ArenaBowl XXIII

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ArenaBowl XXIII
DateAugust 20, 2010
Stadium Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena,
Spokane, Washington
MVP Kyle Rowley, QB, Spokane
Attendance11,017
Winning coach Rob Keefe
Losing coach Tim Marcum
TV in the United States
Network NFL Network
Announcers Paul Burmeister, Kurt Warner, Anthony Herron, and Ari Wolfe [1]

NAPA Auto Parts ArenaBowl XXIII was an arena football game between the National Conference champion, Spokane Shock and the American Conference champion, Tampa Bay Storm. The Spokane Shock won the game successfully defending ArenaCup X of the former af2. The game was played on August 20, 2010, and was held at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena in Spokane, Washington, the first non-neutral site since 2004 (ArenaBowl XVIII). The game was shown live on the NFL Network, as well as a tape delay on Eurosport 2. The corporate sponsor was NAPA Auto Parts.

Contents

Background

Tampa Bay Storm

See: 2010 Tampa Bay Storm season

Looking for their sixth championship in franchise history, and first since ArenaBowl XVII in 2003, the Tampa Bay Storm succeeded in their first season back since 2008. Led by quarterback Brett Dietz, who threw for 5,054 yards and 106 touchdowns in the regular season (both franchise records), they finished 11–5, 2nd in the South division, and 3rd in the American Conference.

WeekDateOpponentHome/AwayResult
1April 3 Tulsa Talons AwayL 48–54
2Bye
3April 16 Dallas Vigilantes HomeW 54–41
4April 25 Milwaukee Iron AwayL 61–72
5May 1 Arizona Rattlers HomeW 62–61
6May 7 Jacksonville Sharks HomeL 43–46
7May 15 Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings AwayW 48–44
8May 22Bye
9May 28 Orlando Predators AwayW 62–50
10June 5 Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz HomeW 50–48
11June 12 Alabama Vipers AwayW 61–55
12June 19 Utah Blaze AwayW 65–40
13June 25 Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings HomeW 78–39
14July 2 Chicago Rush HomeW 68–60
15July 9 Dallas Vigilantes AwayW 56–34
16July 16 Jacksonville Sharks AwayL 47–49
17July 24 Alabama Vipers HomeW 53–49
18July 30 Orlando Predators HomeL 60–75
August 7 Tulsa Talons RoadW 68–38
August 14 Orlando Predators HomeW 63–62

Spokane Shock

See: 2010 Spokane Shock season

The Spokane Shock, fresh off their ArenaCup X victory in what would be the last arenafootball2 season, earned their spot in the postseason by going 13–3 in the regular season, the AFL's best record in 2010, which gave them home field advantage throughout the entire playoffs. It's the Shock's first ArenaBowl in franchise history, having three previous ArenaCup appearances in af2.

WeekDateOpponentHome/AwayResult
1April 2 Milwaukee Iron HomeL 62–74
2April 9 Utah Blaze AwayW 68–34
3April 17 Bossier–Shreveport Battle Wings HomeW 78–70
4Bye
5May 1 Cleveland Gladiators HomeL 68–72
6May 7 Arizona Rattlers AwayW 63–56
7May 16 Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz AwayW 68–63
8May 22 Utah Blaze HomeW 77–28
9May 29 Jacksonville Sharks HomeW 67–57
10Bye
11June 12 Orlando Predators AwayW 53–52
12June 18 Tulsa Talons HomeW 63–42
13June 26 Milwaukee Iron AwayW 62–48
14July 2 Arizona Rattlers HomeW 37–36
15July 10 Cleveland Gladiators AwayW 62–56 (OT)
16July 16 Iowa Barnstormers AwayW 62–61
17July 23 Chicago Rush HomeW 63–49
18July 30 Jacksonville Sharks AwayL 49–64
August 6 Arizona Rattlers HomeW 57–49
August 12 Milwaukee Iron HomeW 60–57

Broadcasting

ArenaBowl XXIII was televised on the NFL Network and Eurosport 2. It was available in 48 countries worldwide. Radio broadcasts were available in the local markets of Tampa Bay and Spokane only.

NFL Network

NFL Network delivered live coverage outside of the United States to these countries:
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Flag of Mexico.svg  Mexico
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom

Eurosport 2

The AFL had a taped delayed broadcast available in the following countries:
Flag of France.svg  France
Flag of Ireland.svg  Ireland
Flag of Italy.svg  Italy
Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
Flag of Greece.svg  Greece
Flag of Hungary.svg  Hungary
Flag of Russia.svg  Russia
Flag of Bulgaria.svg  Bulgaria
Flag of Poland.svg  Poland
Flag of Portugal (official).svg  Portugal
Flag of Romania.svg  Romania
Flag of Serbia.svg  Serbia
Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey
Flag of Denmark.svg Denmark
Flag of Ukraine.svg  Ukraine
Flag of Croatia.svg  Croatia

Radio

These were the radio broadcasting groups present:
Flag of Washington.svg Washington State:Spokane- 700am ESPN Radio 700 ESPN The Ticket
Flag of Florida.svg Florida  :Tampa Bay- 1250am Impact Radio WHNZ Tampa Bay

Playoffs

This was the 2010 playoff grid to determine ArenaBowl Champion:

Conference Semifinals Conference Championship ArenaBowl XXIII
         
1 Jacksonville 69
4Orlando73
4 Orlando 62
American Conference
3Tampa Bay63
2 San Antonio 38
3Tampa Bay68
A3 Tampa Bay 57
N1Spokane69
1Spokane57
4 Arizona 49
1Spokane60
National Conference
2 Milwaukee 57
2Milwaukee64
3 Chicago 54

In the opening round of the playoffs, Spokane defeated the Arizona Rattlers 57–49, [2] while the Storm took care of the Tulsa Talons 68–38. [3] In the National Conference Championship game, Spokane edged out the Milwaukee Iron 60–57. [4] In another close contest, the Storm knocked off rival Orlando 63–62 in the first playoff meeting of The War on I-4 since 2003, winning the American Conference Championship and punching their ticket to ArenaBowl XXIII. [5]

Game summary

First half

The Tampa Bay Storm received the opening kickoff, driving 45 yards in 11 plays to take a 7–0 lead on a three-yard run by Eric Ortiz. But this would be the only time in the game the Storm would lead by more than one point.

Spokane scored the next three touchdowns to take a 20–7 lead. Huey Whittaker caught the first one from Kyle Rowley, and Markee White grabbed the next two, both from four yards out.

Tampa Bay finally answered with 5:49 left in the first half, another rushing score by Ortiz to make the score 20–14.

After Markee White's third receiving touchdown gave the Shock a 27–14 lead, Tampa Bay scored consecutive touchdowns to take a 28–27 lead. But Spokane got the last points of the half. White's fourth touchdown from Rowley made it 34–28. Tampa had a chance to add three points as the first half expired, but Garrett Rivas's field goal was blocked.

Second half

The Storm took its final lead of the game 35–34 to open the third quarter on Ortiz's third rushing touchdown. But Spokane would score the next three touchdowns. The Shock led 48–35 at the end of the third quarter and expanded it to 55–35 at the beginning of the final quarter.

In the fourth quarter, the Shock just wanted to keep the clock running and force the Storm to play catch up. Both teams traded touchdowns through the entire quarter, and Tampa Bay could not make up the deficit. The Storm got the game's last score with 44 seconds left, making it 69–57, the closest it got all quarter.

Game notes

Spokane Shock quarterback Kyle Rowley was named the game's MVP. He went 24 for 32 with 237 yards. He threw nine touchdown passes without an interception and added another touchdown on the run. The nine touchdowns he threw for set an ArenaBowl record.

Spokane did not have a 100 yard receiver but Markee White caught nine passes for 99 yards and four scores. Huey Whittaker had four touchdown receptions as well to go along with eight catches for 82 yards.

The Shocks' Mervin Brookins and Travis Williams each recorded an interception.

For Tampa Bay, quarterback Brett Dietz threw for 306 yards on 29 of 40 passing. He had four touchdown passes and two interceptions. The Storm's Hank Edwards led the game with 11 catches for 132 yards. He caught two of Dietz's scoring passes. Tyrone Timmons also had eight receptions for 107 yards and a score.

Attendance

The announced attendance for ArenaBowl XXIII was 11,017. The game was a sellout, at 102% capacity given Spokane Arena's 10,771 capacity. However, it was the second lowest attended ArenaBowl in league history, second only to ArenaBowl XIX in 2005. That game between the Georgia Force and Colorado Crush was the AFL's first neutral site ArenaBowl with 10,822 fans at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.

References

  1. "Former Super Bowl MVP Kurt Warner Calls Arena Bowl on NFL Network". Spokane Shock. August 12, 2010. Archived from the original on August 20, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  2. "Spokane moves on". Spokane Shock. August 6, 2010. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  3. "Storm Earn Second-Round Playoff Berth With 68-38 Rout Of Talons". Tampa Bay Storm. August 7, 2010. Archived from the original on December 31, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  4. "Spokane moves on". Spokane Shock. August 6, 2010. Archived from the original on November 28, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010.
  5. "Storm Punch Ticket To ArenaBowl XXIII With 63-62 Win Over Predators". Tampa Bay Storm. August 14, 2010. Archived from the original on August 21, 2010. Retrieved August 15, 2010.