NASHVILLE-Daniel Stevenson kicked five field goals and the Nashville Kats parlayed a ball-control offense to a 22-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Storm in a Week 5 AFL game.
The Kats started the game with a 15-play, 44-yard drive that ended with Stevenson kicking a 53-yard field goal with 9:08 left in the first to put Nashville up 3-0. Tampa Bay and Nashville then traded punts. Then on Tampa Bay's next possession, Orval Stanley was sacked by Lando Reynolds And fumbled. Reynolds then scooped up the fumble and returned it to the Storm 24-yard line. Three plays later, Stevenson added a 39-yard field goal to put the Kats up 6-0 with 1:55 remaining in the first.
Tampa Bay drove toward a potential score, but Johnny Quincey missed a 51-yard field goal attempt early in the second quarter. From there, Nashville sustained a 13-play, 55-yard drive, and Stevenson kicked his third field goal, a 21-yarder, to extend the Kats lead to 9-0 with 6:20 to go in the half. Montrose Gulley returned the ensuing kickoff 38 yards to the Nashville 46. After a 9-play, 23-yard drive, Quincey kicked a 40-yard field goal with 2:42 left in the half to put the Storm on the board, trailing 9-3. Nashville punted on their next drive, and the Storm quickly drove into position for another score, but Quincey missed a 43-yard field goal on the last play of the half.
Nashville caught a break on the second half kickoff, and recovered it on the Storm 39-yard line. After a 6-play, 18-yard drive, Stevenson kicked a 38-yard field goal, his fourth of the game, to make it 12-3 Kats with 10:54 remaining in the third. Tampa Bay answered with an 11-play, 39-yard drive that ended with Quincey making a 41-yard field goal with 5:19 remaining in the third to get within 12-6. Nashville returned the ensuing kickoff 57 yards to the Tampa Bay 34. Seven plays later, Brewster Brickhouse hit Cobey Kingston for a 5-yard touchdown pass with 1:10 to go in the third to make it 19-6 in favor of the Kats.
Tampa Bay punted to end the third quarter. The teams then traded punts again, and the Kats were then able to move the ball 53 yards on 6 plays. Stevenson then kicked his fifth field goal of the game, from 32 yards out, to put Nashville up 22-6 with 9:12 left in the game. After both teams traded punts, Tampa Bay finally seemed to get their offense rolling with a 10-play, 89-yard drive. Stanley put the finishing touches on the drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jefferson Taylor. The two-point conversion was good, and The Storm were down 22-14 with 1:53 left. The Storm kicked the ball deep on the kickoff, hoping to stop the Kats and have some time to drive for the potential tie. But the Kats got a first down, and by the time they punted to the Tampa Bay 9 with 23 seconds left, the Storm had burned all their timeouts and couldn't move quick enough.
Nashville (2-3) gained 271 yards of total offense. The Kats ran for 130 yards on 38 carries. Davis Weems led the team with 74 yards on 17 carries. Brickhouse went 17-for-24 passing for 141 yards and 1 TD, and was not sacked. Vittorio Swane was Nashville's leading receiver with 7 catches for 43 yards. Isaiah Falk caught 5 passes for 44 yards. Kingston caught 3 passes for 27 yards and a TD. Next week, the Kats are on the road against the Arizona Rattlers.
Tampa Bay (3-2) gained 277 yards of total offense. The Storm were held to 32 yards rushing on 12 carries. Taylor led the Storm with 21 yards on 7 carries. He also caught 6 passes for 65 yards and a TD. Stanley went 25-for-37 passing for 280 yards and a TD. He was sacked four times, losing 35 yards. Foster Warhurst caught 6 passes for 94 yards. Vinnie Kirksey also caught 6 passes for 26 yards. The Storm travel to Los Angeles next week to face the Avengers.
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