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Thunder, KISS Set for Showdown

July 11, 2014 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Portland Thunder News Release


PORTLAND, ORE. - Saturday night's matchup between the Portland Thunder and Los Angeles KISS is, for all intents and purposes, the season for these two squads.

A Thunder win trims their magic number to one - any win or Los Angeles loss guarantees them a playoff victory. A KISS win gives Los Angeles the lead in the playoff race with an easier remaining schedule as well.

The expansion franchises have battled throughout the season, jockeying for the final playoff spot in the National Conference.

Looking at the numbers, it would seem that the Thunder would have a significant advantage - they've scored more points, allowed fewer points, forced more turnovers...but for whatever reason, the KISS have had their number in their two previous matchups.

Those games, however, were played in L.A. Saturday's game will take place in front of the Rose City's frenzied fans, all dressed in red and united in the team's first red-out.

The Thunder seem to have found a possible replacement for Eric Rogers in Jamar Howard, who stepped up in Rogers' absence and caught eight passes for a franchise-record 161 yards in last week's loss against the Cleveland Gladiators. Jeffrey Solomon also remains a threat at all times, having caught multiple TD passes for two consecutive weeks now.

Quarterback Kyle Rowley will attempt to bounce back from a four-interception performance against the Gladiators' swarming defense. He'll be going up against a KISS defense that has only picked off 13 passes in 15 games. Unfortunately for the Thunder, three of those interceptions came against Portland in the first matchup of the season.

After a 69-61 game the last time these two teams played, all eyes will be on the defenses to step up. The Thunder have done a great job all season of forcing turnovers, having produced 40 on the season, but they've only taken the ball away from a turnover-prone Los Angeles offense three times in two games.

The playmaking secondary will look to step up against a tough wide receiving corps that features both Donovan Morgan and Samora Goodson, receivers that have the top two performances against the Thunder secondary this season.

Morgan and Goodson look as though they'll be catching passes from J.J. Raterink, who was sent to Iowa earlier in the season when the KISS acquired Aaron Garcia, then returned when Garcia went down with an injury. Raterink led the KISS in the first game against Portland.

The Thunder have a chance to get the home fans celebrating a likely playoff berth in their inaugural season. It would also be the first AFL playoff appearance for a Portland AFL team. Can they smack the KISS?

Saturday's game will be televised on CSN Northwest and broadcast via radio on 750 AM The Game. For all the latest news and discussion on the Portland Thunder, follow the team on Facebook (facebook.com/PDXThunder), Twitter and Instagram (@PDXThunder).

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