St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa, FL
June 22, 2003, Attendance: 20,469
Tampa Bay 43, Arizona 29 - Lawrence Samuels punctuated a career-best year by earning both MVP and Ironman of the Game honors as the Tampa Bay Storm rolled over the Arizona Rattlers, 43-29. The win was the fifth for the Tampa Bay franchise, the most in League history and the first for Tampa Bay since 1996. Tampa Bay seemed to be in trouble when quarterback John Kaleo went down in the third quarter with a sprained back, but backup Pat O’Hara filled in admirably, completing 7-of-13 passes for 103 yards, two touchdowns and a rushing TD, allowing the Storm offense to continue to hum. Samuels had five receptions for 109 yards and three touchdowns in becoming the first player to win both game MVP and Ironman honors in an ArenaBowl. Storm QBs Kaleo and O’Hara combined to throw for 239 yards on 15-of-26 passes, with three touchdowns. The Storm defense forced the Rattler offense into a plethora of miscues, as Arizona had five turnovers, four on fumbles and one on an interception thrown by QBSherdrick Bonner. The crowd of 20,469 marked a recordhigh in attendance at the St. Pete Times Forum for an AFL game, and was the second-highest attended ArenaBowl.