Florida Sports Wire

Special to SportsDay JACKSONVILLE ( www.sportsdayjax.com ) – The Sharks returned home on Sunday for an afternoon showdown against the winless Orlando Predators. A sloppy game on offense with three fumbles and three interceptions by Jacksonville helped Orlando cruise to its first win of the season. Sunday's game started quiet, but Jacksonville took a 6-0 lead with a one-yard rush from quarterback Conor Blount for his 18th touchdown of the season. Orlando scored the second touchdown of the game, but a quick response from Blount with a passing touchdown to Jenson Stoshak put the Sharks back on top. One missed, and one blocked extra point ended with the Sharks up 12-7 after the first quarter. The second quarter was all Orlando, who picked off Blount in the end zone and then ran a fumble recovery the other way for a touchdown. However, the score was not the biggest worry for the Sharks, as Blount went down with an injury after giving up that fumble. Anthony Johnson took over for Blount ...

JACKSONVILLE - The Jacksonville Sharks look for a second straight win as the team will open up its 2016 home slate against the in-state rival Orlando Predators on Monday, April 18. Kickoff for “Redneck Night” at Sea Best Field is set for 7 p.m. Monday’s game will be the first of three meetings between Jacksonville (1-1) and Orlando (2-0) this season. The Predators took two of the three regular-season matchups a year ago, but the Sharks won when it mattered most, defeating Orlando by a 55-33 count in the opening round of the playoffs. Last week, the Sharks fired on all cylinders, never trailing en route to a 59-41 victory over the Philadelphia Soul. The game remained close into the third quarter before Jacksonville broke it open by scoring 24 consecutive points. QB Tommy Grady  21 completions for 326 yards and seven touchdowns with no turnovers. With his dominant performance, Grady became the league leader in passing yards with 605 total yards in two games.  Grady’s ch...

LAS VEGAS – The Tampa Bay Storm will host the Orlando Predators at Amalie Arena in Tampa for the Arena Football League’s 3,000th game to kick off the League’s 29th Season on April 1 at 7 p.m. ET and can be seen on ESPN3/Watch ESPN.  The Storm-Predators rivalry dates back to 1991. “The longevity and perseverance of the Arena Football League is a testament to the high-quality, action-packed and authentic nature of the sport,” said AFL Commissioner Scott C. Butera.  “It also recognizes the quality of our athletes, coaches and operational professionals.  Having Tampa Bay and Orlando involved in our 3,000th game could not be more appropriate.  The rich history of both teams is symbolic of our great game.  The combined total of 17 Hall of Famers between the two speaks volumes to what this rivalry has meant to our history.” A rivalry that has been brewing almost since the inception of the League, the “War on I-4” officially began on June 1, 1991, in Tampa Bay. ...

The field for the 2015 Arena Football League Playoffs is set, with eight teams heading into postseason play. The No. 1 seed in the National Conference belongs to the Pacific Division champion San Jose SaberCats (17-1), who tied the 2014 Cleveland Gladiators’ record for the most regular season wins in AFL history this year.  San Jose will play host to the No. 4-seeded Portland Thunder (5-13), a franchise heading to the playoffs for the second time in as many years.  San Jose leads the overall series 6-0; however, this will be the first-ever meeting between the two teams in postseason play. Kickoff for the matchup is set for 11:00 p.m. ET Friday night on ESPN2. On the other side of the bracket, the East Division champion Philadelphia Soul (15-3), fresh off from tying their best regular season record in franchise history, are set for a rematch with their opponents in Week 20, the Cleveland Gladiators (8-10).  This will be the second consecutive season the Soul and ...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Sharks scored 50 second-half points on Saturday night, as the team erased a seven-point halftime deficit en route to a 66-51 victory over the Orlando Predators in front of 10,217 on Sea Best Field at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. Jacksonville (6-5) turned the tide by forcing a pair of turnovers in the third quarter. With his team down by a 30-22 count Tommy Grady hit Jeron Harvey on a 10-yard touchdown pass to bring the Sharks within a point. With their fifth straight win, the Sharks have now moved into first place in the South Division for the first time this season. Jacksonville currently owns the second tiebreaker over Orlando based on point differential in head-to-head games. In the victory, Grady completed 26 of his 36 pass attempts for 275 yards and six touchdowns against two interceptions. After throwing both of those picks in the first half, Grady went 13-for-14 with five touchdown passes over the game's final two qu...

FLORIDA SPORTS WIRE JACKSONVILLE, Fla. --   The Orlando Predators ran for seven touchdowns, an Arena Football League record, and overcame a rash of injuries to defeat the host Jacksonville Sharks 55-54 on Friday night at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. "This is one of the proudest victories I have ever been a part of,'' Orlando coach Rob Keefe said. Preds QB Bernard Morris rushed for four scores and was forced to play defensive back after Keefe said Arnez Ikner broke his collarbone on the first play of the game. The Preds (1-1) were thin at wide receiver after Larry Brackins was taken to the hospital with an injured finger, and Greg Carr missed a few series after Keefe said he was leg-whipped on a kickoff. Carr returned to the game. "We were willing to do whatever it took to win,'' Keefe said. Austin Brown blocked Fabriz Scaccia's extra-point attempt with 1 minute, 23 seconds to go, preserving Orlando's one-point lead. The Preds ran out ...