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Tampa Bay Storm game notes

March 13, 2007 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Tampa Bay Storm News Release


The Tampa Bay Storm take on division rival Georgia Force Saturday, March 17 at 7:30 p.m. They split the season series in 2006 as each team won its home game. The Storm leads the series all-time 7-4, and look to hand the Force their first loss in the 2007 season.

The Storm seek to gain ground on their Southern Division foe as the Force has a two game advantage on the Storm.

With the trade of wide receiver Demetris Bendross to Nashville, wide receiver Terrill Shaw will step into the Bendross' position in the line up. The Storm activated Karl Williams from the practice squad to fill the open roster spot as he makes his AFL debut against the Force.

The offense is led by quarterback John Kaleo who has completed 61.3 percent of his passes for 560 yards and six touchdowns. Kaleo's primary targets are T.T. Toliver, 16 receptions for 222 yards and three touchdowns, and Lawrence Samuels, 12 receptions for 92 yards and one touchdown. Fullback Rodney Filer had a career game last week against the Desperados. He set career single-game highs with 31 yards rushing and three touchdowns.

The Force are led by first year starting quarterback Chris Greisen. He spent the past two seasons backing up Clint Dolezel. Greisen has a terrific trio of receivers to throw to, led by Troy Bergeron with a team leading 20 catches for 265 yards and six touchdowns. Receivers Chris Jackson and Derek Lee complete the trio.

As the Force make the trip south, they bring with them some familiar faces, lineman Mike Sutton and linebacker Umar Muhammad. Muhammad was a member of the 2006 Storm team while Sutton played with the Storm in 2005.

TAMPA BAY - DALLAS RECAP

Tampa lost a tough game to Dallas on a couple of close calls 59-40. In a game where 26 flags were thrown, with 21 accepted, the teams still managed to put points on the board. The flags really hurt the Storm as one invalidated a Lynarise Elpheage interception in the second quarter with the game tied 13-13. Dallas capitalized on the flag, scoring on the next play to make it 19-13. On Tampa Bay's last possession of the second quarter, the Desperados defensive backfield broke up a pass that could have drawn a flag, preventing the Storm from taking the lead going into the half. Dallas however did not give the referees a chance to dictate the game. They responded to the Storm's scoring drive at the start of the second half with a 56-yard kick return for a touchdown. That and a five and a half minute drive in the fourth quarter were enough for Dallas to pull ahead with a comfortable lead . . . Tom Briggs recorded his second sack of the season, 43rd of his career . . . That sack ties him for second place all-time in AFL with former Storm great Sylvester Bembery, 16 behind Sam Hernandez . . . Fullback Rodney Filer had a career game-high three touchdowns and 31 yards rushing . . . Filer is tied for first in the AFL with four rush touchdowns . . . Lineman Tom Kaleita caught the first pass of his pro career . . . The first since his freshman year of college.

TAMPA BAY - GEORGIA

All-Time Regular Season Records

Tampa Bay

Overall: 164-86, (.656) Home: 88-37, (.704) Away: 73-48, (.603) Neutral: 3-1, (.750)

Georgia

Overall: 42-38, (.525) Home: 22-18, (.550) Away: 20-20, (.500) Neutral: 0-0, (.000)

2006

Tampa Bay and Georgia spilt the 2006 season series as each team won its home game . . . Storm win 61-60 at home 2/10/06 as the defense stops a two-point conversion to seal the game as time expires . . . Lynarise Elpheage is named ADT Defensive Player of the Game and Lawrence Samuels is named U.S. Army Ironman of the Game . . . The win extended a Storm home game winning streak to 12 games (the streak ended the following week in a loss to Orlando) . . . Storm are out gained 341 to 347 in total yards of offense but win the turnover battle 2-0 as Former Force and Current Columbus Destroyer QB Matt Nagy throws two interceptions . . . Force win 51-61 at home 3/26/06 . . . Former Storm quarterback Shane Stafford passed John Gruden on the Storm all-time completion leader list, as his 25 completions gave him 1,182 career completions, surpassing Gruden's mark of 1,180 . . . Storm out gain Force on offense with 317 totals yards versus 264 for Georgia.

SERIES HISTORY

Tampa Bay leads regular season series 7-3 . . . Georgia leads post-season series 1-0.

2002: Away - TB 50 GA 40 (6/29) Storm at Home: 4-1

Home - TB 67 GA 60 (7/20) Storm Away: 3-3

2003: Home - TB 58 GA 39 (4/6) Total Points: Storm 578, Force 544

Away - TB 42 GA 38 (5/18) Storm High: 67 - 7/20/02

2004: Home - GA 70 TB 62 (2/13) Storm Low: 40 - 5/8/05

Away - TB 53 GA 24 (3/27) Georgia High: 70 - 2/13/04

2005: Home -TB 48 GA 38 (4/2) Georgia Low: 24 - 3/2704

Away - GA 52 TB 40 (5/8)

Away - GA 62 TB 46 (5/29) - playoff game

2006: Home - TB 61 GA 60 (2/10)

Away - GA 61 TB 51 (3/26)

STORM FAMILY TIES

Returning to the St. Pete Times Forum this week are fullback/linebacker Umar Muhammad and lineman Mike Sutton. Muhammad played in 16 games last season as he set career-highs with 30 carries and 50 yards. He also rushed for four touchdowns and corralled 15 total tackles along with two sacks. Sutton played in nine games in 2005 with the Storm. He accumulated 12 tackles, one sack, one forced fumble, one blocked kick and returned his only interception 32 yards. Sutton spent 2006 with the Destroyers and appeared in all 16 games.

LAST TIME VS. THE FORCE

QUARTERBACK

John Kaleo - Completed 38 passes for 342 yards and five touchdowns against Georgia on 3/10/06 in a 50-68 Destroyers loss.

RECEIVERS

Lawrence Samuels - Caught 20 passes (11/9) for 217 yards (107/110) and two (2/0) touchdowns against the Force in 2006. In the 2/10/06 match-up he returned a Matt Nagy interception 23 yards on his way to earning U.S Army Ironman of the Game honors.

Terrill Shaw - Caught 22 passes (11/11) for 315 yards (182/133) and seven touchdowns (3/4) in one regular season game and one playoff game against the Force while a member of the Desperados in 2006.

T.T. Toliver - Did not play against the Force in 2006. He last played the Force at Georgia 3/27/04. He accumulated 119 all-purpose yards, 50 on two receptions, 43 on three kick returns and 26 on one interception. He also made four tackles.

Karl Williams - He will make his AFL debut against the Georgia Force.

FULLBACKS

Jarrod Penright - Rushed three times for eight yards and a touchdown, as well as, 2.5 tackles against Georgia 2/10/06. He was on IR at Georgia 3/26/06 with a leg injury.

Torrance Marshall - Rushed five times for 20 yards and two touchdowns in two contests against Georgia in 2006 with the Austin Wranglers. He also garnered 2 tackles, one fumble recovery and one pass breakup on defense.

Rodney Filer - Last played against the Force as a member of the Las Vegas Gladiators 2/20/05 at the Thomas Mack Center in Las Vegas. He rushed for one yard on one carry in a 38-13 loss.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

Lynarise Elpheage - In the first match-up against the Force offensively he caught two passes for 33 yards and a touchdown. Defensively he had five tackles and an interception on his way to garnering ADT Defensive Player of the Game honors. In the second game he had 96 kickoff return yards on 7 returns and four tackles.

Jeroid Johnson - Had four tackles, one fumble recovery and 2 pass breakups at Georgia 1/28/06. Johnson was on IR for the second game on 4/14/06 .

Leroy Smith - Did not play against Georgia in his rookie season as he was on IR for both games.

LINEMAN

Marcus Owen - He had one sack for a six yard loss against Georgia 5/6/06.

Tom Briggs - Had no stats against Georgia in the first match-up and missed the second match-up due to a knee injury.

Ernest Certain - On 2/10/06 in Tampa he recorded 2.5 tackles including one tackle for a loss. Certain added another tackle at Georgia 3/26/06.

Rod Williams - Played in the home opener against Georgia 2/10/06 but did not accumulate any stats.

Dwayne Morgan - The Georgia native will play his first game against the Force.

Tom Kaleita - This is his first contest against Georgia.

SWEET HOME FLORIDA

The Storm currently has 15 players on the roster that have ties to Florida. Nine playes have played college football in the State of Florida while 14 enjoy the sunshine state year round.

COLLEGE'S REPRESENTED:

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

Florida: (2) Thaddeus Bullard 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, 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

Yrs of Exp. 94 38 50 64 80

Avg. Age 30 27 27 26 28

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

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

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

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

¬Rookies 3 5 8 7 3

(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 followed that up with another sack in week two against the Desperados. He now sits tied for second place all-time on the AFL career sack list with 43.

AFL All-Time Sack Leaders

Player Sacks # Seasons Teams

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

TomBriggs* 43.0 11 Ana., Portland, Oklahoma, Dallas, Austin, TB

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

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

* 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 789 receptions and needs 16 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 Hopkins 832 11 Albany, Indiana, Los Angeles

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

Lawrence Samuels 789 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 42 years of AFL coaching experience entering this season.

Marcum is in his 19th season in the AFL, 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 ten players making their Storm debuts, including four rookies. AFL veterans Tom Briggs, Rodney Filer, Jeroid Johnson, Torrance Marshall, Marcus Owen and Terrill Shaw will play their first season for the Storm. AFL rookies Tom Kaleita, Dwayne Morgan, Karl Williams and Mark Word will make their AFL debut with the Storm. Kaleita, Morgan and Word are all 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 included only three rookies: Tom Kaleita, Dwayne Morgan and Mark Word. However, six additional rookies did make the roster only to find their way to the practice squad or injured reserve list. Beginning the season on the practice squad were Khalid Naziruddin and Karl Williams. 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. Samuels has tied Hunkie Cooper for second all-time seasons played with one team, as 2007 is 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 (259), and postseason victories (25).

ALL-TIME COACHING VICTORIES

Coach Team Wins This Week

Tim Marcum Tampa Bay 181 GEORGIA

Danny White Utah 150 @ Nashville

Mike Hohensee Chicago 107 NEW YORK

Mike Dailey Colorado 100 ARIZONA

Darren Arbet San Jose 94 Bye

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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