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Tampa Bay Storm game notes

May 10, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


STORM/KATS PREVIEW
The Tampa Bay Storm will close out the 2006 AFL regular season against the Nashville Kats. Kats Head Coach Pat Sperduto won three ArenaBowl Championships with the Storm as a lineman in 1991, 1993 and as an assistant coach in 1994. Nashville WR/DB T.T. Toliver played for the Storm from 2002-05. He was named to the AFL All-Ironman team in 2004 as he racked up 2,095 all-purpose yards and returned four kickoffs for touchdowns. After his record-breaking season of 2005, Storm QB Shane Stafford is on pace to break his records of attempts, completions and touchdown passes. With his performance last week, he has already overtaken last year's passing yards mark with 4,565 with one game remaining. Freddie Solomon and Lawrence Samuels have been quite the duo leading the Storm's league-leading passing offense that puts up 299-yards per contest. Solomon has come on strong in the last eight weeks after missing three games due to injury as he has a per game average of seven receptions for 97 yards and nearly two touchdowns. Samuels has led the Storm receiving corps all season, he needs 12 receptions to eclipse his career high set last year (123).

STORM/DESTROYERS RECAP
The Storm suffered their first loss in franchise history to the Columbus Destroyers, 51-48, last Saturday night in front of 14,357 fans at Nationwide Arena. The Storm were unable to recover from starting the game down by 14-points and four turnovers that resulted in 21 points for the Destroyers. Stafford tied the league completions record (38) and broke the all-time passes attempted record in a game (63). Freddie Solomon led all receivers with 14 receptions for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Coming into the game the Storm were facing some familiar faces in QB John Kaleo, WR/LB David Saunders, OL/DL Kelvin Kinney and OS Carl Bond all of which at one time or another donned a Storm jersey throughout their careers. Kaleo was nearly flawless as he completed his first seven passes and finished 14-of-23 for 226 yards and six touchdown passes. Bond led all Destroyer receivers with six receptions for 102 yards and three touchdowns.

Injury Bug
In recent years the Storm have been able to elude the "injury bug" and stay healthy throughout the course of the season. This season is proving to be very different. Here are key injuries the Storm have encountered this season...

DATE PLAYER INJURY GAMES LOST
2/10 Freddie Solomon Torn plantar fascia 4
2/10 Tramain Jones Neck 2
3/9 Mondre Dickerson Ankle 3
3/12 Jarrod Penright Shoulder, groin 2
3/12 Nyle Wiren Shoulder 2
3/12 Buck Gurley Rotator cuff 4
3/18 Rod Williams Torn achilles 5 *
4/22 Tramain Jones MCL 3 *
4/22 Jonathan Ordway PCL sprain 3 *
4/22 Steve White Bursar sac 3 *
5/6 Floyd Young Groin, hamstring 1 x
* - Lost for the season x - out for this week

Record Setting Performance
Last week Storm QB Shane Stafford completed a league record-tying 38 receptions and set a new league high with 63 passes attempted. Stafford tied former New Jersey Red Dogs QB Tommy Maddox who accomplished the feat on June 30, 2000.

The 63 attempts by Stafford shattered the former mark set by Tony Kimbrough (Charlotte Rage) who set the mark nearly 12-years ago (June 24, 1994) with 58.

The graduate from the University of Connecticut surpassed Jay Gruden (280) for the franchise mark for touchdown passes. With six in last week's game Stafford now has 285 with the Storm.

Fast Freddie
Since returning from his plantar fascia injury in Week 8 against the New York Dragons, Freddie Solomon leads the Storm with 12 touchdown receptions and 778 yards receiving in the last seven weeks of play.

Solomon missed five games last season due to an ankle injury but was able to corral 66 passes for 849 yards and 16 touchdowns. This season in 10 games, the fifth-year man from South Carolina State University has caught 71 passes for 960 yards and 15 touchdowns. Last week against the Destroyers, he had a season high 14 receptions for 160 yards and two touchdowns. That gives him a two-week total of 25 receptions for 317 yards and five touchdowns.

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

Stafford became the franchise leader in completions with 1,336 (Jay Gruden - 1,180) with his performance in Week 9 at Georgia. Last week he surpassed Jay Gruden (280) for the franchise record for touchdown passes with 285. He also broke his own record for passing yards in a season with 4,565 yards. Stafford leads the league with three of the top five passing performances this season.
Through 15 Games
ATT COMP PCT YDS TD's
2005 594 379 .638 4,245 78
2006 612 387 .632 4,565 82

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. While leading the Storm in receiving (112 receptions, 1,260 yards, 20 touchdowns) this season and single-handedly rewriting the Storm record books, Samuels is third in the AFL in special teams tackles with 15.5.

In Week 11 versus San Jose, Samuels surpassed the 9,000 yard receiving mark for his career and is now seventh all-time in the AFL with 9,322. 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 with 8,580.

This season marks the third time in his career that Samuels' has gone over the 1,000-yard mark. He has accomplished this feat in three of the last four years (2003, 2005 and 2006).

Certain Puts A Hurtin'
Fifth-year lineman Ernest Certain has corralled quarterbacks on four 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. In Week 14 versus the Brigade, Certain was able to get to QB Chris Sanders for a loss of two yards.

The Storm record for sacks in a season is held by Les Barley who had eight in 1998. Entering the week Certain is second in the league with nine combined tackles for loss (including sacks).

Starting Off On the Right Note
The Storm have scored on their opening drive in 13 of 15 games this season. The 13 opening drives have all ended with a touchdown (10 passing, 3 rushing).

The Storm are 6-2 this season when leading after the first 15 minutes of play. They have outscored their opponents 180-175 in the first quarter this season.

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 10 games this season he has caught 52 passes for 749 yards and 11 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).

Bendross has also taken over the kick return duties; this season he has returned 34 kickoffs for 590 yards, an average of 17.3 yards every time he touches the football.

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

Kicking With Precision
Rookie kicker Bill Gramatica has converted on 73 of 81 (.901) 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 sixth in the AFL in points scored for kickers with 122 and is ninth (minimum of 50 attempts) in the league with a .881 conversion percentage on point after attempts.

No Harm, No Foul
The Storm offense is the least penalized team in the AFL. They average 5.4 penalties per game for an average of 33.1 yards per contest. Second in the league is the Orlando Predators averaging 34 yards.

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 in Week 8.

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 third 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) which Stafford duplicated this past week versus Columbus by completing 38 passes on 63 attempts.

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).

Defending the Ord-way
Jonathan Ordway leads the team in tackles this season with 78.5, which is also the seventh-best mark in the league (67 solo, 23 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.

Super Size Me!!!
The average weight of the Storm lineman this season in comparison to last is up nearly 12 pounds (2006 = 290.0 lbs.; 2005 = 277.8). New linemen include Thaddeus Bullard (275 lbs.), Mondre Dickerson (300 lbs.), Buck Gurley (300 lbs.), A.J. Ricker (295 lbs.), Greg Taplin (280 lbs.), Aaron Hunt (275 lbs.) and Craig Moore (340 lbs.). Taplin and Bullard are currently on IR.

Hey Rook!
Ten 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, receiver/defensive backs Alphonso Roundtree and Leroy Smith and defensive specialist Floyd Young.

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. Young played with the Buccaneers from 1997-2000 and one year with the Chicago Bears in 2001.

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.

Kuharchek Named Quality Control/Player Development Coach
Pete Kuharchek, 58, a native of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, graduated from the University of Tampa in 1969 and is a part of the University of Tampa Athletic Hall of Fame. He joins the company of Super Bowl Champions Fred Solomon and John Matuzak amongst others in that prestigious group. Kuharchek was the Spartans' leading tackler and defensive MVP in 1967 and 1968.

Kuharchek's coaching resume includes stops with the Tampa Bay Bandits from 1983-85 as linebacker coach, the Orlando Thunder of the World League as defensive backs coach in 1992, defensive coordinator for the University of Texas at El Paso from 1993-95, and with the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe as defensive coordinator from 1996-00 and head coach from 2001-05.

As defensive coordinator for the Fire he helped them reach the World Bowl five times while taking home the championships in 1998 and 2000. He also coached in one other championship game with Orlando in 1992.

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