News Archive

07/01/97 - July brings forth more roster shuffling as the Storm waves goodbye to QB Dan White and says hello to WR/DB Wayne Walker and OL/DL Earl Scott. White, signed in the preseason to backup starter Peter Tom Willis, was deactivated for the last two games after the Storm signed former Detroit Drive QB Ron Adams. Walker is a four-year NFL veteran, while Scott spent last spring as the starting center for the Amsterdam Admirals of the World League.

07/02/97 - The Storm signed FB/LB Andre Bowden to the active roster. Bowden spent the spring as a starting outside linebacker for the Frankfurt Galaxy of the World League and has bounced around that league and the NFL for the last three years since leaving the Storm following the 1993 season. A Storm star from 1991 to 1993, he is the Storm's all-time leader in rushes, rushing yardage, rushing touchdowns and sacks.

07/03/97 - The Storm officially added FB/LB Andre Bowden to the roster. To make room, WR/DB Damacio Green was placed on the injured reserve list. Green has not yet played a down for the Storm in 1997, as he has been deactivated for every game since he was signed on May 28.

07/05/97 - Tracey Perkins picked off two passes and Stevie Thomas and Tracy Sanders each added interceptions as the Storm won on the road for the first time since May, defeating the Texas Terror 40-31 at the Summit in Houston on Saturday night. Perkins scored on one of his grabs, sprinting 11 yards for a touchdown that gave the Storm a 14-13 second quarter lead. Game Coverage

07/09/97 - The Storm held OS George LaFrance out of practice for the third straight day on Wednesday. LaFrance suffered an injury to his right ankle during Saturday's 40-31 win over Texas. LaFrance spent practice on the sidelines soaking his ankle in a Gatorade bucket filled with ice. In addition, FB/LB Tony Jones missed the second half of practice with an injury to his left ankle.

07/10/97 - The Storm made more roster moves on Thursday, though no players were let go from the team. Tampa Bay placed WR/DB Wayne Williams, lineman Michael Thornton and FB/LB Cedric McKinnon on the injured reserve list. The Storm then recalled lineman Lynn Rowland from the injured reserve list. Rowland had the team's first sack of the season against Nashville on May 23 before leaving later that game with torn ankle ligaments. Tampa Bay then moved lineman Jerald Jeffcoat from the exempt list to the active roster. Jeffcoat played for the Storm in 1994, then left for the World League before rejoining the team on July 25 of last year. To fill out the roster, the Storm signed WR/DB Cornell Parker.

07/12/97 - FB/LB Andre Bowden scored four rushing touchdowns and added a sack and a fumble recovery to lead the Storm to a 68-43 win over the Anaheim Piranhas in front of 13,542 at the Ice Palace on Saturday night. The 68 points were the most since a 69-48 triumph over Arizona in Week 14 of last season and the third-most in team history. Game Coverage

07/15/97 - FB/LB Andre Bowden has been named Ironman of the Week by the Arena Football League for his performance in the Storm's 68-43 victory over the Anaheim Piranhas.

07/19/97 - Tampa Bay allowed Iowa to score 16 unanswered points to close the game as the Barnstormers defeated the Storm 61-38 in front of 11,818 at the Ice Palace. The Storm grabbed a 22-14 second quarter lead before the Barnstormers caught up, taking the lead for good on a 32-yard interception return by Leonard Conley. On the plus side, DS Tracey Perkins picked off two passes to push his season total to 11. That ties a league single-season record. Game Coverage

7/25/97 - Tampa Bay's roster moves never seem to stop. The Storm suspended WR/DB Grantis Bell on Thursday. Bell hadn't played since the 68-43 win over Texas on July 5. Tampa Bay also placed WR/DB Larry Kennedy on injured reserve; he missed last week's game with a hamstring injury. The injury was slow to heal and kept him out of practice this week. To fill the slots on the roster, Tampa Bay activated WR/DB Wayne Williams off of injured reserve and signed WR/LB Jack Kellogg.

7/26/97 - DS Tracey Perkins picked off a pass to become the league's all-time leader in single season interceptions, and FB/LB Andre Bowden scored four touchdowns and added two sacks to lead the Storm to a decisive 48-22 win over the Florida Bobcats in front of 12,460 at the Ice Palace on Saturday night. Tampa Bay clinched a non-losing record for the seventh straight season and won for the third time in the last four games by holding the Bobcats to just 183 total yards and ten first downs. The Bobcats lone highlight came when kicker Walter Grant nailed a 58-yard field goal. To our knowledge, it's the longest field goal ever made against the Storm. Game Coverage

8/2/97 - In a wild, wooly finish to the season, the Tampa Bay Storm (8-6) clinched a playoff spot and a winning record by trouncing the San Jose SaberCats (8-6) 58-34 in front of 15,240 at the San Jose Arena on Saturday night. Tampa Bay set an Arena Football single game record by scoring three safeties. All of the two-pointers came in the third quarter, a feat that is probably unparalleled in the entire of professional football. Game Coverage

Thanks to Iowa's 76-64 win over Albany earlier on Saturday night, the Storm did not need to win this game to get into the playoffs. However, by winning, the Storm weaseled their way into the sixth seed of the playoffs. The Storm will be matched up with the third-seeded Nashville Kats in a rematch of a game on May 23. The Storm won that one 42-26.

First Round Schedule...

- No. 7 San Jose (8-6) at No. 2 Iowa (11-3), 7:00 p.m. CDT Friday.
- No. 5 New Jersey (9-5) at No. 4 Orlando (10-4), 7:30 p.m. EDT Friday.
- No. 8 Milwaukee (8-6) at No. 1 Arizona (12-2), 5:00 p.m. MST Saturday.
- No. 6 Tampa Bay (8-6) at No. 3 Nashville (10-4), 7:00 p.m. CDT Sunday.

8/8/97 - Barry Wagner scored four touchdowns, including one after partially tearing a knee ligament as the Orlando Predators turned away the upstart New Jersey Red Dogs 45-37 in front of 15,270 at the Orlando Arena on Friday night. Wagner suffered the injury on a two-point conversion attempt in the third quarter as he leaped for a Pat O'Hara pass that ended up falling incomplete. New Jersey had a chance to tie the score, gaining first-and-goal at the Orlando five-yard-line with 13 seconds left in the game. However, three straight Aaron Garcia passes fell incomplete in the end zone as time ran out. A half hour later, Iowa joined Orlando in the second round with a 68-59 comeback win over San Jose. Game Coverage

8/10/97 - Weakened by injuries, the Storm went into the Nashville Arena without the services of team leaders Stevie Thomas and Tracey Perkins for the first time all season. Some expected the Storm to curl up and die. However, this team showed its fight, heart and determination with a courageous 52-49 win on Sunday night. Tampa Bay and Nashville exchanged touchdowns before the Storm surged ahead for good on a 31-yard touchdown pass from Peter Tom Willis to Lawrence Samuels. The Storm's lead grew to 17 points on two occasions before Nashville came back to within three with one second remaining. However, when OS George LaFrance fielded the ensuing kickoff cleanly and ran out of bounds to run out the clock, the Storm was safely into the second round. There, they will face Arizona in a rematch of last year's scintillating 55-54 Storm semifinal win at the ThunderDome. Game Coverage

First Round Results...

Second Round Schedule...

08/12/97 - The Storm started practicing for this weekend's playoff tussle with Arizona, and did so under some unusual circumstances. First of all, they practiced outside for the first time since before Week Seven, due to the setup of ice in the Ice Palace and preparations for a concert by The Who on Friday night. The outdoor workout in 95-degree heat commenced at 11:30 a.m., and saw DS Tracey Perkins run for the first time in nearly two weeks. "I feel great," Perkins said. "I'll be ready to go on Saturday." Perk's ailing hamstring appears healed, evidenced by the fact that he ran a lap on the track at Pepin-Rood Stadium on the University of Tampa practice and was in full stride. Sitting out practice was WR/LB Stevie Thomas, who continues to nurse his thumb injury. Also missing practice were linemen Willie Wyatt and Terry Beauford, as well as backup QB Ron Adams. Wyatt and Adams have job commitments this week (both are teachers) and are expected to join the team in Phoenix this weekend. Beauford should be back in Tampa before the end of the week; he is in Tallahassee attending to some personal business.

08/16/97 - Arizona backup quarterback Donnie Davis, subbing for injured starter Sherdrick Bonner, tossed a 13-yard touchdown pass to Randy Gatewood in overtime to give the Rattlers (14-2) a 49-46 win over the Tampa Bay Storm in front of 15,749 at the America West Arena and a national TV audience on ESPN on Saturday night. Davis came in for Bonner when Storm lineman Sylvester Bembery rolled over Bonner's leg, breaking his fibula. The Storm had numerous chances to take control, most notably when they had a first-and-goal with two minutes left and a tie score. But QB Peter Tom Willis' pass into the end zone was intercepted by the Rattlers' Shawn Parnell. The loss marks the first time in coach Tim Marcum's nine-season AFL career that he has not taken his team to the ArenaBowl. In addition, the Storm's loss, coupled with Orlando's defeat at Iowa, means that no Florida team will make the ArenaBowl for the first time since the Preds and Storm entered the league in 1991. Game Coverage

Second Round Results...

ArenaBowl XI...