Storm fullback Terrence Royal prior to pounding into the endzone in the second half. (Photo: Chris Arnold)

The Tampa Bay Storm (4-3, 1-1) survived a late comeback from their in-state rivals, the Orlando Predators (3-4, 1-2), as they pulled out a 62-50 victory to claim the first game of two this season in the War on I-4. The victory marked the first time this season that the Storm have won two consecutive games, while it also snapped Orlando’s three-game winning streak.

Daryon Brutely’s late interception with four seconds remaining in the game sealed the win for Tampa Bay after Terence Royal capped a two-touchdown night with a short run score late in the fourth quarter that helped the Storm pull away and earn the victory.

The AFL Player of the Game, Storm quarterback Brett Dietz, turned in another sensational performance coming off the heels of his previous outing two weeks ago against Bossier-Shreveport, connecting on 22 of 30 passes for 304 yards and seven scores. Hank Edwards, Tyrone Timmons and DeAndrew Rubin all turned in big games as well, as each receiver finished with seven receptions. Edwards and Rubin led Tampa Bay with three scores each, while Timmons registered 102 receiving yards.

Orlando was led by quarterback Nick Hill, who ended his night with 393 yards and six scores for the Predators. His primary targets were Bobby Sippio, who gathered 12 receptions for 170 yards and three touchdowns, and Antoine Toliver who also cashed in three scores for Orlando, in addition to 10 receptions good for 135 yards.

Tampa Bay came back from a small deficit to take a four-point lead into the second quarter after falling behind early. After Orlando’s Carlos Martinez put the Predators on the board first with a 54-yard field goal, Dietz hooked up with Edwards on two separate occasions to give Tampa Bay a 14-10 lead. Dietz first found Edwards to give the Storm its first lead of the game, but Orlando countered when Hill connected with Toliver from 24 yards out to regain the advantage. Following Edwards’ second touchdown reception of the night, Dietz received a little help from his defense as Cliff Dukes sacked Hill on fourth down as time expired to prevent the Predators from putting additional points on the board.

Dietz maintained his offensive production through the second frame as he improved upon his first quarter performance. The Tampa Bay quarterback found Rubin in the endzone twice from 26 and 21 yards out, despite Orlando responding with a touchdown of its own as Hill tossed a touchdown pass to Sippio from inside the 10-yard line to reduce the margin to four. An additional touchdown reception by Timmons and a solid defensive stand resulting in a forced fumble allowed Tampa Bay to gain some momentum, as well as take a 35-17 lead into the intermission.

Tampa Bay’s defense picked up where it left off prior to halftime, as it allowed just one touchdown to Orlando following the intermission. Toliver reeled in his second reception of the night to make it 35-23, but Dietz found Edwards in the paint once again before Terence Royal rushed in a score from one yard out to cap a seven-play, 30-yard drive which gave the Storm a 48-23 lead, its biggest of the game.

Orlando made things interesting in the fourth quarter, scoring 27 points and cutting a 26-pont deficit to just five in the game’s final five minutes. Toliver pulled in his third score of the night, but Rubin matched his counterpart’s total on the Storm’s ensuing possession. Sippio scored three times in the period, including twice on a pair of passes from Hill. The Predators kept the momentum going after recovering an onside kick and scoring another touchdown to bring the score to 55-50, but Royal increased the Storm’s lead to 12 as he capped the game’s scoring with a rushing touchdown from inside the five. Hill marched Orlando down the field to mount a comeback in the final minute, but Brutley put an exclamation point on the win with an interception in the endzone with just four seconds remaining in regulation.