ORLANDO-Three fourth quarter touchdowns by the Orlando Predators turned a close game against the Tampa Bay Storm into a 41-14 rout in a Week 13 AFL game.
Orlando got the ball rolling with an 11-play, 50-yard drive ending with a 43-yard field goal by Abel White to take a 3-0 lead with 9:28 left in the first quarter. The Storm answered back with a 9-play, 67-yard drive. Orval Stanley completed the drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Greg Ponder giving the Storm a 7-3 lead with 4:35 to go in the first. Tampa Bay struck again quickly when Drake Cushing intercepted a Ramon Roden pass and took it back 22 yards for a pick-six and a 14-3 Storm lead with 4:04 remaining in the first quarter.
The score remained that way until late in the second quarter, when the Predators embarked on a 6-play, 80-yard drive capped off with Roden scrambling 15 yards for a touchdown to make it 14-10 with 1:51 left in the half. On the ensuing kickoff, Hack Jarrod fumbled the return and Cleveland Whitaker recovered for the Predators at the Storm 29-yard line. Seven plays later, Roden hit Farren Smithson for a 13-yard touchdown pass with 3 seconds left to give Orlando a 17-14 lead at halftime.
There was not much action in the third quarter. After the teams traded punts, Orlando got a break when Steve Trevathan intercepted Stanley and returned it 23 yards to the Tampa Bay 34-yard line. After netting four yards on four plays, White kicked a 47-yard field goal to extend the lead to 20-14 with 4:13 to go in the third.
Following a fumble by Foster Warhurst that Ringo Flack took 17 yards to the Predators' 48-yard line, Orlando went 52 yards on 11 plays, ending with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Roden to Leonard Irving to make it 27-14 with 13:32 to go in the fourth quarter. After a Tampa Bay punt, Orlando held onto the ball for a 17-play, 85-yard drive that included a fake punt by Yannel Fletcher who completed a 24-yard pass to Shannon Modelevsky. The 9-minute drive ended with Roden tossing a 3-yard touchdown pass to Caleb Doering to put the Predators up 34-14 with 1:52 to go in the game. After the Storm failed on fourth down, the Predators ran a 4-play, 26-yard drive that ended with a 5-yard touchdown run by D.J. Giles with 31 seconds left to give the final 41-14 score.
Orlando (6-7) gained 381 yards of total offense. The Predators ran for 87 yards on 30 carries. Giles led the team with 50 yards on 21 carries and a TD. Roden went 31-of-45 passing for 275 yards, 3 TD and 1 INT. He was sacked twice, losing 5 yards. Irving was Orlando's leading receiver, catching 8 passes for 57 yards and a TD. The Predators will host the San Jose Sabercats next week.
Tampa Bay (5-7-1) gained 142 yards of total offense. The Storm were held to 42 yards rushing on 21 carries. Jefferson Taylor led the team with 29 yards on 9 carries. Stanley went 12-of-28 passing for 126 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT. He was sacked three times, losing 26 yards. Warhurst led the receivers with 6 catches for 58 yards. Next week, the Storm will host the Arizona Rattlers.
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