Storm Preseason Opener Not Full-Tilt
(March 30, 2000)

The Tampa Bay Storm is promoting the 2000 season as "Full Tilt Football," but the team did not play at full tilt in the preseason opener. Wednesday night, before a sparse Ice Palace crowd of several thousand, they fell to the Florida Bobcats 55-34.

The Storm has fifteen new players on the roster, so they will need every minute of training camp and the preseason to prepare for the regular season. Due to retirements, trades, the expansion draft and a youth movement, some familiar faces are not with the 2000 team. Gone are Stevie Thomas, Peter Tom Willis, George LaFrance, Tracey Perkins, Les Barley, Sylvester Bembery and Willie Wyatt. Returning veterans include Andre Bowden, Melvin Cunningham, Corey Dowden, Jason Dulick, Tommy Henry, Matt Huerkamp, Cedric McKinnon, Lawrence Samuels and Charles Wilson. Some new players included WR/DB Larry Ray Willis, a four-year AFL veteran with some impressive numbers, lineman Anthony DeGrate, a seventh round draft pick by 1997 Buccaneers, Kevin Williams, a wide receiver out of Rutgers, lineman Randy Neal, a former NFL draft pick from Virginia, and former Florida State receiver Sean Hamlet. The old cliche, "you can't tell the players without a program," hit the nail on the head last night. Unfortunately, programs were not available.

With P.T. Willis retired, the battle to replace him at quarterback appears over after one preseason game. The performance of Thad Busby was the highlight of opening night. In just over two quarters of play, Busby completed 16 of 23 passes for 126 yards and threw for three touchdowns. He showed some mobility and looked pretty good in his first AFL action. Busby, who played at Florida State, was the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year in 1997 and broke the Seminoles record for passing yards in a season previously held by Willis.

In the second quarter, with the score tied 14-14, three interceptions by Storm rookie quarterback Alli Abrew pretty much put the game out of reach. Abrew played college ball at Cal Poly State at San Luis Obispo, where he set the Division I-AA record for quarterback rating, and also spent some time in the CFL. Chris Bresnahan, who played at the University of New Hampshire, lead the Storm to a touchdown in the closing seconds and may have taken the lead the battle to backup Busby.

The best part about last night is that football is back! It has been a couple of months since the NFL Pro Bowl and talk about free agency and the upcoming draft only goes so far. Yes, it was great to see Andre Bowden carrying the ball. Lawrence Samuels may become the go to receiver. The defense needs more intensity and the pass coverage was weak. Preseason openers can be sloppy, as missed extra points, penalties and dropped passes can attest. Head coach Tim Marcum has some work to do. It certainly is enjoyable to talk about some game action again!

Since the Storm have only been in camp ten days, there is no reason to panic over the uneven performance against Florida. They have another preseason game at Orlando next week, before the regular season opener on April 15. The New England Sea Wolves came to Tampa and the tenth anniversary season will begin for real.