1995 Tampa Bay Storm

Team owner Woody Kern said of the new coach, "He's got a pedigree of winning football games, and I expect him to win football games. He has 100 percent of control over the operations of the team. I'm not going to interfere with that. I don't know enough about football to question him."

For some time it appeared as if the team would be without its star quarterback, as Jay Gruden followed Lary Kuharich to the World League. There seemed to be some personality conflicts within the coaching staff over in Scotland, ironically involving former Buccaneer Doug Williams. Before it was over, Jay Gruden was headed back to the Storm and Lary Kuharich left the Scottish Claymores. Tampa Bay picked up former Orlando place kicker Jorge Cimadevilla in a trade with Connecticut for Les Barley. Lineman Willie Wyatt, who had started eight games for the Buccaneers in 1990, also joined the team. When the Cleveland Thunderbolts folded, the Storm picked up former Bethune-Cookman running back Cedric McKinnon and former Illinois State fullback Tony Jones. A deal with Las Vegas sent former Arkansas State lineman Lynn Rowland to Tampa Bay. Corey Dowden also rejoined the team.

The Tim Marcum era began with a trip to the Miami Arena on May 13 for the season opener. Tampa Bay exploded for a 25-0 first quarter lead against the Hooters, which was punctuated by two sacks of former Buccaneers quarterback Mike Pawlawski (17 of 33 for 184 yards with 3 TDs and an interception) in the end zone for safeties. They finished with a team record three safeties. Jay Gruden (12 of 27 for 162 yards) threw for three scores, Ivan Ceasar ran for 54 yards and two touchdowns, as the Storm coasted to a 58-43 victory.

Defense was again the key in the home opener against Charlotte. With the game tied at halftime, the Storm held the Rage scoreless in the second half. Jay Gruden (15 of 31 for 249 yards) threw two touchdown passes to George LaFrance (7 receptions for 149 yards) in the 34-16 victory.

The offense came to life at the Thomas & Mack Center in a game against the Las Vegas Sting. Stevie Thomas scored four touchdowns, including an interception return. George LaFrance scored three touchdowns, including a kickoff return, and a team record 281 all purpose yards. LaFrance's 56 yard kickoff return was his 100th career touchdown in the Arena Football League. Jorge Cimadevilla set team records for points scored by kicking (15) and extra points made (9). Ivan Caesar added two scores on the ground. The teams combined for 51 fourth quarter points, as the Storm won 69-55. This equaled the most points scored by Tampa Bay and tied the team record for most points in a game by both teams.

The offense and defense came together for the next game against Miami at the Thunderdome. Three touchdowns came off the arm of Jay Gruden, fullback Ivan Caesar threw the option pass for a score and backup quarterback Jake Kelchner tossed a TD pass in the fourth quarter. Stacy Simmons, who played at Dunedin High School, the University of Florida and for the Indianapolis Colts, caught a pair of touchdown passes. Wayne Williams had two interceptions and Jorge Cimadevilla became the first Storm kicker to make seven extra points. Tampa Bay built up a 54-0 lead before a late fourth quarter Hooters touchdown ruined the shutout. With a 54-7 final score, the Storm defense had allowed the fewest points in team history. The game also set the team record for largest margin of victory. Caesar, who ran for two touchdowns that night, commented "Take nothing away from Miami, but they can't compete with us on the field right now."

Albany is the site of the first defeat of the season. The Firebirds lead 21-6 after the first quarter, the Storm closed to gap to 28-26 by the half and lead 36-28 before being held scoreless in the fourth quarter. Jay Gruden and Stevie Thomas (11 receptions for 158 yards) hooked up on three TD passes, but Albany scored the game winning touchdown with 18 seconds on the clock. Tim Marcum said of the 42-36 defeat, "Overall, we got beat by a better team."

The Storm had a big first half against visiting Las Vegas. Jay Gruden (16 of 33 for 191 yards) threw for three touchdowns, hooking up with Stevie Thomas two times, as Tampa Bay scored on every first half possession to take a 30-19 advantage at the break. The team could only manage a third quarter touchdown after that, and Jay Gruden was picked off twice in the second half, as the Sting pulled out a 38-37 victory.

After losing two straight games, Woody Kern guaranteed a victory over Memphis at the Thunderdome. The team owner promised a free ticket to the next home game for all in attendance, if the Storm did not win. Four times Jay Gruden (17 of 26 for 252 yards with 5 TDs) hooked with George LaFrance on touchdown passes (7 receptions for 104 yards). The ground attack was lead by two Tony Jones touchdowns and Cedric McKinnon running for 58 yards. Jorge Cimadevilla became the first Storm kicker to attempt ten extra points in a 68-32 victory over the Pharaohs. Kern said of the free ticket offer, "These guys played a great game. It got me off the hook."

The following Saturday night, at the Hartford Civic Center, Jay Gruden (17 of 32 for 226 yards) became only the second player in league history to throw for 200 career touchdowns. He hit Stevie Thomas for two fourth quarter TDs, as the Storm out scored Connecticut 14-5 in the final period. Gruden ran out of the end zone for a safety as time expired to seal a 38-30 victory over the Coyotes.

When Tampa Bay went up I-4 to play the Predators, the teams were tied with the league's best record at 6-2. Former Buccaneer Pat O'Hara started at quarterback for Orlando, but the Storm got off to a quick start. Running back Cedric McKinnon hit his former college teammate Stevie Thomas on the option pass to put the Storm up 14-3 in the first quarter. McKinnon also had two touchdowns on the ground that night, Stevie Thomas caught eleven balls for 121 yards and Jay Gruden (25 of 37 for 286 yards) threw scoring passes to four different players. Barry Wagner caught two touchdown passes and ran for an Orlando touchdown. In the second half Ben Bennett, who replaced O'Hara after he broke his leg, was picked off twice to seal the victory. Tim Marcum said of the 51-34 rout, "I don't think you could ask for a better performance from Jay Gruden."

Tampa Bay returned to the Thunderdome to play Connecticut. On the game's first play, Jay Gruden hit Stevie Thomas on a 45 yard scoring pass and the Storm scored on its first eight possessions. George LaFrance lead the way with three touchdowns and Tracey Perkins intercepted two passes in a 60-32 win over the Coyotes. Linebacker Sylvester Bembery said of the effort, "Right now, I think we have the best defense in the league."

The next week, 24,206 were in attendance as Orlando came to town. Due to injuries, former University of Central Florida quarterback Darin Hinshaw made his first start for the Predators. Hinshaw threw three interceptions, however, the visitors did have a 7-0 lead. The Storm scored the next 27 points and exploded for 34 points in the second quarter. Jay Gruden (19 of 34 for 199 yards) tossed five touchdown passes, as the Storm clinched the Southern Division title and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. It was a typical "War on I-4" with the teams combining for 32 penalties in a 44-20 Tampa Bay victory.

The regular season ended at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee with Todd Hammel, a 12th round draft pick of the Buccaneers in 1990, starting at quarterback for the Mustangs. The home team held a 17-14 second quarter advantage, before the Storm scored two touchdowns in four seconds to take a 28-17 lead at the break. Running back Cedric McKinnon rushed for four touchdowns and Jay Gruden (17 of 29 for 240 yards) threw for three scores in a 56-27 victory. The win gave Tampa Bay home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Afterwards, McKinnon remarked, "Now hopefully we can get a championship."

The Storm finished with the league's best record at 10-2 and took first place in the National Conference's Southern Division. They set a team record for points scored with a 50.4 average and went undefeated within the division for the first time in franchise history. Despite missing four games due to an injury, Cedric McKinnon lead the league in rushing with career highs in yards (222) and touchdowns (13). Jorge Cimadevilla was the league's second ranked kicker with 111 points and set team records for field goals made (14) and field goal attempts (32). Jay Gruden (192 of 352 for 2,787 yards with 44 TDs and 11 INTs) was fourth in the league in passing and three receivers placed in the AFL top ten. Andre Langley (968 yards and 12 TDs) was the league's third ranked receiver, Stevie Thomas (1,002 yards and 18 TDs) placed eighth and George LaFrance (959 yards and 16 TDs) was ninth. Willie Wyatt set a team record by blocking three kicks. Jay Gruden and lineman Kent Wells were named to the All- Arena League team. The Storm finished third in attendance, behind Orlando and Arizona, averaging 14,942.

In the first round of the playoffs, it looked like the Storm was going to roll over the Memphis Pharaohs. Cedric McKinnon's second rushing touchdown of the first half gave Tampa Bay a 21-6 lead, but Memphis came back to take a 22-21 lead. The game continued to be tight and the Storm lead after three quarters 40-38. In the fourth quarter, on successive plays from the line of scrimmage, Stevie Thomas caught a 31 yard touchdown pass and Lawrence Samuels ran an interception back for a touchdown. Memphis quarterback Troy Kopp did throw 44 passes and kicker Brian Lee had four field goals, which set records against the Storm in the playoffs. George LaFrance had a league postseason record 207 return yards in a 53-41 victory. The Storm moved into the semi-finals riding a seven game winning streak.

The semi-final against Albany was a wild one at the Thunderdome. Jay Gruden threw four touchdown passes with George LaFrance (9 receptions for 130 yards with 2 TDs) and Stevie Thomas (8 catches for 102 yards) each going over 100 yards receiving. Cedric McKinnon ran for two scores and Tampa Bay lead 42-23 after three quarters. But when the Firebirds scored with just 15 seconds left on the clock, they had scored 26 of 31 points in the final period to take a 49- 48 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, what is sometimes called the "Nugget Head Play" or the "Suncoast Miracle" took place. George LaFrance had 143 return yards that night, but could not handle the kick, which bounced high off the goal net frame. The loose ball was bobbled a couple of times, once right through the hands of an Albany player, before Stevie Thomas eventually recovered. In dramatic fashion, seven seconds were left on the clock, Thomas returned the ball a team playoff record 54 yards for a touchdown. When the Storm celebrated its tenth season in Tampa Bay, this play which gave the team a 56-49 victory, was named "The Play of the Decade." Tampa Bay set playoff records for most total yards (357), most passing yards (312), most pass attempts (37), most total yards allowed (305), most passing yards allowed (298) and most pass completions allowed (23). Corey Dowden became the first Storm player to grab two interceptions in a playoff game. George LaFrance's nine receptions also set a team postseason record, as did Albany quarterback Mike Perez's six TD passes. Tim Marcum talked of the decisive kickoff return. "I said, don't bring it out, don't bring it out. At first I was like don't do it, don't do it. Then do it, do it. This is the most memorable football game, other than an Arena Bowl championship, that I have ever coached. What a game."

An Arena Bowl record crowd of 25,087 was at the Thunderdome for the all central Florida Arena Bowl. The Tampa Bay-Orlando battle marked the first time that two teams from the same state appeared in the AFL title game. Orlando took a 15-8 lead, then George LaFrance got hot. His 57 yard kickoff return, which equaled his previous Arena Bowl record, tied at 15 after one quarter. LaFrance caught two Jay Gruden (18 of 30 for 209 yards with 4 TDs and 2 INTs) passes for touchdowns in the second quarter and the Storm went into the locker-room with a 29-15 lead. A 47 yard interception return for a touchdown by Tracy Sanders, his first career TD and a team playoff record, closed out the scoring and the Storm won their third championship in five seasons. The 48-35 victory was the team's ninth straight win, completed a three game season sweep of Orlando and gave Tampa Bay a 7-6 advantage in the overall series against the Predators. George LaFrance (7 receptions for 127 yards) was named the Arena Bowl MVP, an award he had won twice previously with the Detroit Drive. Tim Marcum said of the game, "When you win, it's sweet. When you beat your neighbor, it means a little bit more."

Related Links

1995 Tampa Bay Storm Results

1995 AFL Southern Division Standings

1995 Tampa Bay Storm Statistics

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