TAMPA — Kiss the playoffs goodbye.
Tampa Bay rallied to beat Los Angeles but didn't get the needed help from Cleveland, as the Storm was eliminated from the postseason despite beating the Kiss 38-34 in front of an AFL season-best 16,308 Saturday night at Amalie Arena.
"We know we dug ourselves a hole," coach Lawrence Samuels said. "It's unfortunate that we won't be able to get in the dance."
The Storm, which snapped a four-game skid, was eliminated from the postseason before its game even ended. Tampa Bay needed a Cleveland loss, but the Gladiators, which kicked off 30 minutes prior to the Storm game, beat Spokane 59-42 and scooped up the final American Conference wild-card spot.
Although its playoff fate was sealed, the Storm (7-10) wrapped up the home finale in dramatic fashion. Tampa Bay took possession on its own 2 trailing 34-31 with just more than three minutes to play. Quarterback Jason Boltus capped a nine-play drive when he hit T.T. Toliver for a 15-yard corner route with 15 seconds to play for the winning score.
"We were trying to move the ball but (also) protect the ball so the opposing team can't get the ball back and score so quickly," said fullback Undra Hendrix, who had two rushing TDs. "Offense did a great job doing both."
The Kiss (4-13) had one last shot from the Storm 15 with two seconds to play, but former Spoto High standout Nick Addison picked off the desperation heave to seal the win.
For the better part of two decades, the Storm was synonymous with the AFL postseason. Tampa Bay had a streak of 15 playoff appearances from 1991-2005 and won a record five AFL titles during that stretch.
But that has not been the case lately.
"It hurts," Samuels, who won three ArenaBowls with the Storm, said of not making the playoffs. "I'm so used to making the playoffs. I can't remember the last time not making it as a player."
Since losing to Spokane in the 2010 ArenaBowl, Tampa Bay has reached the postseason once in five seasons. It's the fifth time in franchise history the Storm failed to make the playoffs.
Tampa Bay wraps up the regular season next week at Orlando.