by Samantha Ouimette

TAMPA- “One play at a time…” said Storm wide receiver Hank Edwards during pre-game warm-ups when asked how he planned on overcoming his nerves to focus solely on performing to the best of his ability, “Don’t look too far ahead and focus on the next play; just execute and take it a play at a time.”

Those words would prove to be foretelling in a game that had a “one play at a time” feel to it throughout. Considering the historic Tampa Bay Storm/Orlando Predators rivalry that to this day still does not have a clear-cut winner, it was only fitting that the game which had the two teams meeting for the chance to play for the most coveted prize in Arena Football would end the way it did: coming down to one last play in the final seconds.

The Storm defense went to work early, with defensive lineman Cliff Dukes recovering an Orlando fumble to give Tampa the chance to strike first. However, the team was unable to capitalize on the mistake of the Predators, and penalty trouble on Tampa’s part would eventually lead to Orlando wide receiver T.T. Toliver scoring his first of many touchdowns on the night to give the Predators the lead. That seemed to be the wake-up call the Storm needed, and they immediately came roaring back to put up 14 points and subsequently take the lead through the efforts of DeAndrew Rubin and Terrence Royal. A back-and-forth game would follow late into the 2^nd quarter until the Storm jumped out to a 14 point lead to end the half with the score at 35-21.

Tampa appeared to have total control of the game by half-way through the 3^rd quarter, taking a commanding 21-point lead that at the time looked to be insurmountable for the Predators. However, the ever-resilient Orlando continued to battle back, and with the help of T.T. Toliver’s 4^th touchdown of the night were able to pull within 7 points at the start of the 4^th quarter. Tampa answered with a touchdown of their own courtesy of Terrence Royal, but the missed extra point that followed would prove to be worrisome towards the end. The Predators took the lead back for the first time since the 1^st quarter with only a minute left, but the Storm quickly stole it from them and made up for their previously missed extra point with a successful two-point conversion. After a missed extra point of their own and a failed attempt at a field goal with 2.9 seconds left, Orlando was sent home for the season and the Tampa Bay Storm were crowned American Conference champions on the way to their 8^th ArenaBowl appearance.

But despite an impressive last-minute win that displayed Tampa’s talent and determination at its finest, it was obvious to all in the building that a conference championship will not satisfy this Storm team. “The confetti is falling, the trophy is being presented, and I have a little problem with it…” commented Storm coach Tim Marcum in his post-game press conference, “That means nothing to me except for the chance to go and win the other game. We don’t hang conference championship banners, and we don’t hang division banners; that’s not us, that’s not what we’re about. We’re about winning the next game. We didn’t come here to win the conference championship.”

Still, the entire team was clearly excited about seeing their hard work pay off and in turn being able to take that next step in the quest for a 6^th ArenaBowl Championship. “This is no small feat tonight…” stated quarterback Brett Dietz after the game, “I mean this is huge. This is what we all came back for. We’re one game away. I mean, this is what you dream about. You never know…some people never play for a championship ever in their lives and we have a chance to do it this week. It’s definitely special, and I’m going to cherish every second of it.”