ATLANTA-The Tampa Bay Storm used a ground attack that would've impressed the Marines and four field goals by Johnny Quincey to beat the Georgia Force 26-13 in a Week 4 AFL game.
The Storm started out early with a balanced seven-play, 83-yard drive. Jefferson Taylor ended the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run to put Tampa Bay up 7-0 with 10:53 left in the first quarter. Georgia went three-and-out on their next possession, and Tampa Bay followed up with a 6-play, 29-yard drive that ended with a Quincey 43-yard field goal to put the Storm up 10-0 with 7:31 left in the first quarter. Georgia started to get a drive of their own going, but it was thwarted when Paden Bonewell fumbled and Mitch Fixx recovered for the Storm and returned it to the Storm's 36-yard line. From there, Tampa Bay moved 32 yards on 4 plays, and Quincey added a 49-yard field goal with 2:28 left in the first to make it 13-0 in favor of the Storm.
Georgia punted again late in the first, and stuck Tampa Bay on their own 4-yard line. But the Storm were undeterred and drove the ball 87 yards on 16 plays, ending it with another Quincey field goal, this one from 26 yards to go ahead 16-0 with 7:48 remaining in the half. The Force got the ball on their next possession and drove into position for Wilbur Ahmad to attempt a 43-yard field goal with 3:12 to go in the half. Butch Vance of the Storm managed to partially block it, and the attempt failed. Tampa Bay's Thurman Stapleton fumbled on the next play, and Georgia's Sputnik Havner recovered at the Storm 36-yard line. But Georgia couldn't make anything out of it as Clem Foulks would fumble on a handoff and Trent Josephs recovered for the Storm at their own 28. Neither team would make a scoring threat for the remainder of the half.
The teams traded punts to start the second half, and Georgia would later drive 59 yards on 6 plays, ending it when Norm Damron hit Bonewell on a 1-yard touchdown pass, the Force went for two and failed, and found themselves trailing 16-6 with 5:41 left in the third. Tampa Bay looked to march down for another score, but Orval Stanley's pass was picked off by Georgia's Ward Hilton at his own 25-yard line.
After the interception, the Force were on the move again, going 75 yards on 13 plays. Damron threw his second touchdown of the game, a 4-yard pass to Gevan Crafton to close the gap to 16-13 with 12:04 remaining in the game. However, Tampa Bay was quick to respond, with a 7-play, 67-yard drive. Willie Zachary put an exclamation point on the drive with a 35-yard sprint into the end zone with 8:48 to go, making it 23-13, Storm. Georgia couldn't do much after that, and Tampa Bay rattled off a clock-consuming, 12-play, 64-yard drive that ended with Quincey's fourth field goal, a 38-yarder with 17 seconds to go to put an end to the scoring at 26-13.
Tampa Bay (3-1) gained 450 yards of total offense. The Storm gained 202 yards rushing on 34 carries. No one rusher stood out for Tampa Bay, as Zachary (4-52, TD), Vinnie Kirksey (10-49), Taylor (11-43, TD), and Stanley (6-42) all had big runs at one point or another. Stanley was 18-for-29 passing for 261 yards and 1 INT. He was sacked three times, losing 13 yards. Von Windle was the Storm's leading receiver with 6 catches for 95 yards. Next week, the Storm visit the Nashville Kats.
Georgia (1-3) gained 302 yards of total offense. The Force gained 60 yards rushing on 15 carries. Foulks was the Force's leading rusher with 33 yards on 7 carries. Damron was 26-for-33 passing for 264 yards, 2 TD and 2 INT. He was sacked three times, losing 22 yards. Crafton caught 6 passes for 80 yards and a TD. Bonewell caught 4 passes for 36 yards and a TD. Aaron Sidney caught 6 passes for 48 yards. The Force host the Orlando Predators next week.
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