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Late Interception Gives Storm Victory

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By LEE DIEKEMPER

Tribune correspondent

Published: May 10, 2008

TAMPA - On a night when the Storm made numerous mistakes allowing the New Orleans VooDoo to get back in the game, it was a critical interception by Storm defensive back Taco Rachal on the game's final play that sealed a 41-37 Storm win Friday at the St. Pete Times Forum.

After a pass interference call against the Storm on fourth down gave the VooDoo a first-and-goal on the Storm 4 with 26 seconds left and Tampa Bay leading by four, New Orleans tried two runs and a pass, going backward thanks to a fumble.

On fourth down with eight seconds left from the Tampa Bay 9, New Orleans quarterback Danny Wimprine tried to connect with Sale' Kay in the far right corner. But Rachal was able to corral the slightly underthrown pass for an interception, sealing the win.

"I saw Kay come in on a slant and my instincts were to let him catch the ball and I would stop him before the goal line - they needed a touchdown," Rachal said. "I wasn't going to charge up on the slant. So when he came up I was in position. I had to make that play."

"It was a great effort against their big guy," Storm coach Tim Marcum said.

The interception by Rachal was his team-high third this season.

The victory against the Arena Football League's Southern Division-leading VooDoo (7-4) was New Orleans' fourth loss in as many visits to The Forum.

But the game nearly didn't come down to Rachal's clutch play. On the final series, Marcum called a timeout on second down and suggested to his defenders to let New Orleans score.

Marcum's rational was if the VooDoo scored at that time, the Storm (4-6) still had some clock and two timeouts to play with. But Marcum reversed his initial orders due to the vehement protests of his players.

"I said, 'Let them score,'" Marcum said. "In the huddle to a man they said, 'No coach. Give us a chance to fight.' I wanted to be the last team to score just like we always have."

"No, no, no. Why let them score?" Rachal said. "We had been holding them down there all night even though they got some lucky breaks and were giving them yards with offsides penalties. They were not doing anything on our goal line that was threatening us. So why not fight?

"We believe in our defense. We have faith we can make plays. Coach Marcum had faith in us and we stopped them."

The Storm had a 28-24 lead late in the third and appeared ready to extend it when, on first-and-goal, Torrance Marshall fumbled. It was recovered by New Orleans, and three plays later, Wimprine connected with Javarus Dudley on a 43-yard touchdown and the VooDoo led 30-28 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.

Storm receiver Lawrence Samuels made history Friday night. He caught five passes for 70 yards for two touchdowns. In the process, Samuels, with his brother Washington Redskins offensive tackle Chris Samuels in attendance, set an Arena Football League record of 129 consecutive games with at least one reception.

The win also gave the Storm hope of a playoff berth.

"We don't have any more chances to mess around," Rachal said. "We are going to continue to fight."

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