HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY MEDIA INTERCEPTIONS

HARRELL (PLANT HIGH) HONORED BY THE ARENA FOOTBALL LEAGUE

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Storm defensive back James Harrell making his entrance versus the Jacksonville Sharks on May 2, 2015. (Credit: Scott Audette/Tampa Bay Storm)
Storm defensive back James Harrell making his entrance versus the Jacksonville Sharks on May 2, 2015. (Credit: Scott Audette/Tampa Bay Storm)

TAMPA BAY – The Tampa Bay Storm is pleased to announce that defensive back James Harrell has earned the Riddell Defensive Player of the Week and J. Lewis Small Playmaker of the Week awards for his week six performance in the Storm’s 63-28 victory over the Jacksonville Sharks. Harrell has also been nominated for the AFL MVP of the Week award.

Riddell Defensive Player of the Week: Harrell (5-feet-10, 195 lbs., Arkansas-Pine Bluff) made several defensive plays that helped secure the Storm’s 63-28 victory over South Division rival, Jacksonville Sharks. The Plant High School (Tampa, FL) product finished the night with four tackles, three pass breakups, a fumble recovery and an interception. The interception was his fourth of the season and the 10th of his career. Harrell’s interception came towards the end of the first half capping off a 21-point swing in favor of the Storm, helping the team go up 28-14. He recovered his second fumble of the season in the third quarter, which would lead to a Storm score on the next possession with the Storm going up 42-14. Harrell is now tied for the League-lead with four interceptions and ranks second in the AFL with six takeaways.

J. Lewis Small Playmaker of the Week: Harrell also won the J. Lewis Small Playmaker of the Week award, making plays on both defense and special teams that affected the outcome of the game. Defensively, he reeled in an interception and recovered a fumble to help preserve the Storm’s lead. On special teams he had a net recovery for a touchdown which gave the Storm a 21-14 advantage and a lead that it would not relinquish. In total his plays resulted in a 42-point swing, which resulted in the Sharks not scoring (-21) and the Storm scoring on each turnover (+21).

AFL MVP of the Week: For his week six performance, Harrell has been nominated for the AFL MVP of the Week award. Voting opens on Wednesday, May 6 at 1:00 p.m. EST, and can be found at www.arenafootball.com. Voting ends on Thursday, May 7, with the winner being announced later in the afternoon.

The Five-Time World Champion Tampa Bay Storm is in its 28th season in the Arena Football League. The Storm will host “Military Appreciation Night,” when it hosts the Philadelphia Soul on Friday, May 22, on AMALIE Motor Oil Field at Amalie Arena. For more specific details regarding single-game pricing and availability, please contact the Storm ticket office at 813.301.6600 or visit www.tampabaystorm.com. Season tickets can be purchased by visiting TampaBayStorm.com or by calling 813.301.6600. For group sales fans can contact 813.301.6900. Additionally fans and sponsors can follow the Storm on Facebook (Tampa Bay Storm) or Twitter (@tampabaystorm) for up to date news and exclusive content.