Sports: Defense not blamed for worst defeat

Defense not blamed for worst defeat

By FRANK PASTOR

TAMPA -- The tone was set on Indiana's second offensive play, when the Storm's Clinton Hart slammed Firebirds receiver Eddie Brown into the boards after a 6-yard reception.

Brown, the Arena Football League's leading scorer with 45 touchdowns, jumped up and started jawing with Hart.

"He was like, 'You're going to have to bring it all game,' " Hart said. "I said, 'I'm going to bring it. I'm going to be here.' "

Brown caught 10 passes for 93 yards and three touchdowns in Indiana's 68-31 victory, but Hart and the young defensive squad held their own against one of the league's most experienced receiving corps.

Playing without Bernard Edwards and losing Dwight Henry to a knee injury, the defense yielded 47 of Indiana's points but could not overcome six turnovers.

"I thought those kids did a good job of covering down the field," Storm coach Tim Marcum said. "That certainly wasn't the element of the game that cost us."

TURNING POINT: Trailing 10-3 in the second quarter, the Storm appeared to have stopped Indiana, but linebacker Andre Bowden was penalized for illegal defense after he rushed from the outside on a Firebirds pooch kick.

The 5-yard penalty gave Indiana a first down and set up Raymond Philyaw's 27-yard touchdown pass to Brown.

Marcum said Indiana wide receiver Greg Hopkins admitted he left the line of scrimmage before the ball was kicked, making Bowden's rush legal.

"At one point, it got me down," said Bowden, an eight-year AFL veteran. "But I was just playing football. That's what I was taught to do. I've been playing this game for so long, I know the rules."

BIG FOOT: Nelson Garner's 57-yard field goal was the second-longest in playoff history. Tampa Bay's Mike Black set the record with a 58-yarder last year, when he played with Buffalo.

MAKING HISTORY: The 37-point loss was the worst in Storm history, eclipsing a 33-point defeat last season at Albany. The loss also was the worst by a home team in the playoffs, bettering the Storm's 31-point shellacking by Orlando in ArenaBowl XII.