AFL Arena Football League

Vigilantes come away with 67-61 win over Storm

April 23, 2011 - Arena Football League (AFL) News Release


TAMPA -- Lanky receiver Matt Fields caught a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another as Dallas took advantage of Tampa Bay mistakes throughout the Arena Football League game and the visiting Vigilantes came away with a 67-61 win over the Storm on the Amalie Motor Oil Field Friday night at the St. Pete Times Forum.

It wasn't just the former Hardin-Simmons receiver, but the Dallas (4-2) defense and special teams were more responsible for the fumble frolics and disasterous mistakes the Storm (2-4) made during the game. The Storm has two games on the road in the next two weeks at Milwaukee and at Orlando, but returns to the St. Pete Times Forum on May 13 against the Kansas City Command.

Dallas quarterback Dan Raudabaugh finished the game with 202 yards on 13 of 20 and four touchdowns. Fields ended with five catches for 116 yards.

Tampa Bay's Huey Whittaker, the games' offensive player, had a game-high 15 catches for 193 yards and frive touchdown receptions. Rookie quarterback Grant Gregory was 24 of 42 passing and 275 yards.

Chris Leflore had a pair of interceptions, but Dallas had two fumble recoveries and a net recovery that led to scores.

Eric Ortiz' 1-yard touchdown run with 9:11 on the clock in the second period boosted Tampa Bay to its largest lead of the game, 27-12. Dallas then scored the next 21 points in the last 4:33 of the second to take a 33-27 half time lead.

The last TD of the half came when Dallas kicked off to Michael Lindsey with onlt two seconds left. Lindsey bega his return in the end zone, but fumbled and the ball squirted in three different directions until the Vigilantes' lineman Greg Ryan fell on the all for the score. Veteran Dallas kicker Remy Hamilton, who missed his first extra point try and then saw another go by him on a bad snap, finished the half connecting on all three kick points.

On the opening kickoff of the second half, Dallas' Jerrian James fumbled when Cliff Dukes dislodged the ball with a thundering hit and Deonte Bolden recovered on the Vigilantes' 13 yard line. Gregory engineered a short drive, connecting with Whitaker for the final four yards. Kyle Chilton's kick gave Tampa its first lead, 34-33, since the 4:33 mark of the second quarter.

Again, in the closing minutes of the third period, Dallas scored 20 unanswered points, twice due to fumbles. The last was on a kickoff that bounded away from Lindsey, one of the league's most excitiing return specialists, and was recovered by former Storm linebacker/fullback Dusty Bear. That gave Dallas a 53-34 margin it held on to until the end of the 3rd period.

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