ROSEMONT, IL-The Tampa Bay Storm lost their seventh consecutive game, and extended an overall 8-game winless streak falling to the Chicago Rush 31-13 in a Week 15 AFL game.
There was no scoring in the first quarter. Wallace Fetters picked off Orval Stanley and returned it 24-yards to the Tampa Bay 23-yard line, but Dete Justen missed a 42-yard field goal attempt. The teams would trade punts until midway through the second quarter when Chicago moved the ball 74 yards on 11 plays. Arman Drummond finished it off with a 21-yard touchdown pass to Roscoe Garrett to put the Rush up 7-0 with 4:12 left in the half. The Storm would punt, and Chicago went on a 5-play, 17-yard drive that ended with Justen kicking a 49-yard field goal with 52 seconds left to give the Rush a 10-0 lead at halftime.
The third quarter had no scoring, either. Both teams punted on their initial possessions, then Tampa Bay drove into scoring range, only for Johnny Quincey to miss a 22-yard field goal. Allie Navarro would intercept a Drummond pass at the Chicago 27-yard line. Quincey would try a 39-yard field goal attempt, but it sailed wide. Following the miss, the Rush went on a 9-play, 71-yard drive that ended with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Drummond to Zach Allen giving Chicago a 17-0 lead with 14:49 left in the fourth quarter.
Stanley would fumble on Tampa Bay's ensuing drive, and Loren Wilkerson recovered at the Storm 29-yard line. On the next play, Keith Headrick ran for a 29-yard touchdown to make it 24-0 with 13:48 left in the fourth. Navarro would take the ensuing kickoff and return it 54 yards to the Rush 43-yard line. Five plays later, Tampa Bay finally got on the board with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Stanley to Foster Warhurst. The 2-Point Conversion failed, and the Storm were down 24-6 with 12:02 to go. An onside kick failed, and Chicago took two plays to drive 37 yards for a touchdown. Drummond finished it off with a 4-yard touchdown pass to Headrick to make it 31-6 with 11:07 to go in the game. After a trade of punts, Tampa Bay drove to the Chicago 27-yard line but were turned away on fourth down. After the Rush punted to the Tampa Bay 9-yard line with 1:49 remaining, the Storm moved 91 yards on 12 plays, and Stanley threw an 11-yard touchdown pass to Greg Ponder on the final play of the game to make the final score 31-13.
Chicago (7-8) gained 313 yards of total offense. The Rush gained 159 yards rushing on 29 carries. Drummond and Headrick each ran for 48 yards (9 carries for Drummond, 2 for Headrick with a TD), and Lonnie Clements gained 47 yards on 12 carries. Drummond was 14-of-25 passing for 174 yards, 3 TD and 2 INT. He was sacked twice, losing 20 yards. Headrick was Chicago's leading receiver with 4 catches for 32 yards and a TD. The Rush will finish their season in Orlando against the Predators.
Tampa Bay (5-9-1) gained 379 yards of total offense. The Storm ran for 69 yards on 20 carries. Stanley was Tampa Bay's leading rusher with 29 yards on 8 carries. He also went 31-of-55 passing for 327 yards, 2 TD and 1 INT. He was sacked twice, losing 17 yards. Warhurst led Tampa Bay's receivers with 10 catches for 107 yards and a TD. The Storm will finish up their season against the Milwaukee Mustangs.
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