Piranhas Knocked Out by One-Man Storm

Johnnie Harris turned a defensive struggle into a rout with back-to-back fourth-quarter touchdowns in the Tampa Bay Storm’s 30-16 first-round playoff victory over the Piranhas Friday at the ThunderDome.

The Storm led, 17-16, when Harris, a rookie defensive back from Mississippi State, intercepted a pass by quarterback Scooter Molander and returned it for a touchdown with three minutes to play. On the Piranhas’ next possession, Harris picked up a fumble by fullback Darren Williams and ran it in from 23 yards out.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Harris said. “They say when it rains it pours, and it rained and poured tonight.”

It was part of a defensive effort by the second-seeded Storm (13-2) that limited the No. 7 Piranhas (9-6) to 126 yards and one touchdown.

“That guy had one heck of a game,” Storm Coach Tim Marcum said. “That may be as good a defensive effort from a secondary player as I’ve ever seen in this league. He was everywhere.”

From the Piranhas’ first possession, Troy Kopp looked like a quarterback making his third start of the season. His first pass slipped off his hand and floated to the sideline. His second was over-thrown--into the stands. On his third, he was called for intentional grounding.

After completing 15 of 31 passes for 101 yards and being chased by the Storm’s defensive front for three quarters, Kopp was replaced by former starter Molander. Harris made Molander’s return a nightmare.

“I knew I’d get [an interception] somewhere eventually if they kept throwing my way,” Harris said.

Tampa Bay, meanwhile, struggled on offense as well.

Storm quarterback Jay Gruden and receiver Stevie Thomas, veterans of the three Tampa Bay Arena titles, committed first-half turnovers to help the Piranhas stay close.

“We were struggling,” Gruden said. “If we could have got some field goals or put some points on the board, the game might have been out of hand.”

Gruden and Thomas made amends near the end of the first half when Thomas came back for a short-thrown Gruden pass and caught it between Rodney Mazion and Tommy Jones. Thomas dived and broke the plane, arm outstretched, with Jones hanging on his back to give the Storm its first lead in the final minute of the half.