Final - Tampa Bay Times Forum - Attendance: 8,488
| Team |
1st
|
2nd
|
3rd
|
4th
|
Total
|
| Predators |
3
|
7
|
7
|
14
|
31
|
| Storm |
7
|
14
|
20
|
14
|
55
|
TAMPA BAY - Quarterback Stephen Wasil passed for six touchdowns and ran for another as Tampa Bay took the first game of a pair in the "War on I-4," defeating the Orlando Predators, 55-31, Saturday night on the Amalie Motor Oil Field at the Tampa Bay Times Forum.
The win was Tampa Bay's second in a row and gave the Storm a Southern Division-leading 5-3 record in the Arena Football League's American Conference. The Storm are 4-2 against Conference foes.
Orlando (1-7), lost for 25th time to Tampa Bay in the 49th meeting of this AFL rivalry.
Former University of South Florida standout Amarri Jackson of the Storm led all receivers with 11 catches for 135 yards.
Four consecutive touchdowns from the 2nd quarter until 8:05 of the 3rd period gave Tampa Bay an insurmountable, 35-10, lead. Prechae Rodriguez had team-leading three touchdowns in that run of 16, 11, and 12 yards.
Wasil was 5-for-5 passing in the 3rd quarter, connecting on three of those for TDs. His final score came on a 39-yard pass Amarri Jackson.
Adding insult to injury in this central Florida rivalry, just-signed defensive lineman Frisner Nelson, out of Orlando's Central Florida University, recovered a fumble for a touchdown with 10:42 left in the game. It gave the Storm a commanding, 55-17, margin.
The Tampa Bay Storm goes on the road next week to face South Division Rival Georgia Force.
Scoring Summary
| Time | Scoring Play | ORL-TBS |
| 7:30 | ORL - LEWIS, Mark 18 yd field goal, 11-45 7:30 | 3-0 |
| 6:54 | TBY - WILLIAMS, Chand 34 yd pass from WASIL, Stephen (BONGARRA, Juan kick), 1-34 0:36 | 3-7 |
| Time | Scoring Play | ORL-TBS |
| 11:12 | ORL - ROPER, Justin 8 yd run (LEWIS, Mark kick), 6-44 3:48 | 10-7 |
| 05:51 | TBY - RODRIGUEZ, Prec 16 yd pass from WASIL, Stephen (BONGARRA, Juan kick), 7-43 4:47 | 10-14 |
| 3:16 | TBY - RODRIGUEZ, Prec 11 yd pass from WASIL, Stephen (BONGARRA, Juan kick), 1-11 0:27 | 10-21 |
| Time | Scoring Play | ORL-TBS |
| 12:48 | TBY - RODRIGUEZ, Prec 12 yd pass from WASIL, Stephen (BONGARRA, Juan kick), 4-25 2:12 | 10-28 |
| 8:05 | TBY - WILLIAMS, Chand 2 yd pass from WASIL, Stephen (BONGARRA, Juan kick), 2-13 1:28 | 10-35 |
| 3:15 | ORL - SIPPIO, Bobby 23 yd pass from LEAK, Chris (LEWIS, Mark kick), 6-40 4:13 | 17-35 |
| 01:43 | TBY - JACKSON, Amarri 39 yd pass from WASIL, Stephen (BONGARRA, Juan kick failed), 1-44 1:01 | 17-41 |
| Time | Scoring Play | ORL-TBS |
| 12:20 | TBY - WASIL, Stephen 1 yd run (BONGARRA, Juan kick) | 17-48 |
| 10:42 | TBY - NELSON, Frisner 0 yd fumble recovery (BONGARRA, Juan kick) | 17-55 |
| 7:44 | ORL - WILLIAMS, Jarvi 2 yd pass from LEAK, Chris (LEWIS, Mark kick) | 24-55 |
| 0:51 | ORL - TOLIVER, T.T. 18 yd pass from LEAK, Chris (LEWIS, Mark kick) | 31-55 |
STATISTICAL LEADERS (INDIVIDUAL STATS)
| Predators | Storm | |||||||||
| Passing | CP/AT | Yds | TD | INT | Passing | CP/AT | Yds | TD | INT | |
| J. Roper | 10/19 | 113 | 0 | 2 | Stephen Wasil | 16/25 | 217 | 6 | 2 | |
| C. Leak | 9/17 | 78 | 3 | 0 | Matt Grothe | 3/6 | 30 | 0 | 0 | |
| Rushing | ATT | Yds | TD | LG | Rushing | ATT | Yds | TD | LG | |
| A. Houghton | 4 | 12 | 0 | 9 | Stephen Wasil | 3 | 7 | 1 | 5 | |
| Matt Grothe | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | ||||||
| Chandler Williams | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | ||||||
| J. Roper | 3 | 10 | 1 | 8 | Tom Kaleita | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | |
| Receiving | REC | Yds | TD | LG | Receiving | REC | Yds | TD | LG | |
| T. Toliver | 8 | 97 | 1 | 26 | Amarri Jackson | 11 | 135 | 1 | 39 | |
| B. Sippio | 5 | 64 | 1 | 8 | Chandler Williams | 4 | 63 | 2 | 34 | |
| J. Williams | 4 | 33 | 1 | 12 | Prechae Rodriguez | 3 | 39 | 3 | 16 | |
| D. Eley | 2 | -3 | 0 | 3 | Mark Jones | 1 | 10 | 0 | 10 | |
| Kick Returns | No. | Avg | TD | LG | Kick Returns | No. | Yds | TD | LG | |
| D. Eley | 6 | 18.8 | 0 | 48 | Chandler Williams | 4 | 17.3 | 0 | 21 | |
| Mark Jones | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||||||
TEAM STATS
|
Predators
|
|
Storm
|
|
14
|
First Downs
|
20
|
|
2
|
Rushing
|
0
|
|
9
|
Passing
|
14
|
|
3
|
Penalties
|
4
|
|
22
|
Net Yards Rushing
|
14
|
|
7
|
Attempts
|
9
|
|
24
|
Yards Gained
|
15
|
|
2
|
Yards Lost
|
1
|
|
182
|
Net Yards Passing
|
243
|
|
36
|
Attempted
|
31
|
|
19
|
Completed
|
19
|
|
2
|
Intercepted
|
2
|
|
44
|
Total Offensive Plays
|
41
|
|
204
|
Total Net Yards
|
257
|
|
4.6
|
Average Gain Per Play
|
6.3
|
|
2-2
|
Fumbles: No./ Lost
|
0-0
|
|
9-47
|
Penalties: Number/Lost
|
11-99
|
|
0-0
|
MFG Returns No. /Yards
|
1-0
|
|
6-113
|
Kickoff Returns No. / Yards
|
5-70
|
|
2-18
|
Interceptions: No./Yards
|
2-34
|
|
0-0
|
Fumble Returns: No./Yards
|
0-0
|
|
-8
|
Miscellaneous Yards
|
0
|
|
29:04
|
Possession Time
|
30:54
|
|
4-8
|
3rd Down Conversions
|
2-6
|
|
1-3
|
4th Down Conversions
|
3-4
|
|
1-9
|
Sacks By: No. /Yards
|
1-4
|
Injury Updates
GAME NOTES
Post-Game Audio
Pre-Game Coverage
Series History & Facts
This is the 49th meeting between the two teams, 41st in the regular season and 21st regular season game in Tampa Bay…Tampa Bay holds a 48 point edge in points scored in the regular season 1825-1777...The post season is tied 4-4, with the Storm having been outscored by Orlando 360-321...Overall, in 48 games, the series is tied 24-24 with the Storm having scored nine more total points, 2,146- 2,137...The longest win streak in the series is held by the Storm, five games; from 8/13/94 to 5/18/96...Orlando has two four-game win streaks, including one from 2/19/06 to 4/14/07... Tampa Bay has four regular season sweeps (1995, 1998, 1999 and 2008)...Orlando has five regular season sweeps (1993, 1997, 2001, 2006 and 2007)…Coach Ewart is 3-4 against Orlando, Coach Munsey is 2-1 versus Tampa Bay, this is the second match-up between the two coaches…The Home team is 22-18 in the regular season, with Tampa Bay at 11-9 and Orlando at 11-9 respectively…The last time the home team won in the regular season was Tampa Bay on 6/17/11…In 40 regular season games Tampa Bay averages 45.6 points, Orlando 44.4 points…Tampa Bay has outscored Orlando 944-837 in 20 games at Tampa Bay…Only 12 of the 40 regular season games have been decided by seven or fewer points, Tampa Bay is 5-7 in those games and 2-3 in Tampa Bay in those games...Orlando owns the series biggest margin of victory, winning by 39 points in a 52-13 victory over the Storm on 4/22/06...The Storm’s largest margin of victory over the Predators is 26 points, which it did on two occasions (7/27/98 and 6/11/99)...The most points scored in a single game by the Storm is 71 (6/7/08), and the most points scored by the Preds in a single game is 67 (2/19/06)...4/22/06: Tampa Bay scores the fewest points in series history with 13, in a loss to Orlando...The fewest points scored in a game by Orlando is 16 (7/27/91).
LAST TIME OUT
The Tampa Bay Storm got back on the winning track Monday night to remain undefeated at home this season as it earned a 63-46 victory over the Kansas City Command.
Quarterback Stephen Wasil led the attack, completing 18-of-27 passes for 225 yards and five touchdowns, helping the Storm take over first place in the South Division with an overall record of 4-3 on the season.
Tampa Bay’s strong offensive performance, in combination with a solid defensive effort from Jack linebacker Lendy Holmes who recorded both an interception and a fumble recovery on the night, proved to be too much for Kansas City.