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Tampa Bay Storm game notes

March 7, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


STORM - DESPERADOS PREVIEW

The Tampa Bay Storm take on the 2006 Eastern Division Champions Dallas Desperados on Saturday, March 10 at 8:30 p.m. The match-up features the return of Storm wide receiver Terrill Shaw to Dallas as he takes on his former teammates. Shaw spent two seasons with the Desperados and appeared in 22 games. In 2006 Shaw was the Desperados leading receiver. He led Dallas with 111 receptions for 1,498 yards and 37 touchdowns.

The Storm look to rebound from a tough loss to inter-state rival Orlando as they take on the number one rated offense from the 2006 season. In 2006 Dallas averaged 58.1 points a game, 7.5 more points than Tampa Bay which averaged 50.6. Dallas is ahead of the pace it set in 2006 as they scored 60 points against the New York Dragons last week. Meanwhile the Storm look to improve upon the 27 points it scored against Orlando during the Week 1 match-up of the War on I-4.

The key to this match-up is the trenches. The Storm's 13th ranked run defense will try to stop the Desperados' third ranked run offense. The Storm gave 20 yards in Week 1 while the Desperados ran for 31 yards. On the other side of the ball Dallas has the number one run defense as they gave up only one yard in Week 1. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay accumulated 14 yards on the ground in Week 1 tied for eight in the league.

The last time these teams met Dallas won 64-35 in a game marred by penalty flags and turnovers. Tampa Bay had four turnovers (one interceptions and three fumbles) while Dallas drew 12 flags for 83 yards. One bright spot was receiver Demetris Bendross as he caught eight passes for 164 yards, including a 49-yard bomb, the longest touchdown reception during the 2006 AFL season.

2007 Storm Season Schedule/Results

Tampa Bay Storm (0-1)

Date Opponent Result/Time

3/1 ORLANDO L, 27-52

3/10 at Dallas 8:30 p.m.

3/17 GEORGIA 7:30 p.m.

3/23 NEW YORK 7:30 p.m.

3/31 at San Jose 10:30 p.m.

4/7 NEW ORLEANS 7:30 p.m.

4/14 at Orlando 7:30 p.m.

4/29 COLUMBUS 3:00 p.m.

5/6 at Austin 4:05 p.m.

5/12 at Los Angeles 10:30 p.m.

5/18 ARIZONA 7:30 p.m.

5/26 at Georgia 7:00 p.m.

6/2 at New Orleans 8:00 p.m.

6/9 PHILADELPHIA 7:30 p.m.

6/16 at Grand Rapids 7:00 p.m.

6/23 AUSTIN 7:30 p.m.

* All times Eastern subject to change

SERIES HISTORY

All-Time: Tied 2-2

Regular Season: Tied 2-2

Playoffs: Never Met

Last Meeting: 3/12/06 (35-64, L)

HEAD COACHES

Tampa Bay: Tim Marcum

(19th season, 181-78, .699)

Orlando: Will McCray

(7th season, 29-21, .580)

TAMPA BAY - ORLANDO RECAP

Orlando won the first installment of the War on I-4 for the 2007 season 52-27. The Predators have now won the past two match-ups by a combined total of 64 points and have a three game winning streak. The Storm were led by Demetris Bendross and T.T. Toliver who both picked up where they left of in 2006 as they combined for 315 total yards of offense.

TAMPA BAY - DALLAS

All-Time Regular Season Records

Dallas

Overall: 45-33, (.577) Home: 21-17, (.553) Away: 24-16, (.600) Neutral: 0-0

Tampa Bay

Overall: 164-85, (.659) Home: 88-37, (.704) Away: 73-47, (.608) Neutral: 3-1, (.750)

LAST TIME VS THE DESPERADOS

QUARTERBACK

John Kaleo completed 34 passes for 465 yards and six touchdowns in two games against Dallas in 2006.

RECEIVERS

Demetris Bendross recorded eight receptions for 164 yards and two touchdowns in his last game against the Desperados 3/12/07.

Lawrence Samuels caught three passes for 38 yards and one touchdown against Dallas 3/12/07.

FULLBACKS

Jarrod Penright had two carries for five yards against Dallas 3/12/06

Rodney Filer ran the ball twice for 11 yards at Dallas 2/25/06

THE LONE STAR CONNECTION

The Tampa Bay Storm has many connections with the Lone Star State including coaches and players.

Coaches

- Head coach Tim Marcum is from Snyder, Texas and played college ball at Texas A&M and McMurray University where he was inducted into the McMurray University Athletic Hall of Honor.

- Special teams coach Eddie Vowell coached at Texas A&M-Commerce for 13 seasons and was an assistant coach with the Austin Wranglers from 2004-2006. He currently lives in Texas.

- Defensive coordinator Dave Ewart coached the the Texas Terror of the AFL in 1997. He helped to improve the Terror's record from 1-13 in 1996 to 6-8 in 1997.

Players

- Defensive lineman Tom Briggs played for both the Austin Wranglers and the Dallas Desperados. He played for Dallas from 2002-03 and Austin from 2004-06.

- Stoney Case played his high school football in Texas as he led Odessa-Permian High School to a 15-0 record and a State Championship.

- Rodney Filer played in the 1996 Alamo Bowl while a member of the Iowa Buckeyes.

- Defensive back Jeroid Johnson makes Frisco, Texas his off-season home.

- Quarterback John Kaleo spent the 2004 season with the Austin Wranglers in the teams inaugural season where he set career highs with 565 pass attempts, 352 completions, 80 touchdowns and a 62.3% completion percentage.

- Fullback/Linebacker Torrance Marshall began his AFL career in 2006 with the Austin Wranglers.

- Fullback/Linebacker Jarrod Penright makes Houston his home in the off-season. He played for the famed wrecking crew defense at Texas A&M where he earned All-Big 12 honors his junior and senior year. Additionally the Houston Chronicle named him the defensive player of the year his senior year of high school.

- Wide receiver Terrill Shaw played with the Desperados in 2005 and 2006. During his time in Dallas he set single-season club records with 37 touchdowns, 111 receptions (2006) and a single-game club record 208 yards receiving (at Utah 2/4/06).

SWEET HOME FLORIDA

The Storm currently has 16 players on the roster that have ties to Florida. 10 have played college football in the State of Florida while 15 enjoy the sunshine state year round.

COLLEGE'S REPRESENTED:

Bethune-Cookman: (1) T.T. Toliver

Florida: (3) Thaddeus Bullard, Matt Leach and Clint Mitchell

Florida A&M: (3) Demetris Bendross, Ernest Certain and Rod Williams

Florida State: (1) Leroy Smith

Jacksonville State: (1) Mark Word

South Florida: (1) Huey Whittaker

THOSE WHO CALL THE STATE OF FLORIDA HOME:

These players did not play college football in the State of Florida, yet the found a way to enjoy the sun: John Kaleo, Torrance Marshall, Lawrence Samuels, Hank Edwards, Ronald 'Bo' Rogers and Nyle Wiren. Among those who went to school in Florida and still live here are; T.T. Toliver, Thaddeus Bullard, Matt Leach, Clint Mitchell, Demetris Bendross, Ernest Certain, Rod Williams, Leroy Smith and Huey Whittaker.

AGE OR EXPERIENCE . . . WHICH MATTERS MOST

No team in the Southern Division has more experience than the Tampa Bay Storm. The Storm has 14 more years of combined experience than the closest team in the division, the Georgia Force and 21 more years of experience than Week 2's opponent the Dallas Desperados. The Storm also has the highest average age of any team in the division, while its receiving corp is the most experienced position in the division.

TAM ORL AUS NWO GEO | DAL

Yrs of Exp. 94 38 50 64 80 | 73

Avg. Age 30 27 27 26 28 | 29

QB 16/35 6/28 1/24 13/30 2/28 | 17/35

WR/DB 37/30 7/26 25/28 19/26 25/27 | 24/28

OL/DL 28/30 17/28 11/26 23/27 41/29 | 23/30

FB/LB 25/31 5/27 10/32 9/27 8/26 | 8/28

Rookies 3 5 8 7 3 | 5

(yrs of exp./avg. age)

SACK FULL-O-BRIGGS

In need of a stronger pass rush Coach Marcum sought out a true sack-master.

Tom Briggs wasted no time proving why Tampa Bay signed him this past off-season. It only took Briggs his first game in a Storm uniform to wrap up the opposing quarterback for his 42-career sack. He now sits in fourth place all-time on the AFL career sack list.

AFL All-Time Sack Leaders

Player Sacks # Seasons Teams

Sam Hernandez 59.0 13 Charlotte, Las Vegas, Anaheim and San Jose

Sylvester Bembery 43.0 13 N.England, Albany, Tampa Bay, Buffalo

James Baron* 42.5 11 Nashville (pre-GEO), Chicago and Nashville

TomBriggs* 42.0 11 Ana., Portland, Oklahoma, Dallas, Austin, TB

* Currently Active

CATCHING ON TO THINGS

All-Arena performer Lawrence Samuels is catching up to those ahead of him on the all-time career receptions list. He currently sits in sixth place with 781 receptions and needs 24 to surpass Nashville great Darryl Hammond for fifth place.

AFL All-Time Reception Leaders.

Player Rec. # Seasons Teams

Barry Wagner 991 15 Orlando, San Jose

Eddie Brown 950 10 Albany, Indiana

Cory Fleming 846 10 Nashville, Carolina, Orlando, Nashville

Greg Hokins 832 11 Albany, Indiana, Los Angeles

Darryl Hammond 804 16 Albany, St. Louis, Nash/Ga., Austin, Nash

Lawrence Samuels 781 14 Tampa Bay, New Jersey

INJURY REPORT

Player POS Injury Status

Storm

Huey Whittaker WR/LB L. Thumb Out

Nyle Wiren OL/DL R. Ankle Out

Thaddeus Bullard OL/DL Lower Back Out

Bo Rogers DB Quad Out

A.J. Ricker OL R. Shoulder Out

B.J. Symons QB R. Shoulder Out

Hank Edwards WR Ribs Out

Clint Mitchell DL L. Groin Out

O'HARA NAMED OFFENSIVE COORDINATOR

Former Tampa Bay Storm quarterback Pat O'Hara has been named the team's offensive coordinator. The AFL veteran finally hung up his spikes at the conclusion of the 2006 season as he seeks to enter a career in coaching.

O'Hara is in his fifth season with Storm (second as a coach) and 13th season in the AFL. 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 more than 13,000 yards and 200 touchdowns in his AFL career.

TONS OF EXPERIENCE ON THE SIDELINE

If there's one thing the Storm coaching staff has, it is Arena Football coaching experience with the addition of Pat O'Hara. Headed by Tim Marcum, the AFL's all-time winningest coach, the four-man coaching staff has a total of 38 years of AFL coaching experience entering this season.

Marcum has 18 seasons under his belt, all as a head coach. He enters his 13th 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 20 championship games.

Storm assistant coach Dave Ewart is in his fifth season with the Storm and his 13th season in the AFL. Prior to joining the Storm he served as head coach of the Florida Bobcats, Texas Terror and St. Louis Stampede. He served as an assistant with the Bobcats, Stampede, New England Sea Wolves, and Cleveland

Thunderbolts.

Assistant coach Eddie Vowell is in his fourth season with the Storm and his 8th year in the AFL. He was an assistant coach with the Austin Wranglers and the Grand Rapids Rampage.

YOU BRING THE FOOTBALL WE'LL BRING THE BUTTER

Lawrence Samuels, Jeroid Johnson and Tom Briggs sit fourth, fifth and sixth respectively on the AFL all-time forced fumbles list. A list led by none other than Barry Wagner.

Player FF # Seasons Teams

Barry Wagner 32 15 Orlando and San Jose

Sam Hernandez 24 13 Charlotte, Las Vegas, Anaheim and San Jose

Damon Mason* 21 12 Orlando, New Jersey, L.V., Carolina, Grand

Rapids and Austin

Lawrence Samuels* 19 14 Tampa Bay and New Jersey

Jeroid Johnson* 18 8 New Jersey/Las Vegas, Chicago, Orlando, TB

Tom Briggs* 15 11 Ana., Portland, Oklahoma, Dallas, Austin, TB

* Currently Active

FIRST TIMERS

The Tampa Bay Storm's 20-man roster for the 2007 season features nine players making their Storm debuts, including three rookies. AFL veterans

Tom Briggs, Rodney Filer, Jeroid Johnson, Torrance Marshall, Marcus Owen and Terrill Shaw will play their first game for the Storm. AFL rookies Tom Kaleita, Dwayne Morgan and Mark Word will make their AFL debut with the Storm as all are starting.

HEY ROOK

The Storm has always been a veteran-laden team under head coach Tim Marcum. The same is the case this season, as the Storm opening day active roster includes only three rookies: Tom Kaleita, Dwayne Morgan and Mark Word. However, four additional rookies did make the roster only to find their way to the injured reserve list. Starting the season on injured reserve are Hank Edwards, B.J. Symons, Bo Rogers and Clint Mitchell.

WHEW . . . HAS IT BEEN THAT LONG

Storm wide receiver Lawrence Samuels begins his 14th season in the AFL. He will tie Hunkie Cooper for second all-time seasons played with one team, as 2007 will be his 13th campaign with the Storm.

MOST AFL SEASONS WITH ONE TEAM

Player Team # Seasons YEARS

Sherdrick Bonner* Arizona 14 1993-98, 2000-07

Lawrence Samuels* Tampa Bay 13 1994-2000, 2002-07

Hunkie Cooper Arizona 13 1993-2005

* Indicates active

HAIL TO THE CHIEF

Legendary AFL head coach Tim Marcum enters his 13th season as head coach of the Tampa Bay Storm in 2007 and his 19th overall as an AFL head coach. A charter member of the Arena Football League Hall of Fame, Marcum's AFL coaching legacy is unmatched and his incredible on-field achievements continue to overwhelm.

Marcum is the winningest head coach in Arena Football history. He enters the 2007 season having won seven ArenaBowl championships and has coached in ten of the league's 20 ArenaBowls. Marcum is the only coach in Arena Football history to lead three different teams to ArenaBowl championships (Denver, Detroit, and Tampa Bay), and is the AFL leader in victories (181), games coached (258), and postseason victories (25).

ALL-TIME COACHING VICTORIES

Coach Team Wins This Week

Tim Marcum Tampa Bay 181 @ Dallas

Danny White Utah 149 @ Arizona

Mike Hohensee Chicago 106 SAN JOSE

Mike Dailey Colorado 99 KANSAS CITY

Darren Arbet San Jose 94 @ Chicago

Perry Moss -- 86 --

ARENABOWL XXI - New Orleans, a city renowned for sports championships, will host its first team championship since the devastation of Hurricane Katrina when ArenaBowl XXI is played at New Orleans Arena on Sunday, July 29, 2007 at 2 p.m. CT on ABC.

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