Cleveland Storm @ TN Thunder - 5/28/2016 - FULL GAME - 39 minutes

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• published: 03 Jun 2016
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The Cleveland Storm (4-2) traveled back to Kingsport, TN for the first time in over a month on Saturday afternoon, May 28th, to take on the Tennessee Thunder. After a solid kick return by Clarence Goines to open up the 1st quarter action, the Storm turned the ball over on their first offensive play from scrimmage, when tailback Mike Woolfork lost the handle on a carry to the right side. However, the Storm defense, which had arguably their best outing of the season, shut down the Thunder offense, and forced the early punt. Taking possession near their own 20, Woolfork made up for his early fumble by rumbling for 36 yards on his very next carry, moving the ball to midfield. A few snaps later, QB Landon Tucker connected with Tay Wynn down the right side for the Storm's first touchdown pass of the game. Wide Receiver C.J. Dial caught the 2-pt conversion to put the Storm up 8-0. Following a kick return by the Thunder to near midfield, a low snap cost them a chunk of yards, and the Storm defense was relentless in forcing bad passes by the Thunder. Forcing another punt, the Storm took over on their own 44 yard line. Wasting little time to get back into the endzone, QB Landon Tucker kept the ball on a triple option and went right up the middle of the field, avoiding two defenders in the secondary, for the 56-yard touchdown. The 2-pt throw was low however, leaving the Storm lead at 14-0. The next kickoff was better contained by the Storm special teams unit, and the Thunder began just outside their own 20. The Thunder connected on a nice 20-yard completion, moving them out past their 40. Several incompletions later, they were facing 3rd and long, when a late flag on the Storm defense gave them new life with a 1st down on the Storm side of the field. However, this drive stalled short, and a failed Thunder 4th down conversion attempt ended in a scuffle between the two squads marking the end of the 1st quarter. Back on offense, Storm running back Jaylen Grimes worked the ball closer to the endzone on two consecutive carries including an impressive job hauling in a wide pitch. Facing pressure on the next play, Tucker hit Tay Wynn once more, this time across the middle, and Wynn took it in for his second touchdown reception of the game. Opting to try for just a single extra point, the Thunder were able to get a hand on the low-trajectory kick, leaving the score at 20-0. The Storm covered the following kickoff well, pinning the Thunder deep. Their drive was derailed once again by another low snap, which went into the endzone, resulting in a Storm safety, pushing the lead to 22-0. Slot receiver Quincy Parris fielded the free-kick, and almost made it into the endzone, but a block in the back call negated the bulk of his return, moving the Storm back to the Thunder 39 yard line. Following the trend of one-off scoring plays, tailback Clarence Goines threaded his way through the left side of the defense, scoring from 39 yards out on his longest run of the season. Wideout Trey Tharpe made a great adjustment to snag the 2-pt play on a low throw, and the Storm would take their 30-0 lead to halftime, following non-scoring drives by both teams. The blowout well underway, both teams agreed to a running clock for the 2nd half, with the Storm kicking off to the Thunder. Low snaps and drops continued to plague the Thunder's offense, but a reverse caught the Storm napping and resulted in a first down out past the Thunder 40 yard line. The QB was sacked the very next play, and after an improvised HB pass netted a few yards, the Thunder had to punt. Back once more on offense, the Storm returned to the ground attack, feeding Clarence Goines for first down yardage. Quincy Parris caught a short completion on the backside of a boot pass that he turned into a huge gain, which also marked the end of the 3rd quarter. After a few passes, Tucker was back to his old tricks, pulling down his pass attempt, and instead sneaking in himself for another Storm rushing touchdown. Clarence Goines drove in the 2-pt play, making the score 38-0, with just over 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Following a modest kick return, defensive back Alex Summerville found himself in perfect position to catch an interception just one play later at the Thunder 35, and returned it inside the Thunder's 20 yard line. Checking in at tailback, Tay Wynn needed just two carries to get into the endzone for his third score of the day (and first on the ground), and Jaylen Grimes punched in the 2-pointer, working his way through the left side, to put the score at 46-0. One last kickoff gave the ball back to the Thunder, but three plays later the final whistle blew, giving the Storm their 5th victory, propelling them to (5-2) on the season, with just two games left in their inaugural TFL season. FINAL: Storm 46 Thunder 0