for a touchdown from one yard out as time expired. A failed two point conversion gave the Storm their 12th consecutive victory at home. Storm QB Shane Stafford completed 26 of 35 passes for 328 yards and five touchdowns. Offensive Player of the Game Bobby Sippio hauled in eight passes for a team-high 114 yards and two touchdowns, and added another touchdown on the ground from three yards out. The defensive specialist duo of Tramain Jones and Jonathan Ordway led the Storm defense with seven tackles each. Down a point late in the fourth quarter Stafford found WR/DB Lynarise Elpheage for a 30-yard touchdown and Elpheage added a two-point conversion to give the Storm the eventual win. The Force have lost four games this season by a combined five points and are 2-2 at Philips Arena this season after finishing the 2005 season a perfect 8-0 at home.

STORM/DRAGONS RECAP
The Storm defeated the New York Dragons 60-44 last Saturday night at the St. Pete Times Forum in front of 13,274 fans. The Storm defense suffocated the Dragon offense as lineman Ernest Certain notched two sacks (earning him defensive player of the game honors), Jones intercepted two passes and lineman Ricky Hall and wide receiver/linebacker Ronney Daniels recovered fumbles. Stafford led the way on offense hitting four different receivers for touchdowns. He completed 29 of 38 passes for 258 yards and six touchdowns. Elpheage set career highs with eight receptions for 72 yards and three touchdowns. On defense, he made three tackles, forced a fumble, recorded a pass breakup and returned four kickoffs for 65 yards en route to being named Ironman of the Game. Kicker Bill Gramatica nailed six of seven point after attempts and was perfect on field goal tries from 39 and 30 yards.

"Let Me See Your One, Two Step..."
The Storm have hit a pattern of one loss and two wins to start the season. After a Week 1 loss to the Philadelphia Soul, the Storm bounced back with victories against the Grand Rapids Rampage and the Georgia Force.

After a Week 4 setback to their rival Orlando Predators, the Storm handed the Austin Wranglers their first loss of the season and a week later beat the expansion Kansas City Brigade at Kemper Arena.

Starting Off On the Right Note
The Storm have scored on their opening drive in eight consecutive weeks to start the season. All eight game-opening drives ended with a touchdown (6 passing, 2 rushing).

The Storm are 4-0 this season when leading after the first quarter. They have outscored their opponents 100-91 after the first 12 minutes of play to date.

Getting Offensive
The Storm lead the AFL in yards per game with 324 yards per contest. The bulk of those yards are 309 through the air, also tops in the league.

The team's highest output of yardage came in Week 5 versus the Orlando Predators where they put up 452 yards of offense, a team record.

Stafford Season-to-Season Comparison
Last year Stafford had one of the most prolific seasons by any Storm signal caller, establishing Storm season highs. Last season he finished with 405 completions on 631 attempts for 4,522 yards and 83 touchdowns.

Stafford is on track to become the first quarterback in league history to throw for 5,000 yards in a season and needs 23 completions to tie Jay Gruden (1,180) for most completions in franchise history.

Through 8 Games
ATT COMP PCT YDS TD's
2005 327 215 .657 2,375 47
2006 320 208 .650 2,525 44

E-asy Does It
Fifth-year lineman Ernest Certain has corralled quarterbacks on three different occasions this season setting a career best for sacks in a season. In Week 2's win over Grand Rapids Certain put his clamps on Rampage QB Jose Davis for a sack and last week he put Dragons QB Nick Browder on the turf twice totaling a loss of five yards. The two-sack performance is the first of Certain's career.

The Storm record for sacks in a season is held by Les Barley who had 8 in 1998. Entering the week Certain is tied for ninth in the AFL with his three sacks and is second in the league with six tackles for loss.

No Harm, No Foul
The Storm are the second least penalized team in the AFL. They average five penalties per game for an average of 30.9 yards per contest.

The least penalties they've had in a game this season is one for five yards against the Georgia Force in Week 3. The most times the Storm have been caught "red handed" is nine for 65 yards against the New York Dragons last week.

Not A Bad Second Option
Bobby Sippio is displaying why he was a highly sought after free-agent in the off season. This season he has caught 49 passes for 581 yards and a team-high 15 touchdowns. He is second on the team in receptions and receiving yards. Sippio has carried the ball twice for five yards and two touchdowns.

Defying Father Time
Future Hall-of-Famer Lawrence Samuels continues to show that it's the little things that have made his 13-year career so successful. Amidst leading the Storm in receiving (58 receptions, 690 yards) this season and single-handedly rewriting the Storm record books, Samuels is first in the AFL in special teams tackles with 10.5.

Riding the Green Wave
Lynarise Elpheage and Jeff Sanchez have proven to be quite the combination in the defensive backfield. The Tulane University graduates played together in New Orleans from 2000-03. This season Elpheage is second on the squad with 30 tackles and third with two interceptions. Sanchez has made 18 stops, fifth on the team, and one interception. The two have combined for 11 of the team's 30 passes defended.

Kicking With Precision
Rookie kicker Bill Gramatica has converted on 35 of 37 point after attempts since February 19. Gramatica has also converted on four of five field goal attempts in the last three weeks. Against the Kansas City Brigade in Week 6 he connected on a career-high 47-yard field goal and another from 34 yards out en route to a career-high 15 points in the game.

The former University of South Florida place kicker is third in the AFL in points scored for kickers with 72 and is eighth (minimum of 10 attempts) in the league with a .911 conversion percentage on point after attempts.

Need A Tackle? Call Mr. Ordway
Jonathan Ordway leads the team in tackles this season with 50, which is also the fourth best mark in the league (43 solo, 14 assisted).

A season ago Ordway set the third-best mark in Storm history with 87.5 tackles. Teammate Tramain Jones set the all-time high in the same season with 114.

Ben-d Don't Break
Second-year man OS Demetris Bendross certainly makes good use of his time and speed on the playing field. In four games this season he has caught 29 passes for 485 yards and six touchdowns, including a 182-yard performance in Week 5's win versus Austin. That ties him for fifth in franchise history for receiving yards in a game with Samuels (2006) and Freddie Solomon (2004).

Following Week 7's 164-yard performance, Bendross holds two of the top 20 receiving games in the AFL this season, tied with Siaha Burley of the Utah Blaze (259, 173), Mike Horacek of the New York Dragons (179, 167) and Ben Nelson of the San Jose SaberCats (165, 162).

Last season, in three games played, he made 13 receptions for 212 yards and five touchdowns.

Mr. Milestone
Lawrence Samuels continues to re-write the Storm record books. In Week 5 against the Austin Wranglers he toppled the career mark for receiving yards. He surpassed Storm great Stevie Thomas who set the mark at 7,784. Samuels has set the current benchmark at 7,980.

In Week 4 against the Orlando Predators, Samuels set the franchise high for tackles previously held by Tracey Perkins (348). Currently his record stands at 363.

A Game For The Ages...
Stafford and Samuels set numerous records February 19 versus their rival from 85 miles east, the Orlando Predators.

Shane Stafford completed 36 passes for 458 yards and eight touchdowns. All of which are all-time Storm game highs.

The 36 completions ties him for second most all-time in AFL History with Andy Kelly (Nashville, 1999). The most completions in a game record belongs to Tommy Maddox with 38 (New Jersey, 2000).

Stafford's 458 passing yards gained is the third highest mark in the AFL's 19-plus year history. In 1999, Clint Dolezel passed for 479 yards and in 2000 Todd Marinovich passed for 469 yards.

This is the fourth time he has thrown for eight touchdowns in a game. He shares that Storm record with John Kaleo (three times) and Jay Gruden (7/18/92). The last time Stafford accomplished the feat was January 30, 2005 in last year's season opener versus the San Jose Sabercats.

Samuels caught 15 passes, tying him for most receptions all-time by any Storm player in a game (Freddie Solomon, 2004). His 182 yards receiving was a career high and tied him for fifth on the Storm list with teammate Freddie Solomon who achieved the feat in May 2004 and a week later duplicated by Demetris Bendross (Week 5, 2006).

Stafford, So Nice Let's Do It Twice...
Shane Stafford became the first quarterback in AFL history to pass for 400 or more yards in consecutive games against the Austin Wranglers during Week 6.

Stafford passed for 424 yards in the win and tossed for 458 yards, a Storm record, Week 5 against the Orlando Predators. That gave him a two week total of 882 yards passing on 62 completions and 15 touchdowns.

Leading at the Half
The Storm were unstoppable during the 2005 regular season when leading at the half, going 8-0. They are 135-16 all-time when leading after two quarters.

They are 3-0 this season (30-27, Week 3 vs. Georgia and 34-33, Week 6 versus Kansas City and 31-21, last week versus New York) when leading at the half.

The Magic Number
The Storm are 49-3 in franchise history when they score 60 points or more. This season the Storm have scored 60 points or more on four occasions and are 3-1.

In The Market
General Manager/Head Coach Tim Marcum and Director of Player Personnel Dave Ewart were busy during the off-season signing highly sought after free agents WR/LB Bobby Sippio (Dallas), as well as linemen Thaddeus Bullard (Las Vegas) and Buck Gurley (Orlando).

The Storm returned 15 of 20 players from last season. Of the players lost during the off season, two were kicker Matt George and backup QB Stoney Case.

Super Size Me!!!
The average weight of the Storm lineman this season in comparison to last is up nearly 10 pounds (2006 = 287.0 lbs.; 2005 = 277.8). New lineman include Thaddeus Bullard (275 lbs.), Mondre Dickerson (300 lbs.), Buck Gurley (300 lbs.), A.J. Ricker (295 lbs.) and Greg Taplin (280 lbs.). Dickerson is currently on IR.

Hey Rook!
Eight players on the 2006 Storm roster are in their first AFL season. The Storm rookies include kicker Bill Gramatica, linemen A.J. Ricker, Mondre Dickerson, Aaron Hunt, Greg Taplin and Kevin Dogins, as well as wide receiver/defensive backs Alphonso Roundtree and Leroy Smith.

Gramatica saw time in the NFL for four seasons with the Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins. Ricker spent time in the Chicago Bears camp in 2005 and Alphonso Roundtree spent three seasons with the Miami Dolphins (2003-05).

Gramatica has converted on 51 of 56 point after attempts. Taplin, while showing great speed at the defensive end position, has 3.5 tackles. Dickerson (Week 3 versus Georgia) and Smith (Week 4 versus Orlando) have made their AFL debuts. Smith has recorded two tackles and one reception for six yards. Ricker has played in every game this season at the center and nose guard position and recovered two fumbles. NFL veteran Kevin Dogins will suit up this week versus Georgia.

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 39 years of AFL coaching experience entering the season.

Marcum has 18 seasons under his belt, all as a head coach. He enters his 12th 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 19 championship games.

Storm assistant coach Dave Ewart is in his fourth 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.

Special teams coach Jimmy Dunn has coached arena football for 10 years. He was the head coach with the Miami Hooters in 1994 and Charleston Swamp Foxes of the arenafootball2 from 2000-2002. Also, he has served as offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Rockers, Miami Hooters, Charlotte Rage and special teams coach for the Orlando Predators.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 21, 2006


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