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Sylvester Bembery

Offensive Lineman/Defensive Lineman

Sylvester Bembery
Photo by Chris Arnold
AFL Experience: 11th season
Height: 6-3
Weight: 285
Date of Birth: 3/1/65
College: Central Florida

Year-by-Year:

1988: Debuted as a rookie with the New England Steamrollers in the club's first and only season...Tallied 8.5 sacks in 12-game season.

1990: Came back to Arena Football with his coach from New England, Rick Buffington, when the Albany Firebirds were founded in March of that year...Named to the All-AFL first team...Led the league in sacks with six in the eight-game season...Named the Firebirds' Ironman of the Year...Set the league record for safeties in a game (2).

1991: Named to the All-AFL team for the second consecutive year... Second in the league with career-high 8.5 sacks, a total which ranks third in AFL history for a single season.

1992: For the third consecutive year, made the All-AFL team at OL/DL...Led Firebirds in sacks with six; he also notched 16 tackles and seven assists.

1993: For first time since 1988, Bembery was not named to the All-Arena Football team...Helped key Albany to their third consecutive postseason appearance.

1994: A tumultuous offseason saw his rights transferred from Albany to Massachusetts before he finally landed in Tampa Bay in the March trade that also saw George LaFrance join the Storm... Finished the year with just one sack, but saw duty at tight end as the eligible receiver, catching eight passes for 56 yards and two touchdowns...Helped key a Storm comeback against Fort Worth (6/4) by blocking a Trey Weir field goal attempt out of the end zone for a safety...Caught touchdown passes against Cleveland (6/11) and Milwaukee (7/9).

1995: Named to All-AFL second team...Tied for team lead with four sacks...Had best game against Connecticut (7/21), recording two sacks for 13 yards, a a tackle and one pass defensed ...Notched a sack of Troy Kopp in playoff win over Memphis (8/12)...recovered fumbles in back-to-back weeks against Las Vegas (6/2) and Miami (6/10)...Had season-high three tackles against Las Vegas (6/24).

1996: Due to personal committments and injury, he missed three of the first four games of the season...Came alive against Arizona (7/27), posting two sacks, forcing a fumble and adding two tackles...The forced fumble against the Rattlers was his first since joining the Storm...Named to All-AFL second team for second consecutive year.

1997: Continues to be a solid player in the AFL in his ninth season...Missed the first game at Arizona but saw substantial action in the last 13 games of the season...Had a season-best four tackles at Orlando (6/27)...Posted his first sack of the season against New Jersey (6/14); he also added half a sack against Anaheim (7/12)...Named Ironman of the Game against New York after posting a tackle, batting down a pass and playing a superb game on offense, keeping QB Peter Tom Willis from aggravating his rib injury...Also came close to scoring a safety on three separate occasions and was in the face of CityHawk QB Mike Perez all night...Tied for the team lead in passes defensed in the playoffs with three; Jack Kellogg shared the lead with Bembery...Led Storm linemen with four tackles in the postseason.

1998: Was having another solid season until the 11:26 mark of the second quarter of the Storm's Week Eight win over Albany on June 20...On a pitchout to Firebird FB/LB Chad Dukes, he fell to the ground, suffering a right knee injury...Further tests indicated that he had torn two ligaments in his knee---the anterior cruciate and the medial collateral...Underwent surgery on July 29...Received an honor just before the playoffs, as he was named to the league's All- ArenaBowl team...Played both ways but did not post any statistical numbers at San Jose (5/1)...Made his first tackle of the season against Nashville (5/9) and consistently pressured Kats QB Andy Kelly...Started and posted two tackles and an assist against Houston (5/16)...Did not record any stats at Florida (5/23) and New Jersey (5/30)... Posted one unassisted tackle against New York (6/6)...Returned to his former residence when the Storm took on Orlando (6/12) but did not record any stats.

1999: In testament to the wonders of modern science and his own intestinal fortitude, Bembery returned to the lineup, completely healed from that devastating injury and defusing any rumors of impending retirement...In his first game back (4/24), appropriately against Albany, his former team and the team against which he injured his knee, he posted two solo tackles...One week later at Milwaukee (4/29), he added four total tackles---including two solo stops---and broke up two passes...Notched two assists and turned in a solid, fairly mistake-free two way game against Florida (5/15).

Career Highlights: Named to the AFL's Tenth Anniversary Team...All-time AFL leader in sacks with 39...Named lineman of the year at Central Florida in 1987.

AFL Statistics

1999 GAME-BY-GAME

RECEIVING

Date  Opponent    REC    YDS    AVG   LG    TD 
----------------------------------------------
4/24  Albany        0      0    0.0    0     0
4/29  Milwaukee     0      0    0.0    0     0
5/15  Florida       0      0    0.0    0     0
----------------------------------------------
SEASON TOTALS       0      0    0.0    0     0

DEFENSE

Date  Opponent    TKL   AST   SKS   YDS FF-FR   INT   YDS  TD
-------------------------------------------------------------
4/24  Albany        2     0     0     0   0-0     0     0   0
4/29  Milwaukee     2     2     0     0   0-0     0     0   0
5/15  Florida       0     2     0     0   0-0     0     0   0
-------------------------------------------------------------
SEASON TOTALS       4     4     0     0   0-0     0     0   0

CAREER

RECEIVING

Year  Team        REC    YDS    AVG   LG    TD 
----------------------------------------------
1988  New England   0      0    0.0    0     0
1990  Albany        0      0    0.0    0     0
1991  Albany        0      0    0.0    0     0
1992  Albany        2     20   10.0   13     0
1993  Albany        2      7    3.5    5     1
1994  Tampa Bay     8     56    7.0   17     2
1995  Tampa Bay     1      6    6.0    6     0
1996  Tampa Bay     0      0    0.0    0     0
1997  Tampa Bay     0      0    0.0    0     0
1998  Tampa Bay     0      0    0.0    0     0
1999  Tampa Bay     0      0    0.0    0     0
----------------------------------------------
CAREER TOTALS      13     89    6.8   17     3

DEFENSE

Year  Team        TKL   AST   SKS   YDS FF-FR   INT   YDS  TD
-------------------------------------------------------------
1988  New England  15     6   8.5     -   0-1     0     0   0
1990  Albany       15     4     6     -   0-0     0     0   0
1991  Albany       19     2   8.5     -   2-0     0     0   0
1992  Albany       16     7     6     -   0-0     0     0   0
1993  Albany       13     4   1.5    10   0-0     0     0   0
1994  Tampa Bay     9     3     1     3   0-1     0     0   0
1995  Tampa Bay    11     6     4    27   0-1     0     0   0
1996  Tampa Bay    10     1     3    17   1-0     0     0   0
1997  Tampa Bay    12     8   1.5    13   0-0     0     0   0
1998  Tampa Bay     4     3     0     0   0-0     0     0   0
1999  Tampa Bay     4     4     0     0   0-0     0     0   0
-------------------------------------------------------------
CAREER TOTALS     128    48    39    70   3-3     0     0   0



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