April 30th, 2005

TAMPA BAY -- Kicker Matt George led the way with a career night as
the Tampa Bay Storm leapfrogged the New Orleans VooDoo for the fourth
and final playoff spot with a 47-36 win over the VooDoo in front of
16,005 fans at the St. Pete Times Forum on Saturday night.

George made four field goals, including a season high 38-yarder, and
four extra points for 16 points and led the Storm in points for the
game. He also set a record for most field goals in a season with
16. It was the most since Mike Black had 15 three-pointers in 2002.
Thanks to the win Tampa Bay joined the playoff party and improved to
8-5 on the season. If the playoffs started today they would be the
fourth seed. They are now half a game behind Orlando for second
place in the Southern Division and the third playoff seed.

Jonathan Ordway set a Tampa Bay record for most tackles in a game
with 14.5. The previous record was set by Antoine Worthman when he
recorded 12.0 tackles against Milwaukee on July 8, 2000. Quarterback
Shane Stafford completed 24 of 34 passes for 215 yards and two
touchdowns. He also ran for two scores.

The Storm got the ball first and started their opening drive from the
11-yard line. Rookie Demetris Bendross wasted no time getting into
the game, hauling in a 39-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Shane
Stafford on the first play for his first career touchdown catch. The
Storm defense appeared to have a stop on the next VooDoo drive, but
the New Orleans offense converted on a fourth and two for a new set
of downs. They made good of the extra chance when Andy Kelly
connected with Carl Bond for a 12-yard touchdown pass.

Tampa Bay came out with great field position on its next drive after
VooDoo kicker Brian Schmitz booted the ball out of bounds. The Storm
offense, aided by a face mask penalty, drove down the field and
Stafford showed off his nimble feet as he danced his way to a four-
yard touchdown run to put Tampa Bay up by seven.

The Storm defense was then able to hold the New Orleans to a 60-yard
field goal attempt which Schmitz missed short, but Bendross brought
the kick out of the end zone and was forced back in for a safety to
give the VooDoo two more points. On the ensuing kickoff Aaron Bailey
returned the kick to the Storm 22. The New Orleans offense looked to
be on their way from more points until Anthony Derricks stepped in
front of a pass from Kelly to Bailey for his second interception of
the year. He returned the pick to the Storm eight and the offense
took over.

The Tampa Bay offense drove the ball down the field with the help of
three passes to Derricks. Stafford again showed off his legs as he
ran the ball in from the one to give the Storm a 21-9 lead with 8:41
remaining in the second quarter. It was the first time this season
the Storm quarterback had run for two touchdowns in a game as the
Storm matched their offense output from the previous week. On the
VooDoo's next drive the Storm defense held them to fourth and goal
from the eight, but Kelly connected with Bond again for six points.
Schmitz connected on the extra point to cut the Tampa Bay lead to
five.

The VooDoo attempted an on-side kick on the next play, but Ronney
Daniels fell on the ball for the Storm and they took over on the New
Orleans 17. After a completed pass to Clif Dell, Stafford connected
with Daniels who fought off defenders and found the end zone for a
seven-yard touchdown. New Orleans began their next drive from their
own five, and Kelly led the offense on a 45-yard drive that was
capped with a five-yard pass to Jacques Rumph to make the score 28-23
with 17 seconds remaining in the first half.

The Storm got the ball with enough time for a pass to Lawrence
Samuels to set up a 38-yard field goal by Matt George, his longest of
the season, to give Tampa Bay a 31-23 lead at the half.

New Orleans got the ball to start the second half with a chance to
cut into the lead. The Storm defense held their ground and only
allowed Kelly and Co. to reach their own seven-yard line. Schmitz
was short on the field goal attempt and Derricks returned the ball to
his own eight. Stafford led the offense to the VooDoo three but the
Storm were unable to get in the end zone and George connected on a 28-
yard field goal to put Tampa Bay up by 11.

On the ensuing kickoff the ball bounced off the iron and bounced into
the hands of Lynaris Elpheage to give the Storm the ball on the New
Orleans two. After a penalty pushed them back to the seven, Tampa
Bay again failed to find pay dirt and settled for a 34-yard field
goal. It appeared the VooDoo had cut the lead but Rumph was called
for pass interference against Storm DS Jonathan Ordway to put them
back to the Tampa Bay 18. However, New Orleans finished the drive
with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Kelly to Bond. It was the third
time they connected for a score in the game.

Samuels caught three passes on the next drive and the Storm offense
drove the ball to the VooDoo 1-yard line but a quarterback sweep by
Stafford was stopped and they settled for a 19-yard field goal. The
kick set a Storm record with four field goals made in the game. With
7:07 remaining in the game the Storm led, 40-30. New Orleans started
their next drive needing a touchdown and extra point to pull within
three. The Tampa Bay defense held strong until a fourth and goal
from the three when Kelly hooked up with Bailey for the score. The
extra point was blocked by Jarrod Penright.

Daniels again jumped on the on-side kick and the Storm offense took
over at the 11 with less than a minute left in the contest. Penright
punched the ball in from the two to put the Storm up by 11 with 42
seconds remaining in the game. The VooDoo then took over at their
own 18 needing to score to stay in the game. With 10 ticks left on
the clock New Orleans had the ball at the Storm 17. The clock
expired as Tramain Jones broke up a pass from Kelly to Bond in the
end zone.

The Storm will look to build upon the win and improve their place in
the playoff standings in Georgia next weekend, when they take on the
Southern Division leading Force on Sunday at 1:00 (NBC).