Storm fall to Sharks 66-41
Saturday June 25, 2011
Jacksonville, FL - The Tampa Bay Storm (6-8) fell to the Jacksonville Sharks (13-1) Saturday evening at Jacksonville Memorial Veterans Arena in front of 10,517 fans as Jacksonville clinched the South Division.
The Sharks were paced by quarterback Aaron Garcia and receiver Jeff Hughley who had a monster night with 324 all-purpose yards and six touchdowns. Garcia was efficient as he completed 81.5 percent of his passes for 288 yards and nine touchdowns.
Amarri Jackson, who now has a touchdown catch in each of his last 11 games, led the way for the Storm. Amarri’s 14 receptions for 187 yards and four touchdowns match his career highs in each category, originally set in an identical performance against the Kansas City Command just six weeks ago. Quarterback Brian Zbydniewski also set a career high, in passing yards with 341 from 27 completions and six going for scores.
The Storm lost their grip on the game at the start of the second quarter, as the Jacksonville defense provided two consecutive stops, the first of which a turnover on downs deep in Storm territory. Sharks receiver Jeff Hughley scored on a 10 yard pass from Jacksonville quarterback Aaron Garcia on the first play following the turnover, giving the Sharks their first lead of the ball game, a lead they did not relinquish.
Hughley, who has seen significant action in recent weeks filling in for injured Jacksonville receivers Jeron Harvey and Sale Key, caught 13 passes for 210 yards and six touchdowns in the win. Garcia became the Arena Football League’s all-time completion leader, when he completed his final pass of the evening. The 18-year veteran now has 3887 career completions.
The Storm have yet to defeat the expansion Jacksonville Sharks in four games played against their North Florida rivals, but may yet have another shot to do so this year if they make the playoffs.
The Storm return home to the St. Pete Times Forum next week to face their third straight divisional opponent, the New Orleans VooDoo, on Friday, July 1st at 7:30 PM EST. Be sure to tune in to 1250WHNZ starting at 7:00 PM for all of the Storm Radio Network’s coverage, or NiftyTV.com’s AFL Player to watch the game online.
