Tampa Bay falls 54-43 at Carolina, which hadn't won a home game in more than a season since moving to Charlotte.
By HERB WHITE
Published March 22, 2004
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - It's not too early for Tampa Bay to play the remainder of the Arena Football League season with a sense of urgency.
The Storm lost to Carolina 54-43 Sunday at Charlotte Coliseum, the Cobras' first win in Charlotte since the franchise relocated from Raleigh a season ago. Tampa Bay fell to 2-5, reducing the Storm's margin of error if it hopes to make the playoffs.
"I think we're probably panicking," Storm coach Tim Marcus said. "If we run the table we could go (10-6) but I think nine (wins) will get you in the playoffs, and that's what we've got to shoot for now. We're going to try to win them all, it doesn't matter who we're playing. We're going to get this thing improved and get back on track."
Tampa Bay was in position to hand Carolina its fifth straight loss, but stumbled during a second-half meltdown in which the Cobras scored 24 unanswered points. The Storm hurt its cause by throwing an interception on the first drive of the third quarter, then missing a fourth-down pass at the Carolina 14.
The Cobras turned both into touchdowns and Tampa Bay's 29-21 halftime advantage turned into a two-point deficit from which it couldn't recover.
"Offensively, we stalled and obviously some of that was me," said Storm quarterback Pat O'Hara, who completed 25-of-43 passes for 249 yards, six touchdowns and two interceptions. "We had some new faces on offense this week and we struggled on special teams. It was kind of demeaning. It kind of let the air out a little bit. The only bright spot was the defense."
Otis Moore's interception of an O'Hara pass on the initial possession of the second half set the tone for Carolina's rally. The Cobras held on three fourth-down conversion attempts and shut out Tampa Bay in the third.
"The guys have been playing hard, but unfortunately, the last game (in a loss to Dallas), we didn't show the fans how hard we've been playing," Moore said. "We just wanted to take it upon ourselves and make something happen to start this season all over again."
"The interception there with a wide-open fullback out in the flat and then come back in the next series and miss a guy wide open in the end zone," Marcus said, "those two possessions turned the game around."
Tampa Bay couldn't stop Carolina's Jarrick Hillery, who scored four times, twice on kick returns of 58 and 57 yards. The Storm outgained Carolina 248-169, but the Cobras' 217-137 advantage in kickoff returns and two scores swung the tide their way.
"It was totally my teammates. I didn't do anything special," Hillery said. "I was just fortunate enough to be on the return at the time when we had the perfect blocking scheme."
Tampa Bay fell behind 14-3 after Hillery's 58-yard kick return with 4:17 left in the first quarter, but the Storm rallied to pull ahead 29-21 at the break. O'Hara hit 13-of-14 passes for 151 yards in the half, with Clif Dell accounting for 74 and two scores.
Tampa Bay outgained Carolina 150-91 and the Storm defense came up with a couple of big stops, including a fumble recovery that led to O'Hara's 11-yard pass to Antoine Toliver for an eight-point advantage. But Carolina's comeback left the Storm to figure what to do to save its season.
"Regardless of whether they're 5-1 or if they're 2-4, we think we can win each and every time," Marcus said. "We're 2-5 now and we've got to move forward with what we've got. We'll see what we're made of now."
For Carolina, winning at home was a sweet end to a week that started with the firing of coach Eddie Khayat after four straight losses. New coach John Gregory called a more daring offensive scheme, and the Cobras responded.
"We played terrible at home the first three games," Hillery said. "We just had to come and perform for the fans and show them this is a different Carolina Cobras team from last year. It feels great to win."
The Storm needs to get that feeling quickly.
"We need a win any way we can get it at this point," O'Hara said. "You can imagine sitting there at 2-5, it's hard to even say 2-5. We're not used to that and we certainly feel that we're personnel-wise 2-5 and that's the million-dollar question: what's it going to take to win?"
Sunday's games
CHICAGO 58, ORLANDO 15: The host Rush kept its lead in the Central Division by routing the Predators on Sunday.
The 43-point margin of victory was the largest in Rush history.
Chicago forced three turnovers in the first half in building a 20-point lead. One of those, a sack by defensive lineman Frank Moore, forced a fumble by former Bucs quarterback Joe Hamilton. Moore recovered in the end zone.
Hamilton sprained his knee on the play and backup Connell Maynor replaced him. On his first snap, Maynor fumbled the ball twice before it was recovered by Bob McMillen for the Rush.
COLORADO 44, PHILLY 33: John Dutton threw for 247 yards and four touchdowns to lead the visiting Crush.
Dutton, leading the team owned by John Elway, hit Damian Harrell for three touchdowns and 160 yards. Rashad Floyd added two interceptions and a key deflection for the Crush.
The Soul, owned by Jon Bon Jovi, got two touchdowns rushing by Chris Ryan. Ryan's second score brought Philadelphia within a point, but Ken Hinsley missed the extra point.
Colorado then took a seven-point lead on Dutton's final touchdown pass, to Kamau Peterson.
LOS ANGELES 60, DALLAS 44: Tony Graziani threw six touchdowns to lead the visiting Avengers, who snapped the Desperados' five-game winning streak.
Chris Jackson had eight receptions for 79 yards and two scores for Los Angeles.
Backup quarterback Walter Church threw for five touchdowns after replacing injured Glen Gauntt in the second half. Gauntt, a former quarterback at South Florida, left with a sprained left knee.
Will Pettis led all Desperados receivers with seven catches for 106 yards and three scores.
LATE SATURDAY: Mark Grieb was 15-of-18 for 228 yards and three TDs in San Jose's 79-62 victory over visiting Las Vegas.
Barry Wagner and Matt Kinsinger each ran for two touchdowns for American Conference-leading San Jose. Clint Dolezel was 31-of-50 for 451 yards and nine touchdowns for Las Vegas.
