Arena Bowl '89 (or Arena Bowl III) was the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

's third Arena Bowl. The game featured the #2

Pittsburgh Gladiators The Tampa Bay Storm were a professional arena football team based in Tampa, Florida, US. It played in the Arena Football League (AFL). Originally the team was located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and operated as the Pittsburgh Gladiators. The f ...

against the #1

Detroit Drive The Massachusetts Marauders were a professional arena football team that was based in Worcester, Massachusetts. They were a member of the Arena Football League (AFL) from 1988 to 1994. The team was established in Detroit in 1988, as the Detroit D ...

. Both teams finished their seasons at 3-1, yet the Drive greatly led in points against (84-147).

Game summary

In the first quarter, Detroit drew first blood with OL-DL Reggie Mathis sacking Gladiators quarterback

Willie Totten Willie "Satellite" Totten (born July 4, 1962) is an American football coach and former player. He is the assistant head coach and quarterbacks coach at Mississippi Valley State University, a position he had held since 2019. Totten played college ...

in the end zone for a safety, while Drive quarterback Tony Burris got a 1-yard quarterback sneak run for a touchdown. Pittsburgh kicker

Rusty Fricke Herberton "Rusty" Fricke (born September 1, 1964) is a former American football placekicker who played five seasons in the Arena Football League with the Pittsburgh Gladiators, Denver Dynamite and Cincinnati Rockers. Fricke played college footbal ...

made a 55-yard field goal, and Detroit responded with FB-LB Lynn Bradford's 17-yard touchdown run. In the second quarter, the Drive increased its lead with kicker

Novo Bojovic Novo Bojovic (born November 2, 1959) is a Yugoslav-born American former placekicker. Bojovic played college football at Central Michigan before embarking on a career in professional football which lasted nine years. Bojovic graduated from Centr ...

's 50-yard field goal, yet the Gladiators refused to go down with Fricke getting a 30-yard field goal. Bradford made a two-yard touchdown run, yet Pittsburgh responded with FB-LB Mike Powell's two-yard touchdown run (with a failed two-point conversion). In the third quarter, the Gladiators drew closer with WR/DB Cornelius Ross returning a fumble 23 yards for a touchdown, yet the Drive responded with Burris completing a 32-yard touchdown pass to OS George LaFrance (with a failed PAT) and a 12-yard touchdown pass to WR/DB Gary Mullen. Pittsburgh would respond with Totten completing a 19-yard touchdown pass to WR-DB Brian Gardner, yet afterwards, Detroit's defense held the Gladiators down for the rest of the game. With the win, the Drive became the first team in Arena Football history to win back-to-back ArenaBowls.

Scoring summary

1st Quarter * DET - Safety * DET - Burris 1 run (Bojovic kick) * PIT - FG Fricke 55 * DET - Bradford 17 run (Bojovic kick) 2nd Quarter * DET - FG Bojovic 50 * PIT - FG Fricke 30 * DET - Bradford 2 run (Bojovic kick) * PIT - Powell 2 run (Totten pass failed) 3rd Quarter * PIT - Ross 23 Fumble Return (Fricke kick) * DET - LaFrance 32 pass from Burris (Bojovic kick failed) * DET - Mullen 12 pass from Burris (Bojovic kick) * PIT - Gardner 19 pass from Totten (Fricke kick)

External links

ArenaFan box score
{{Massachusetts Marauders

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: *003, fictional British 00 Agent *003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) *1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway *''O03 (O2)'' and other related ...

1989 Arena Football League season Massachusetts Marauders Tampa Bay Storm 1989 in sports in Michigan Sports competitions in Detroit August 1989 sports events in the United States 1989 in Detroit