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Tampa Bay Storm game notes

April 12, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


STORM/WRANGLERS PREVIEW
The Tampa Bay Storm enter a critical inter-division battle with the Austin Wranglers with playoff implications this week. The Wranglers hold a one-game lead over the Storm in the standings with the Georgia Force and the Orlando Predators also entering the week with a 7-4 record. Both the Storm and Wranglers are coming off tough losses in Week 11. The Wranglers lost to the Force, 61-29. The Storm beat a then undefeated (4-0) Wranglers team earlier this season in Week 5, 58-48, at the St. Pete Times Forum. In that game Storm QB Shane Stafford completed 26 of 41 passes for 424-yards and seven touchdowns. The 424-yard performance was his second consecutive 400-yard output (Week 4 versus the Orlando Predators he threw for 458-yards), making him the only AFL quarterback in history to do so. The Storm receiving corps was fueled by OS Demetris Bendross, who was filling in for Freddie Solomon who was on injured reserve. Bendross caught a career-high 11 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns. The 182-yards receiving in a game tied him for fifth all-time in franchise history with Lawrence Samuels (2006) and Freddie Solomon (2004). The Storm defense intercepted Wrangler QB John Fitzgerald three times en route to stopping the Wranglers on six of 13 offensive possessions.

STORM/SABERCATS RECAP
The San Jose SaberCats rushed to victory over the Tampa Bay Storm with a league-record tying six rushing touchdowns. The SaberCats were led on the ground by a pair of touchdowns from Phil Glover and Brian Johnson. Barry Wagner and JaJuan Huddleston also added touchdown runs of their own. Stafford completed 23 of 39 passes for 252 yards and six touchdowns. Solomon continued his comeback from injury with an eight-catch, 107 yard performance with two touchdowns. With the score tied at 43 in the fourth quarter with 3:23 remaining, Omarr Smith intercepted Stafford and returned it for a touchdown from 16 yards out. On the ensuing kickoff a fumbled kick return was recovered in the end zone by Alphonso Roundtree and he was tackled by San Jose's Charles Pauley and that resulted in the safety to seal the game.

On The Road Again
The Storm will close out the 2006 regular season playing four of their last five games away from the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa. The remaining road contests are at Austin (this week), at Orlando (Apr. 22), at Columbus (May 6) and at Nashville (May 13). The Storm enter this week with a 2-2 road record so far this season after finishing 2-6 on the road a season ago.

In 2003 and 2005 the Storm finished the regular season with four of their last six on the road. In 2003 the Storm won all four road contests and in 2005 they were victorious in two of four games. This will be the first time in franchise history the team will finish with their last four of five on the road.

Seventh Heaven
With Week 12 looming, the Storm begin their final seven weeks of the season they found themselves in the same predicament in 2005 and finished with a 5-2 record. In 2004 they closed the season out with six consecutive victories. Since the AFL expanded to a 16-week schedule (2003), the Storm have never finished with more than two losses with seven weeks left in the season.
Last 7 Weeks Final Record
2003 5-2 12-4
2004 6-1 9-7
2005 5-2 10-6
2006 1-1 6-5

What's On Tap...
The combined record of the Storm's remaining five opponents is 28-27. Taking a look at the teams that are in playoff contention in the Southern Division, the Storm will face the second least winning record amongst their Southern Division rivals:

Combined Opponent Record
Austin 26-29
Tampa Bay 28-27
Orlando 30-25
Georgia 32-23

Starting Off On the Right Note
The Storm have scored on their opening drive in 11 consecutive weeks to start the season. All 10 game-opening drives ended with a touchdown (8 passing, 3 rushing).

The Storm are 5-1 this season when leading after the first 15 minutes of play. They have outscored their opponents 138-125 in the first quarter this season.

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 became the franchise leader in completions (Jay Gruden - 1,180) with his performance in Week 9 at Georgia. Coming into the week he is 15-touchdown passes shy of setting the franchise record for touchdown passes (Jay Gruden, 280).
Through 11 Games
ATT COMP PCT YDS TD's
2005 444 291 .655 3,163 61
2006 434 276 .636 3,345 63

Hunker Down
The Storm defense is second in the league in stopping opposing offenses from converting on third and fourth down. The defense has allowed 36 first downs on 89 attempts (40.4%). Leading the league is the Dallas Desperados who have allowed 40 first downs on 102 attempted (39.2%). Worst in the league is the Grand Rapids they have allowed teams to convert 47 times on 85 attempts (55.3%).

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 five games this season he has caught 32 passes for 534 yards and eight touchdowns, including a 182-yard performance in Week 5's win versus Austin. That tied him for fifth in franchise history for receiving yards in a game with Samuels (2006) and Freddie Solomon (2004).

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

Certain Puts a Hurtin'...
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 in Week 8 he put New York Dragons QB Nick Browder on the turf twice totaling a loss of five yards. It was the first two-sack performance 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 fourth in the league with six tackles for loss.

No Harm, No Foul
The Storm are tied with the Orlando Predators for the least penalized team in the AFL. They average 5.1 penalties per game for an average of 31.6 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.

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 (81 receptions, 944 yards) this season and single-handedly rewriting the Storm record books, Samuels second in the AFL in special teams tackles with 12.5.

Last week Samuels surpassed the 9,000 receiving yard mark for his career and is now seventh all-time in the AFL with 9,006. Samuels passed Storm great George LaFrance (9,004) on the AFL's all-time receiving yards list. Earlier this season Samuels passed another Storm great, Stevie Thomas, as the franchise leader in receiving yards.

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).

Kicking With Precision
Rookie kicker Bill Gramatica has converted on 53 of 58 (.914) point after attempts since February 19. 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 96 and is eighth (minimum of 30 attempts) in the league with a .896 conversion percentage on point after attempts.

Defending the Ord-way
Jonathan Ordway leads the team in tackles this season with 73.0, which is also the fifth-best mark in the league (55 solo, 17 assisted). He is third in the league with 19 passes defended.

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

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.

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.). Taplin is currently on IR.

Hey Rook!
Seven players on the current 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, Kevin Dogins and Steve White, wide receiver/linebacker Mickey Peters and 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 and Smith spent time in the Chicago Bears camp in 2005. Alphonso Roundtree spent three seasons with the Miami Dolphins (2003-05). White played on the defensive line with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1996-2001 and with the New York Jets in 2002.

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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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.

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