On defense, the Storm was as dominant as it had been in the Storm’s previous three games; the Blast had (-30) yards of total offense for the game, as DE Lonnie Harris (Arkansas-Pine Bluff) and DT Danny Roberson (TSU) had spectacular games on a Storm defensive front that recorded 12 tackles for losses and 5 Quarterback Sacks. In addition, the Storm defense accounted for some of the Storm scoring, as Storm DT Eldred Howard (TSU) recovered a Blast fumble in the end zone, Storm LB Will Stilley (Eastern Kentucky) returned an interception 61 yards for another score, and  Storm CB Rod Higgins (MTSU) scored with a recovery of a blocked Blast punt. The Storm defensive unit has still not given up a point in the 2008 season.

 On offense, the Storm averaged 8.3 yards per play despite throwing the football only 7 times in the game; the Storm got maximum efficiency from the 7 throws, however, as Storm WRs Jeremie “Bird” Whittaker (Itawamba CC) and Dan Reed (Campbellsville University) caught TD passes from Storm QB Tye Forte (Arkansas State/Bacone College), and Storm WR DeQuinn Wofford (Bethel College) caught a TD pass from Storm backup QB Jason Hankins (Lebanon HS/Rainy River JC). Storm RBs Anthony “Batman” Martin and Johnathan “Bama” Carter added TDs on the ground in the Storm victory.

 For the 3^rd consecutive game, the Storm scored on the game’s opening possession as Anthony “Batman” Martin’s 20-yard TD run capped a 4-play , 43 yard drive where all 4 plays were running plays by Martin. Then, the Blast’s first offensive series ended disastrously when Storm DE Gary Peete (AF2 Memphis Xplorers) stripped the football from Blast QB Marcus Fair in the end zone and DT Eldred Howard recovered the fumble for the Storm’s second TD. On the next Blast possession, Storm CB Rod Higgins sacked Blast punter James Lawton on 4^th down, giving the Storm the ball at the Blast 31. Five plays later, Johnathan “Bama” Carter ran the ball into the end zone from the 4 yard line to put the Storm ahead 21-0.

 In the 2^nd quarter, Storm LB Will Stilley intercepted Marcus Fair’s pass and returned it 61 yards for a touchdown with 9:02 left. A couple of minutes later, the referees stopped play for 10 minutes after a round of lightning and heavy rainfall; when conditions improved slightly, the teams resumed play and Storm QB tye Forte raised the Storm lead to 34-0 with a 52-yard TD pass to Jeremie Whittaker. Then, on the next Memphis possession, Storm SS Jonathan “Sandman” Weaver (Cerritos CC) blocked James Lawton’s punt and CB Rod Higgins recovered the blocked kick in the end zone to give the Storm a 41-0 halftime lead.

 In the 2^nd half, Forte hit Dan Reed with a 33-yard TD pass to raise the Storm lead to 48-0 on the Storm’s first offensive play of the half. The final Storm TD would come on Hankins’ 24-yard TD pass to DeQuinn Wofford with 5:12 left in the game. Storm CB Gerald Davis (Cumberland) intercepted a pass from the Blast’s Lucas Spencer to end the Blast’s final offensive possession before the Storm ran out the clock.

 The Nashville Storm are now 4-0 and head on the road Saturday, July 19, to play the Memphis Panthers in Arlington, TN. The Storm then have a bye week on July 26  before heading to Jacksonville, AR to play the Arkansas Rhinos on Saturday, August 2. Then, the Storm’s next home game will be Saturday night, August 9, against the Memphis Panthers at Stratford High School.

GAME SUMMARY

                                                             1      2      HALF      3      4      FINAL

MEMPHIS BLAST                   0      0           0           0      0           0

NASHVILLE STORM                21   20        41         7      6          54

NASHVILLE- Anthony Martin 20 run (Gorecki Kick)- 12:34 1^st Qtr

NASHVILLE- Eldred Howard fumble recovery in end zone (Gorecki kick)- 9:07 1^st Qtr

NASHVILLE- Johnathan Carter 4 run (Gorecki kick)- 2:06 1^st Qtr

NASHVILLE- Will Stilley 61 INT return (Richardson kick)- 9:02 2^nd Qtr

NASHVILLE - Jeremie Whittaker 52 pass from Tye Forte (Richardson kick missed)- 3:53 2^nd Qtr

NASHVILLE- Rod Higgins recovery of blocked punt in end zone (Richardson kick)- 0:59 2^nd Qtr

NASHVILLE- Dan Reed 33 pass from Tye Forte (Richardson kick)- 12:27 3^rd Qtr

NASHVILLE- DeQuinn Wofford 24 pass from Jason Hankins (Richardson kick missed)- 5:12 4^th Qtr


MEMPHIS PANTHER OWNER/COACH CHARLES WADE (BLUE CAP) INSTRUCTS A PANTHER PLAYER ON SIDELINE