Tyrone Timmmons catches one of his three touchdowns during Tampa Bay's rout of Tulsa. (Photo: Kevin Pyle)

The Tampa Bay Storm (12-4, 3-3) inched one step closer to reigning as Arena Bowl champions on Saturday, defeating the host Tulsa Talons (10-7, 6-0) in a 68-38 rout in the opening round of the American Conference divisional playoffs. The victory marked Tampa Bay’s first postseason win since 2003, which also marked the team’s most recent Arena Bowl championship.

Tampa Bay put the contest away in the second half, going up by 28 points at the conclusion of the third quarter and forcing three turnovers in the game’s final 30 minutes.

The Storm were led by quarterback Brett Dietz, who completed a near-perfect performance by finishing 22-of-29 for 263 yards and seven scores. Eric Ortiz and Sedrick Robinson each contributed two scores for Tampa Bay, while receiver Tyrone Timmons hauled in a team-leading three touchdowns. Storm wideout Hank Edwards also had a touchdown, but was limited due to an injury suffered at the end of the first half.

Tulsa passer Justin Allgood, despite throwing for six touchdowns and 242 yards, was intercepted three times on the night. The Talons signal caller, however, did hook up on more than one occasion with receiver Donovan Morgan, who led Tulsa with four touchdowns.

Tampa Bay set the tone from the opening kickoff, jumping on the Talons early by utilizing a persistent offense and an equally as opportunistic defense. Despite the Storm falling behind early, the team recovered quickly to take a one-point lead after Eric Ortiz countered Tulsa’s opening score. With Tulsa threatening to re-take the early lead, Tampa Bay’s defense complemented its teammates on the other side of the ball, coming up with a huge stop on fourth down to turn the ball over on downs. Dietz went back to work, finding Tyrone Timmons in the paint from eight yards out to give the Storm a one-touchdown lead going into the second period.

Tampa Bay maintained the pressure even as the second quarter opened, scoring three times and taking away a key opportunity for Tulsa to put additional points on the board after forcing a bad snap on a field goal attempt. As a result, Tampa Bay capitalized on Tulsa’s special teams miscue as Dietz found Hank Edward streaking down the field on a post route for the touchdown, putting the Storm up 20-6. Tulsa receiver Donovan Morgan countered to cut the deficit in half on the next offensive series, but Dietz remained poised in the pocket, finding Sedrick Robinson twice for a pair of scores and a 34-19 lead at halftime after Talons receiver Carlese Franklin found the endzone within the half’s final minute.

The third quarter saw Tampa Bay jump out to its largest lead of the game, going up by 28 points as the whistle blew at the end of the period. Dietz tossed three scores, finding Timmons twice and connecting once more with Eric Ortiz, while Tampa Bay’s defense allowed only one touchdown in the quarter. Erick McIntosh proved to be the defensive catalyst, intercepting Allgood’s pass to set up the final score of the period. The Storm defensive back proved to be just getting started, as he picked off his second pass of the night as the final period opened, helping to set up an additional Storm touchdown by DeAndrew Rubin. Tulsa would go on to score once more, but Tampa Bay sealed the win with a pair of additional touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The scoring was helped along by Daryon Brutley’s interception halfway through the final period, which was the Storm’s third and final forced turnover of the night.