New York prevents the winning TD by knocking the ball out of Lawrence Samuels' hands.
By FRANK PASTOR
Published March 15, 2004
TAMPA - With one-minute timing rules, the final 60 seconds of an Arena game can take five to 10 minutes to complete.
Sunday against New York, two seconds must have seemed like an eternity to the Storm.
That's how long receiver Lawrence Samuels believed he had the ball in the end zone on the final play before Terrance Joseph knocked it loose. But officials ruled Samuels didn't have possession, and the Dragons escaped with a 40-35 victory in front of an announced 13,904 at the St. Pete Times Forum.
"How long do I have to hold the ball?" he said. "Do I have to hold the ball forever? The guy swatted the ball, and I held it for like two seconds. Last week, the New Orleans guy didn't even come down with it and they gave him a catch."
The call ended a comeback during which the Storm scored 21 of the final 28 points to pull within five after trailing by 19 in the third. After a Jonathan Ordway interception, Tampa Bay drove 34 yards to the New York 3 with four seconds remaining. But without Samuels' catch, it all went for naught.
"He had the ball for at least two counts, maybe three counts," Storm coach Tim Marcum said. "He's standing there holding the ball. His feet are down on the ground. And then the guy rips it out. But it's a touchdown."
Instead, the defending champion Storm (2-4) was left searching for answers after its fourth loss in five weeks. New York's Lincoln DuPree returned a kickoff and missed field goal for touchdowns, and the Dragons (3-3) led 20-0. .
"We played so (badly) the first part of the game and so (badly) the first part of the second half," Marcum said. "Why we don't come out with our guns blazing and come out with emotion and come out and play is beyond me."
Aaron Garcia, the league's all-time leader in touchdown passes, was held to 130 passing yards but threw two touchdowns to Richmond Flowers and two to DuPree. Garcia benefitted from a line that allowed a Darion Conner sack but otherwise gave him plenty of time.
"We just knew they were going to be tough, especially up front," Garcia said. "They coordinate their pass rush with their secondary better than anybody. They did it (Sunday), and we just wanted to score points and win the game. And we were lucky to do that."
Storm quarterback Pat O'Hara tied a career high with 25 completions in a career-high 49 attempts in his first start since joining the Storm last season. His 255 yards put him over 13,000 for his career.
Constant pressure left O'Hara bloodied and bruised and forced Tampa Bay to shorten its drops and throw underneath.
"Some of that's me standing in there trying to make a play, too," he said. "But I think all the way around, we need to get better."
A T.T. Toliver kickoff return for a touchdown was nullified because of a holding penalty on David White. The second of DuPree's returns also drew a flag, but officials decided no holding occurred. The score gave New York a 33-14 lead with 10:48 left in the third. But the Storm defense toughened, and touchdown passes of 16, 2 and 11 yards to Freddie Solomon cut the deficit to 40-35 with 50 seconds to play.
Samuels believed he made the play to complete the comeback, but officials ruled otherwise.
"It shouldn't have boiled down to that last play," Marcum said. "But it did, and I think the (official) missed it."
