NFL, MLB, NHL, NBA, CFL stats



Game Preview: Thunder and Outlaws Meet for the First Time

June 23, 2015 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Portland Thunder News Release


PORTLAND - The Portland Thunder (3-9, 1-3) travel to 'Sin City' this week, taking on the expansion Las Vegas Outlaws (4-8, 3-1) for the first time this Sunday afternoon from the Thomas and Mack Center. Kickoff is set for 2:00pm PDT. Fans can listen on FREEDOM 970 AM starting at 1:30pm, and also watch live on ESPN3, or the WatchESPN.com app.

The Thunder have lost their last five, but displayed very spirited performances against some of the AFL's elite during this run. While a win against the Shock last weekend would have provided a much better platform from which to advance throughout the final third of this 2015 season, you certainly cannot fault the effort shown in the 69-54 loss.

After falling behind by 21 points during a tumultuous and unlucky first quarter, the Thunder battled back behind QB Kyle Rowley, who provided a spark coming off the bench in relief of first time starter Alex Carder. Rowley completed his first eight passes, with the first three of his offerings each going for Thunder touchdowns. The Thunder eventually closed the gap to just one score, at 49-41, late in the third, during a 10 minute span that saw the Portland force two defensive stops, while scoring three times. Portland was stopped however on their next offensive possession, and was not able to chip away any further.

"I thought our guys fought back, and I am proud of the way that we did," head coach Mike Hohensee stated following the game. "When you're 3-and-8, you are not expected to fight like that. I think the team's attitude has been pretty good (through the losses). At times we have played very good football. We're just a bit inconsistent right now, and that comes with having such a young roster."

Consistency does seem like it could provide the Thunder with the wins it needs to qualify for the Playoffs. Each of the last five games has seen the Thunder outscored in the first half, by an average of 18.2 points. Similar to last Sunday's tussle with the Shock though, the Thunder have crawled their way back into games, closing the average point gap to 1.6. Currently, the Thunder trail both Spokane (4-8) and Las Vegas for the last spot in the National Conference playoff picture, but a win in Vegas this weekend will go a long way to jumpstarting a positive run.

One player who has found his game is Portland wide-out Jared Perry. The former AFL Rookie of the Year has been outstanding since joining from the Arizona Rattlers on April 20th. In his last two games, Perry has found the end-zone nine times, from 21 catches, totaling 320 yards. An unexpected element of Jared's game has been his usefulness in trick or stretch play situations. Perry added a touchdown pass to his five scores last Sunday, hitting fellow WR Perez Ashford on a late, fourth quarter toss-sweep-shovel play. Perry has thrown three passes so far this season, completing all of them, with two going for Thunder touchdowns.

The Outlaws enter this weekend's game having lost six of their last seven, most recently dropping a 63-31 decision to the San Jose SaberCats. Down just four at halftime, Las Vegas gave up five straight touchdowns to San Jose during a scoreless stretch that spanned 25:06 across the second half. A silver lining of late for the Outlaws has been the play of WR/KR Gerald Young. The Week 13 JLS Playmaker of the Week, Young tied the AFL record for most combined kick return touchdowns in a single season against San Jose, with his seventh of the year. Young, who has totaled five kickoff return scores and a pair of missed field goal return touchdowns thus far in 2015, finished last week with 268 all-purpose yards, finding the end zone on a 56-yard kickoff return. Gerald (5) currently sits one KRTD behind Thunder return man Duane Brooks (6), who is one shy of tying both the AFL combined kick, and kickoff return records.

• Discuss this story on the Arena Football League message board...

Arena Football League Stories from June 23, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central