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TAMPA, FL - In the battle of the all-time winningest coaches, Tim Marcum's Tampa Bay Storm (6-4) prevailed with a 56-41 victory over Danny White's Utah Blaze (3-7) in front of 13,404 at St. Pete Times Forum on Saturday night.
"This is a disappointing loss for us," said Blaze head coach/general manager Danny White. "When you can't put pressure on their quarterback and they get to yours, you generally end up losing the game. That's what happened tonight."
Tampa Bay QB Shane Stafford completed 20-of-35 passes for 252 yards with eight touchdowns and one interception on his way to earning Offensive Player of the Game honors. OL/DL Jerrod Penright earned Ironman of the Game honors, after recording a sack, blocking an extra point and recording three rushing yards. The ADT Defensive Player of the Game went to DS Tramain Jones who recorded 7.5 total tackles and recorded an interception in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
The Storm struck first with a 20-yard pass from Stafford to WR/DB Demetris Bendross for a 7-0 lead. The Blaze got on the board on their first offensive play when Utah QB Jason Gesser found WR/LB Tom Pace on a 21-yard strike to tie the game at 7-7.
The Storm held a 21-14 lead after the first quarter when Pace scored his second touchdown on a 34-yard pass from Gesser. But, the Storm followed up with back-to-back touchdowns and took a 35-21 lead into the locker room.
The Blaze started the second half with a Siaha Burley touchdown, which was followed by Thal Woods' first interception of the season on the Storm's following drive. Utah was unable to capitalize and missed a 45-yard field goal. Burley added a second touchdown and the Blaze outscored the Storm 13-7 in the third period.
Tampa Bay held a 42-34 advantage heading into the fourth quarter and opened with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Stafford to WR/LB Lawrence Samuels to extend the lead to 49-34.
The Storm outscored the Blaze 14-7 in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
Burley led the Blaze receivers with six receptions for 122 yards and two touchdowns. WR/DB Orshawante Bryant added eight receptions for 97 yards, while WR/LB Justin Skaggs and Pace added two touchdowns each.
The Blaze will return home to the Delta Center to face the Western Division rival, Arizona Rattlers, next Friday, April 7. Arena Football League At A Glance By The Associated Press
All Times Eastern
NATIONAL CONFERENCE
Eastern Division
W L T Pct PF PA
Dallas 8 2 0 .800 582 463
New York 6 4 0 .600 536 548
Columbus 5 5 0 .500 447 420
Philadelphia 5 5 0 .500 461 459
Southern Division
Austin 7 3 0 .700 511 453
Georgia 6 4 0 .600 563 463
Tampa Bay 6 4 0 .600 537 535
Orlando 5 4 0 .556 450 457
Kansas City 1 9 0 .100 397 514
AMERICAN CONFERENCE
Central Division
Colorado 6 3 0 .667 468 487
Nashville 6 3 0 .667 452 387
Chicago 4 5 0 .444 460 465
Grand Rapids 3 7 0 .300 458 524
Western Division
Arizona 5 4 0 .556 402 415
Las Vegas 4 5 0 .444 449 470
Los Angeles 3 6 0 .333 439 512
San Jose 3 6 0 .333 471 499
Utah 3 7 0 .300 537 549
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Friday's Game
Austin 43, Philadelphia 38
Saturday's Games
New York 48, Grand Rapids 24
Dallas 51, Columbus 30
Tampa Bay 56, Utah 40
Georgia 55, Kansas City 47
Nashville at Colorado, 9 p.m.
Sunday's Games
Chicago at Orlando, Noon
Arizona at San Jose, 6 p.m.
Los Angeles at Las Vegas, 6 p.m.
Friday, April 7
San Jose at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m.
Arizona at Utah, 9 p.m.
Saturday, April 8
Colorado at Grand Rapids, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 9
Dallas at New York, 1 p.m.
Chicago at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Los Angeles at Kansas City, 1 p.m.
Nashville at Las Vegas, 3 p.m.
Orlando at Columbus, 3 p.m.
Georgia at Austin, 4 p.m.
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-04-01-06 2106MST
(Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-04-01-06 2041MST
