“BECOME A FAN” OF THE NASHVILLE STORM ON FACEBOOK BY CLICKING ON THE LINK FOR THE “NASHVILLE STORM FOOTBALL” FAN PAGE AT Nashville Storm Football.

July 28, 2010

SATURDAY NIGHT, JULY 31- NASHVILLE STORM TO HONOR “THE STRATFORD RENAISSANCE” AT THE NASHVILLE STORM- INDIANAPOLIS YELLOW JACKETS GAME AT STRATFORD HIGH SCHOOL

THE PLACE- Buster Boguskie Stadium at Stratford High School (1800 Stratford Avenue, Nashville, TN 37216).

THE TIME- Saturday night, July 31, 2010. Admission gate opens at 6 PM; Kickoff at 7 PM.

THE TEAMS- The Nashville Storm (5-0- http://www.nashvillestormonline.com/ ) take on the Indianapolis Yellow Jackets (1-2- http://www.indyyellowjackets.com/ ), a first-year team in the North American Football League out of Indianapolis, Indi...ana.
The Yellow Jackets, coached by Mike Radford, won their first-ever victory on July 17 with a stunning 30-0 upset of the longtime MCFL heavyweight Indiana Mustangs. Head Coach Charles Hunter's nationally-ranked Nashville Storm squad will be the favorite in this game, but you can expect the upstart Yellow Jackets to battle for 4 quarters, so the Storm will have to bring their "A" game to win.

THE ENTERTAINMENT- The lovely ladies of the 18-member Nashville Storm Dance team will perform and lead the cheers, while musical entertainment will be provided by DJ Lil Les and the good folks from Nashville Storm sponsor radio station 102.5 The Party.

HONORARY CAPTAINS- You saw it right---- CAPTAINS (plural). This Saturday night, the Nashville Storm will honor the aggressive renaissance of Stratford High School. The Honorary Captains of the Storm will be new Stratford Principal MICHAEL STEEL, Metro Schools' ALTHEA MOORHEAD (the leader of the volunteer effort to renovate Buster Boguskie Stadium), and the ENTIRE STRATFORD HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL TEAM AND COACHING STAFF, HEADED BY HEAD COACH JASON SMITH, who open their 2010 season on August 20 against Hunters Lane HS at Buster Boguskie Stadium.

THE COST- Adult admission is $8.00; kids aged 0-14 GET IN FREE. There is abundant parking available on the Stratford High School premises, also FREE OF CHARGE.

THE NASHVILLE STORM FOOTBALL CONCESSION STAND MENU- THERE IS NO NEED TO GO GET DINNER BEFORE THE GAME. Christie Claybrooks is waiting for you in the Nashville Storm Concession stand with the best charcoal-grilled food at the lowest prices in Tennessee sports. Here is the menu (with prices):
½ POUND CHARCOAL GRILLED ANGUS CHEESEBURGER ($3.25)
½ POUND CHARCOAL GRILLED ANGUS HAMBURGER ($3.00)
CHARCOAL-GRILLED ALL-BEEF HOT DOG ($2.00)
CHARCOAL-GRILLED POLISH SAUSAGE ($2.00)
20-OUNCE GATORADE ($1.50)
HOT BUTTERED POPCORN ($1.00)
BAG-FAMOUS AMOS CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES ($1.00)
2 OUNCE BAG OF CHIPS (FRITOS, DORITOS, LAYS, ETC.) ($1.00)
PLANTER’S PEANUTS (OR CASHEWS) ($1.00)
CRACKER JACKS ($1.00)
PEANUT AND PLAIN M&M’S ($1.00)
SNICKERS CANDY BAR ($1.00)
3 MUSKETEERS CANDY BAR ($1.00)
NASHVILLE’S OWN FAMOUS GOO GOO CLUSTER ($1.00)
ICE COLD BOTTLED WATER ($1.00)
SOFT DRINKS (PEPSI, DIET PEPSI, ORANGE AND GRAPE CRUSH, MOUNTAIN DEW, DR PEPPER, HAWAIIAN PUNCH, LIPTON BRISK) ($1.00)
1 OUNCE BAG OF CHIPS (FRITOS, DORITOS, LAYS, ETC) (75 CENTS)
KOOL-AID “JAMMERS” (CHERRY, GRAPE, KIWI-STRAWBERRY, TROPICAL PUNCH) (50 CENTS)

AND BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND-------

IZZIE’S ICES- On a hot summer night, there’s nothing like something ICE-COLD. And noone does ICE-COLD better than IZZIE’S ICES, who sell Italian Ices in 20 delicious flavors right at the corner of Riverside Drive and Rosebank Avenue in Inglewood. Izzie’s frozen treats (all made form all-natural ingredients) have been the hit of the summer of 2010 in East Nashville. And if you go by their Inglewood location, buy one of their superb frozen treats, and talk nice, they just might have a free ticket to the game there for you.

NASHVILLE STORM WINS CLIFFHANGER 27-23 VICTORY AGAINST ST CHARLES CYCLONES (IN ANOTHER GAME WITH A WEATHER DELAY) IN WARRENTON, MO
STORM VICTORY IS BOTH THE STORM’S 26TH STRAIGHT ROAD VICTORY AND 26TH STRAIGHT REGULAR SEASON VICTORY

#55, NASHVILLE STORM LB JONATH “CAP” SAMUELS (PEARL-COHN HS/CUMBERLAND UNIVERSITY) HAD A SUPERB GAME DESPITE THE ABSENCE OF MANY OF THE NASHVILLE STORM’S USUAL DEFENSIVE LINE STARTERS-PHOTO BY KEN MITCHELL

NASHVILLE STORM WR IVAN BURLEY (TSU) SCAMPERS TO THE END ZONE WITH QB PHELLEPE HALL’S PASS FOR THE STORM’S FIRST TOUCHDOWN- PHOTO BY KEN MITCHELL

STORM WR MARIO MERRIWETHER (CLARKSVILLE HS/BETHEL COLLEGE) RETURNS A KICK IN THE 1ST QUARTER- PHOTO BY KEN MITCHELL

It was a rematch between 2 teams generally viewed as being among America’s top 20 adult amateur football programs---- the visiting team came in riding a 25-game winning streak in road games, while the home team hadn’t lost a game at home in several seasons. The first game between these two teams had been a close defensive struggle marred by a unusual 2 ½ hour rain and lightning delay----- that surely couldn’t happen again, COULD IT?????

It was also a game where both teams were missing key personnel on the defensive side of the football--- the homestanding St Charles Cyclones were missing 3 starting defensive backs, including both starting cornerbacks, while the visiting Nashville Storm had only one of their 4 normal starting defensive linemen in uniform (DT Danny Roberson). Each team would ruthlessly exploit the personnel deficiency of the other team---- the Cyclones, blessed with 3 superb running backs including a former All-Big 12 runner in Zac Abron (Missouri) would have a field day running the football that is normally unheard of against the Storm defense, while Nashville Storm QB Phellepe Hall (Maplewood HS/TSU) would burn the Cyclone reserves in the secondary for TD passes to 4 different Storm receivers (ivan Burley, Kevin Carter, Jeremie “Bird” Whittaker, and Vonce Henderson).

And the biggest play of the game would be made by an unknown Nashville Storm rookie DB (who is, however, the younger brother of one of the Nashville Storm’s most famous players, former MTSU All-American LB Nathaniel Claybrooks)----- JERROD EDMONDSON--- remember the name.

All in all, the game was an interesting mix of the usual and the unusual--- the recipe for a classic.

The game started out like a game that would finish with an Arena Football-type final score, as each team scored on their first 2 possessions. The Storm got the football first--- and scored on the game’s second play from scrimmage when Storm QB Phellepe Hall launched a pass that was tipped high in the air on a jump between a Cyclone DB and Hall’s intended receiver---- right into the hands of Storm WR Ivan Burley (TSU), who was behind the Cyclone defenders, and stayed behind them all the way to the end zone for a 69-yard TD to give the Storm a 7-0 lead. The Cyclones would counter with a ground-based drive from their 35 yard line to the Storm 31 before the drive stalled--- but Cyclone K Will Rodriguez trotted out onto the field and nailed a 49-yard Field Goal to cut the Storm lead to 7-3. It would only take one play for the Storm to extend their lead, though, as Phellepe Hall went over-the-top for a 70-yard TD pass to Kevin Carter (Austin Peay) to give the Storm a 13-3 lead----- but K John Gorecki’s extra point attempt uncharacteristically bounced off the crossbar (the first missed XP or FG kick attempt by EITHER Storm kicker in 2010), leaving the score at 13-3. The Cyclones took possession of the ball at the Cyclone 40 after the Storm kickoff went out-of-bounds and drove 60 yards in 8 plays (43 of them rushing yards by former Missouri All-Big 12 RB Zac Abron), capped by Abron’s 10-yard TD run with 4:30 left in the 1st Quarter to cut the Storm lead to 13-10.

In the 2nd Quarter, the Storm raised their lead to 20-10 on Phellepe Hall’s 10-yard TD pass to Jeremie “Bird” Whittaker, capping a 7-play, 43 yard drive, but the Cyclones immediately responded with a 6-play, 80 yard drive of their own, culminating in a 17-yard TD pass from Cyclone QB Mike McMullen to WR Matt Askew (University of Idaho), bringing the Cyclones within 3 points of the Storm at 20-17. After the Storm went 3-and-out on their next possession, Cyclone S/PR Marqueas McLaurin (University of iowa) returned Garrett Morgan’s punt to the Storm 31. On the Cyclone’s first play of the drive, Zac Abron ran for 6 yards to the Storm 25.

And then IT happened. With 4:41 left in the 2nd Quarter, just as it had happened in the Nashville game between the 2 teams, lightning struck within a mile or so of the field, followed by heavy rains, and the refereeing crew called a weather delay.

This weather delay would not turn out to be as long as the weather delay in the Nashville game between the Storm and Cyclones (this weather delay was about an hour and fifteen minutes), but it was long enough for the two teams to make an agreement that would, in effect, cancel the halftime break and and make the 3rd and 4th Quarters of the game 12-minute quarters (instead of the usual 15).

When play resumed, the Cyclones’ Zac Abron gained a first down with a 5-yard carry on the next play to the Storm 20. But then on the next play, the Storm defense hemmed Abron in on a sweep attempt----- Abron reversed direction twice, going backwards in an attempt to get to the corner, but Storm LB Justin Ely (Cumberland University) and DE Gary Peete caught up with Abron and tackled him for a 20 yard loss, taking the Cyclones out of FG range. After the Cyclones punted, the Storm ran 3 plays, ending the first half with a 20-17 lead.

In the 3rd Quarter, the Cyclones, on their 2nd possession, drove 45 yards in 6 plays to take the lead for the first time at 23-20 on an 8-yard pass from Mike McMullen to 240-pound RB Keenan Miller (Missouri-Rolla). However, the Cyclones were called for back-to-back procedure penalties on the extra point attempt--- and then, Cyclone K Will Rodriguez missed the extra point kick attempt.

The next 2 offensive possessions of both the Storm and Cyclones didn’t produce a scoring threat, and with less than 5 minutes to play, the Cyclones dropped back to punt after a 3-and-out.

ENTER JERROD EDMONDSON.

Edmondson rocketed past the blockers on the right side of the Cyclone line and blocked the Cyclone punt attempt, which was recovered by the Storm at the Cyclone 21-yard line.

From there, it only took Phellepe Hall one play----- a 21-yard srike to 6’4” Storm WR Vonce Henderson (TSU) to put the Storm back in the lead 27-23 with 4:11 left in the game.

The Cyclones would get the ball 2 more times---- one possession would result in 4 plays without a first down, and the second possession would end with Storm S De’Quinn Watford intercepting Cyclone QB Mike McMullen’s pass attempt to give the Storm the ball back with under a minute to play. The final horn came after Phellepe Hall’s 3rd kneel-down from the Victory formation.
NOTES ON THE GAME:

• The Nashville Storm have 2 sets of uniform pants, one solid purple, the other solid black. If the Storm photos on this page look a little “different”, it’s because the Storm wore their black uniform pants for the first time since the 2008 season (the Storm wore purple pants in 19 consecutive games).
• Remarkably (since half of the game was played on a very rain-soaked field), De’Quinn Watford’s Interception of Cyclone QB Mike McMullen’s pass on the Cyclones’ last possession of the game was the only turnover of the game by either team.
• The Cyclones outgained the Storm in total offense for the game 294-269 and had 18 more offensive snaps (57-39). The Cyclones gained 182 rushing yards, while the Storm secondary held Cyclone QB Mike McMullen to 9 for 24 passing for 112 yards.
• Storm QB Phellepe Hall’s throwing arm accounted for all but 16 of the Storm’s offensive yards. Hall completed 15 of 24 attempts for 253 yards and 4 TD passes. 185 of Hall’s 253 passing yards came before the weather delay.
• The game was the St Charles Cyclones’ first game in Warren County, MO, but Warrenton looks like apromising home for the Cyclones. The pre-weather delay crowd filled most of the seats at the Cyclones’ new facility, and the city of Warrenton was highly hospitable to the Storm (especially the police officers who helped a rain-soaked Storm President find a hotel for the night after the game). And we think the Cyclones really like it there too, since they’re already selling T-Shirts that say “Warren County Cyclones”. A class football organization hss found an equally classy place to play football.

more news...