Both teams started out in rhythm, as both the Sharks and the Storm scored Touchdowns on their opening drives. Tampa had a 7-6 lead with 9:10 left to play in the 1st quarter, that is when things started going down hill for the Storm. Moreover, it went downhill fast.
Jacksonville scored on their next possession to make it 13-7. Then the Storm came on and as Jason Boltus looked to find T.T. Toliver, who was hit as the ball came into his hands and the ball deflected into the air. Sharks nose guard Jordan Miller grabbed the flyball and took it all the way into the end zone to put Jax up 20-7.
On the Storm’s ensuing possession, they had a 4th and goal at the 2-yard line and were unable to punch it in, resulting in a turnover on downs. Tommy Grady then led the Sharks on a four play 48-yard drive, capping it off with a 15 yard TD pass to Joe Hills to make it 27-7.
Then it was Tampa’s turn again. However, on the first play from scrimmage, Boltus was intercepted by Jacksonville’s Greg Reid who took it 21 yards the other way for the score to make it 34-7 with 9:02 left in the 2nd quarter.
Tampa was finally able to put together a drive as Boltus found T.T. Toliver in the back of the end zone for the TD reception. The reception gave Toliver 15,143 receiving yards, which made him the All-Time leader in career receiving yards in the Arena Football League, passing AFL Hall of Famer Damian Harrell.
Toliver spoke on the record in a somber tone postgame, “It means a lot, but at the end of the day, we want to win. 1 and 9, that’s unacceptable. At the end of the day, records are made to be broken. With a loss, getting the record does not feel that good, I’ll tell you that.”
However, this was all the excitement that the Storm fans would have in the first half as Jacksonville went into the half leading 47-14.
In the second half, Tampa Bay was able to score on their opening possession to make it 47-21. However, then the Sharks continued to put the hurt on, scoring back-to-back TD’s and forcing another Storm turnover on downs. Just 4 seconds into the 4th, the Sharks were up 61-21.
The Storm would add two 4th quarter TD’s to their total, but the final play of the game summed up everything. As the Storm looked to add some points for pride, they were just outside the goal line and they fumbled the ball. That is when Sharks DB Greg Reid scooped it up and ran it all the way to the other end as time expired to make it 67-34.
Tampa looks to regroup as they look ahead to their next matchup, which will be against the L.A. Kiss on June 18th at 7:30 PM at Amalie Arena. The Sharks will head home happy as they prepare for their matchup against the Predators at Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville.