Dietz leads Storm to AFL title game

Former Hanover quarterback Brett Dietz will lead the Tampa Bay Storm into the Arena Football League's championship game. Arena Bowl XXIII will be played Friday, Aug. 20, in Spokane, Wash., and air on the NFL Network.

Tampa Bay (13-5) advanced to the title game with a 63-62 victory against the Orlando Predators in the American Conference championship last weekend. Dietz threw for 260 yards and seven touchdowns in the Storm's win.

Tampa Bay will face the Spokane Shock. The Shock (15-3) earned a berth in the championship with a 60-57 victory against the Milwaukee Iron in last week's National Conference finale.

This will be the first meeting of the season between the Storm and Shock.

Dietz is the first player in Arena Football League history to earn rookie-of-the-year honors in both the AFL and the AF2.

Despite signing one-third of the way into the season, he was tabbed the AFL's rookie of the year in 2007 after throwing for 2,395 yards and 47 touchdowns for Tampa Bay. That season, he also set an AFL record for completion percentage by a rookie (65.9%) and set the Storm's single-season record for passer rating (119.3).

Dietz was named the AF2 rookie of the year in 2006 after throwing for 4,217 yards and 90 touchdowns for the Louisville Fire. The effort included a league-record 12 touchdown passes in a game against Albany (N.Y.).

Dietz was a four-sport athlete at Hanover. He was named the college's most outstanding male senior athlete in 2004 after playing football, basketball, golf and baseball for the Panthers.

He led Hanover's football program to three Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference championships and three berths in the NCAA playoffs. He was a two-time all-HCAC selection.

Dietz was named the Panthers' most valuable player as a senior after leading the nation in total offense (380.5 yards per game) and finishing second in passing efficiency (138.3). He set school single-season records during the 2003 campaign with 575 pass attempts, 360 completions and 4,031 yards. His 35 touchdown passes during the season ranked as the second-highest single-season total in school history.

He was the team's most valuable offensive back as a junior. A first-team all-Heartland Conference pick in 2002, Dietz completed 182 of 309 passes for 2,296 yards and 26 touchdowns to lead Hanover to a 10-1 record.

He closed his collegiate career ranked third in career touchdown passes (67), fourth in career completions (583) and fourth in completion percentage (61.6%).