ALBANY, NY-The Albany Firebirds rose up and stopped the Tampa Bay Storm on 4th down in the red zone to come away with a 20-13 victory in their home opener during Week 3 of the AFL season.
Albany punted on their first possession, but Tampa Bay HB Jefferson Taylor fumbled the ball, and Stanford Barbee recovered on the Storm 38-yard line. Nine plays later, Scooter Colby scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 7:17 left to take a 7-0 lead. Tampa bay punted on their following drive, but Trent Josephs intercepted a Sinbad Gargaro pass and returned it to his own 40-yard line. Six plays later, Orval Stanley threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Von Windle to tie the game at 7 with 1:10 remaining in the quarter.
The teams traded punts in the second quarter. Tampa Bay drove into position for Johnny Quincey to attempt a 52-yard field goal with 6:37 left in the second quarter, and he missed it. The Firebirds then went on a 6-play, 58-yard drive that ended with a 10-yard touchdown run by Abdul Fowler with 4:14 to go in the half, and Albany jumped in front, 14-7. The Storm would punt, and it was downed on the Albany 1-yard line. The Firebirds initally looked to run out the clock, but Gargaro actually threw an ill-advised pass that was intercepted by Drake Cushing and returned to the 13-yard line. After three plays gained 8 yards, Quincey drilled a 22-yard field goal with 11 seconds left in the half to go into halftime trailing 14-10.
The Storm got the ball to start the second half, and moved the ball 44 yards on 6 plays. Quincey kicked his second field goal of the game, a 36-yarder, to make it 14-13 with 11:38 left in the third quarter. The Firebirds drove from their own 18-yard line to the Tampa Bay 11, but Gargaro fumbled the snap, and Weldon Erhart recovered for the Storm at the 12. The Storm moved the ball to their own 43, but punted to the Firebirds' 12 yard line.
The teams traded punts early in the fourth quarter. The Firebirds would subsequently take just three plays to move the ball 61 yards. Gargaro hit Colby on a 37-yard touchdown pass with 10:55 to go in the fourth quarter. Dom Wenning missed the extra point, and the score was 20-13 in favor of the Firebirds. Tampa Bay would start the next drive on its own 20-yard line. Taylor gained 10 on a run. Thurman Stapleton ran for 13. Stapleton gained 3 on another run, and after an incomplete pass, Taylor gained 24 on a pass and a first down at the Albany 30. Windle gained 7 on a pass, and Foster Warhurst picked up 4 for another first down catch. After another incompletion, Warhurst caught another pass for a gain of 4. Stanley's next pass fell incomplete, and Tampa Bay faced a fourth-and-six at the Firebirds' 16 with 6:05 to go. Choosing to try to tie the game with a touchdown, Warhurst was swamped after catching a pass well short of the marker, and the Storm turned it over on downs. Albany went conservative on the ensuing drive, and although Wenning missed a 32-yard field goal attempt with 56 seconds left, they did make Tampa Bay use all their timeouts, and the Storm could not move down the field quickly enough.
Albany (2-1) gained 420 yards of total offense. The Firebirds gained 122 yards rushing on 31 carries. Colby led the Firebird rushing attack with 52 yards on 8 carries and a TD. He also caught 2 passes for 53 yards and a TD. Fowler gained 27 yards rushing on 12 carries and a TD. Gargaro was 19-for-35 passing for 311 yards, 1 TD and 2 INT. He was sacked once, losing 13 yards. Teddy Harley was Albany's leading receiver with 7 catches for 109 yards. Albany hosts the Grand Rapids Rampage next week.
Tampa Bay (2-1) gained 320 yards of total offense. The Storm gained gained 108 yards on 26 rushing attempts. Willie Zachary led the Storm with 39 yards on 8 carries. Stanley was 22-for-35 passing for 226 yards and 1 TD. He was sacked twice, losing 14 yards. Warhurst led the Storm with 8 receptions for 70 yards. Windle caught 5 passes for 65 yards and a TD. Tampa Bay goes on the road next week against the Georgia Force.
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