THE MOST HERALDED 0-2 TEAM IN PRO SPORTS, THE TAMPA BREEZE FINALLY PICKED UP THEIR FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON IN FRONT OF ROWDY HOME CROWD AT ST PETE TIMES FORUM. "THIS IS A SWEET VICTORY CONSIDERING WE HAVE BEEN ON THIS ROAD FOR NEARLY TWO YEARS IN DEVELOPING THIS TEAM", SAID HEAD COACH AND COACH-OF-THE-YEAR CANDIDATE YO MURPHY. THE BREEZE WIN SETS UP A EPIC FLORIDA RIVALRY MATCH-UP ON LFL, FRIDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL NEXT WEEK AS TAMPA VISITS MIAMI IN A GAME THAT WILL DECIDE WHO GOES TO PLAYOFFS AS THE NO.2 SEED IN THE EASTERN CONFERENCE.

NEW YORK WHO HAS STRUGGLED ALL-SEASON LOSING BY AN AVERAGE OF 41.5 POINTS, CAME OUT OF THE GATE WITH VENGEANCE RECOVERING TAMPA'S OPENING GAME ONSIDE KICKOFF AND SCORING ON IT'S FIRST PLAY WITH NICOLE STANLEY TOUCHDOWN PASS TAKING A 6-0 LEAD. STANLEY REPLACED INJURED STARTING QUARTERBACK KRYSTAL GRAY WHO CAME INTO FRIDAY NIGHT'S GAME WITH A STRAINED SHOULDER. DESPITE BEING VIRTUALLY OUT OF THE PLAYOFF RACE NEW YORK CAME OUT AND PLAYED WITH PRIDE THROUGHOUT THE FIRST HALF BEHIND THE COURAGEOUS PLAY OF QB NICOLE STANLEY. BOTH TEAM'S TURNED TO THEIR BACK-UPS AS NEW YORK'S KRYSTAL GRAY AND TAMPA'S JENN MYERS WERE BOTH FORCED OUT OF THE LINE-UP WITH INURIES.

FOLLOWING THE OPENING PLAY NEW YORK SCORE, TAMPA ANSWERED WITH THREE UNANSWERED TOUCHDOWNS. one by running back eliese zukelman, one bY ALL-FANTASY WIDE RECEIVER BRANDYCE LEE AS WELL AS A TOUCHDOWN PASS FROM DENISHA CRAWFORD TO EMANDA DOSCHER GOING INTO THE HALF WITH A 21-6 LEAD. TAMPA DOMINATED THE FIRST HALF FOLLOWING NEW YORK'S SCORE DESPITE NOT HAVING TWO OF THEIR STUD ALL-FANTASY PLAYERS RUNNING BACK TIFFANI POWERS AND LIZ GORMAN IN THE LINE-UP. POWERS AND GORMAN WERE BENCHED IN THE 1ST HALF BY COACH MURPHY BECAUSE THEY BOTH MISSED A MANDATORY PRACTICE THE WEEK OF THE GAME.

IN THE SECOND HALF THE ROUTE WAS ON AS TAMPA ASSERTED ITSELF AS PART OF ONE OF THE ELITE TEAMS IN THE LFL DESPITE NOT HAVING THEIR STARTING QUARTERBACK UNDER CENTER. TAMPA BACK-UP QUARTERBACK AND GAME MVP DENISHA CRAWFORD DOMINATED THE SECOND HALF FINISHING THE GAME WITH 11 FOR 16 PASSING, 103 YARDS AND 3 TOUCHDOWN PASSES. CRAWFORD'S PERFORMANCE COULD CREATE A QUARTERBACK CONTROVERSY IN TAMPA AS MYERS CAME INTO THE SEASON PROJECTED AS A STAR IN THE LEAGUE BUT HAS STRUGGLED. CRAWFORD ENABLES TAMPA TO NOT ONLY PASS BUT SHE CAN ALSO TAKE OFF WITH THE FOOTBALL WITH GREAT SPEED AND QUICKNESS. WITH THE RETURN OF POWERS AND GORMAN TO THE LINE-UP IN THE 2ND HALF TAMPA CONTINUED TO ROLL OUTSCORING NEW YORK 19-7 IN ROUTE TO A 40-13 WIN.

"WE CAN PLAY WITH ANYONE IN THIS LEAGUE, WE DID NOT EVEN SHOW ALL OF OUR PLAYS TONIGHT. MIAMI HAS NO CLUE WHAT IS COMING NEXT FRIDAY NIGHT, WE ARE THE REAL FLORIDA TEAM AND WILL BE HEADED TO PLAYOFFS", SAID AN ENTHUSIASTIC TIFFANI POWERS FOLLOWING THE GAME.

IN ORDER FOR TAMPA TO TAKE OVER MIAMI'S NO.2 SEED IN THE EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS, THE BREEZE WILL HAVE TO BEAT MIAMI BY 31 OR MORE POINTS. DESPITE THE POINT MARGIN TAMPA HAS THE WEAPONS TO BEAT MIAMI BY A BIG MARGIN ESPECIALLY CONSIDERING STARTING QUARTERBACK JENN MYERS WILL BE BACK IN THE LINE-UP, COUPLED WITH MIAMI'S NO.5 RANKED DEFENSE WHICH HAS STRUGGLED THIS SEASON COULD MAKE FOR AN INTERESTING GAME IN SOUTH FLORIDA.