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Mahoning Valley Thunder game notes

May 1, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Mahoning Valley Thunder News Release


QUICK FACTS:

Louisville Fire (1-3) at

Mahoning Valley Thunder (3-1)

Date: Saturday, May 5th, 2007

Kickoff: 7:05 p.m. EST

Site: The Chevrolet Centre (6,000)

National Anthem: TBA

Coin Toss: TBA

Officials: Greg Allen (Referee) Brian Fleming (Umpire) Rob Luklan (Head Linesman) Dan Gallagher (Line Judge) Frank Steratore (Back Judge)

Radio: ESPN 1240 FM; 96.7 FM (Mike Case, Play-by-play and Christian Aleshire, Color Commentary)

Television: WYFX - Tape Delay 11 p.m. (Chad Krispinsky, Ralph Sandy, Joe Aulisio)

Series Record: 0-0

Last Meeting: N/A

Streaks: Thunder Lost 1; Louisville Lost 1

Coaches: Mike Hold (30-28 Reg. Season, First year w/Thunder, 5th overall)

Tommy Johnson (36-32; 4-2 playoffs, Fourth Season)

THE STAKES: Both teams are coming off road loses and are looking to staple a W to their win columns. The Thunder lost their first game of the season to an improving Manchester while the Fire dropped one in Alabama. This week's match-up will be one of pure grit to see who can overcome defeat and pull their team together for a victory.

THE SERIES: Tonight's game will be the first meeting in the series history between the two teams.

THE IFs:

If Mahoning Valley defeats Louisville, it would ...

- Give Mahoning Valley a 1-0 series record with the Fire

- Give Mahoning Valley a 4-1 start going into May

- Give Mike Hold his fourth victory as the Thunder Head Coach

- Give the Thunder a 4-1 record as they host Wilkes-Barre/Scr. next week

- Give the Thunder a 3-0 home record

Mahoning Valley (3-1)

Date Opponent Result Record

3/31 TRI CITIES W 48-40 1-0

4/6 @ Albany W 65-59 2-0

4/21 CINCINNATI W 54-20 3-0

4/28 @ Manchester L 67-49 3-1

Date Opponent Time Result Series

5/5 LOUISVILLE 7:05 N/A N/A

5/12 WILKES-BARRE/SCR. 7:05 N/A N/A

5/19 @ Florida 7:30 N/A N/A

5/25 MANCHESTER 7:05 N/A 0-1

6/2 @ Cincinnati 7:30 N/A 1-0

6/8 @ Green Bay 8:30 N/A N/A

6/16 QUAD CITY 7:05 N/A N/A

6/30 @ WB/Scranton 7:00 N/A N/A

7/7 @ Louisville 7:00 N/A N/A

7/13 ALBANY 7:05 N/A 1-0

7/21 @ Tennessee Valley 8:30 N/A N/A

7/28 GREEN BAY 7:05 N/A N/A

*all times EST

Louisville (1-3)

Date Opponent Result Record

3/30 BOISE L 55-52 0-1

4/7 @ South Georgia L 77-53 0-2

4/13 CINCINNATI W 61-54 1-2

4/21 @ Alabama L 63-47 1-3

Date Opponent Time Result Series

5/5 @ Mahoning Valley 7:05 N/A 1st Meeting

5/11 @ Ft. Wayne 7:30 N/A 1st Meeting

5/19 ALABAMA 7:00 L 1 ALA 5 - 4

5/25 @ Quad City 8:30 W 1 QC 8 - 4

6/2 GREEN BAY 7:00 L 1 Tied 4 - 4

6/16 FT. WAYNE 7:00 N/A 2nd Meeting

6/23 @ Cincinnati 7:30 W 1 Fire 2-1

6/30 @ Albany 4:00 W 4 Fire 5 - 1

7/7 MAHONING VALLEY 7:00 N/A 2nd Meeting

7/14 QUAD CITY 7:00 W 1 QC 8 - 4

7/20 @ Green Bay 8:30 L 1 Tied 4 - 4

7/28 TENNESSEE 7:00 W 1 TV 2 - 1

American Conference East Standings

Team W L PCT Home Road

WB/Scranton 4 0 1.000 2-0 2-0

Mahoning Valley 3 1 .750 2-0 1-1

Albany 2 2 .500 1-1 1-1

Manchester 2 2 .500 2-0 0-2

Mike Hold, Thunder Head Coach Mike Hold enters his first season as the Head Coach of the Mahoning Valley Thunder. He comes to the Thunder after serving as head coach of the Augusta Stallions of af2, head coach of the Macon Knights of af2, head coach of the Carolina Cobras of the AFL and coaching with the Las Vegas Gladiators of the AFL. Hold brings over 20 years of Arena Football experience to the Thunder. He enjoyed a 12-season playing career in the AFL beginning in the League's inaugural season in 1987 with the Chicago Bruisers. Hold participated in training camps with the Denver Broncos in 1986 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1987 and 1988. Hold also played in three games with the Bucs during the 1987 season completing 8-of-24 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Hold graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1985 after playing two seasons. He led the Gamecocks to the only 10-win season in school history and was named MVP of the Gator Bowl in 1984. Hold ranks seventh on the school's all-time passing list with 2,981 yards. A native of Tempe, Arizona, Hold worked as a color commentator for the Mountain West Conference, for ESPN's Arena Football League coverage in 2001 and was the play-by-play announcer for the af2's ArenaCup6 Championship Game in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He and his wife, Nicole, reside in Salem, OH with their two dogs, Phoenix and Macy.

The Last Time Out:

MANCHESTER, NH - The Manchester Wolves (2-2) extended their home-win streak to a franchise best five straight games with a convincing 67-49 win over the previously undefeated Mahoning Valley Thunder (3-1), Saturday night on Brady Sullivan Field at the Verizon Wireless Arena in front of 5,748 fans. Thunder starting quarterback an AFL and af2 veteran Glen Gauntt (South Florida) couldn't lead his Mahoning Valley squad to their fourth-straight victory after being down 35-14 going into halftime but did perform valiantly as he threw for 331 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. Gauntt was under constant pressure the whole game by an aggressive defensive line of the Wolves that was lead by rookies Fountain and James Midboe ( Bemidji State ) and veteran Ramal Faunteroy (Shepherd University ). Mahoning Valley was led offensively by receivers Chris Archie (13 catches for 140 yards, two touchdowns) and Kenneth Johnson from Southern Missouri (13 catches for 130 yards and two touchdowns). Tim Murphy (Pittsburgh ) led the Thunder rushing game with 41 yards and two touchdowns.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the Thunder and Fire stack up:

Statistical THUNDER FIRE

Category Rank Stat Rank Stat

Scoring Offense 8 53.8 T 9 53.2

Scoring Defense T 13 46.5 26 62.8

Total Offense 5 285.8 3 304.2

Total Defense 11 245.8 19 275.2

Pass Offense 7 257.5 6 258.0

Pass Defense 21 111.1 30 132.7

Rushing Offense T 7 28.2 1 46.2

Rushing Defense 4 11.2 5 12.8

Scoring (Non-Kick) 11 186.0 13 182.0

Scoring (Kicking) T 13 27.0 T 13 27.0

Pass Rating 16 99.4 19 98.0

Pass Def. Rating 16 101.2 11 92.5

Kickoff Returns 28 12.4 30 10.5

MFG Returns T 21 11.7 23 6.0

Turnover Margin T 7 1.25 T 25 1.75

Sacks By T 6 11 T 8 10

Sacks Against T 21 9 T 9 4

First Downs T 3 84 T 3 84

Opp. First Downs T 8 66 T 22 76

Penalties 29 73.2 30 78.8

Opp. Penalties 1 92.0 17 51.2

THUNDER TEAM INJURY REPORT:

Pos. Name Injury Status

THIS WEEK'S QUOTES:

MIKE HOLD, on the loss: "We didn't play well at all. In arenafootball, you can't come out flat. That's what we did and it hurt us. It seemed like every time we were about to catch a break, Manchester would bury us again with a big play or a big stop."

Mike Hold, on Louisville: "They are a team that is going to be hungry. Teams in this league cannot be overlooked. A team can lose by 40 points one week and win by 40 the next. You need to prepare for every game the same."

Mike Hold, on three of the next four games at home: "We are excited to be back home but when you look at the next four games, the teams are pretty tough. Louisville, Wilkes-Barre who is at the top of the league, Florida who was at the top of the league and then Manchester again. It's a tough stretch."

FORWARD MOTION: Including tonight's game, the Thunder will play three of the next four games at home on Cortland Banks Field at the Chevrolet Centre. Beginning with the Louisville Fire tonight, the Thunder host the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers next week. The Pioneers are currently ranked #1 in the af2 Coaches Poll. Mahoning Valley then travels to Florida to take on the Firecats before returning home to host the Manchester Wolves to close out the month of May.

WELCOME BACK: Thunder DB Rob Green and WR/LB Sam Crenshaw each spent af2 time in Louisville playing for the Fire. Crenshaw played with them in 2004 while Green was a member of the Fire's 2005 ArenaCup team.

TOP RANKED: The Thunder currently sit in number 1 in the league in Opponents Penalties. The Thunder opponents through the first four games have committed 92.0 penalty yards per game.

RUN AWAY TRAIN: FB/LB Tim Murphy was a victim of the ever popular "numbers crunch" coming out of training camp. Head Coach Mike Hold decided to carry more of a certain position - leaving Murphy the odd-man out at fullback. With the injury to Tim Frost, Murphy was brought back to the club and has been a spark on offense right from the get-go. The 6'0, 240 pound back out of Pitt has played just two games, rushing for 87 yards and three touchdown scores. He has the ability to keep defenses honest as now they must guard against the run just as much as the pass.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING: The Thunder opened up the game versus Cincinnati on April 21 with five consecutive touchdown scoring drives. With a turnover on downs on the sixth drive, the Thunder ended a streak of nine straight drives resulting in a TD, dating back to Albany on April 6 where the Thunder finished the game with four consecutive touchdown drives. The final drive in Albany was a two-play drive with :07 left in the game and time expired before the Thunder could score. This series does not count towards the nine-drive streak.

GET THAT QB: The Thunder defense is currently tied for sixth in the af2 in sacks with 11 in four games. Against Manchester, Shalom Tuimalealiifano was the first af2 player this year to record a sack against Manchester. The Wolves hadn't allowed their QB to be taken down until Tui's sack in the second quarter.

MILESTONES: Having never played an af2 game before, every play in the home opener was some kind of new Thunder record. Here are some of the most notable facts that have made it into the Mahoning Valley Record Book:

First TD Pass: Glen Gauntt to Chris Archie

First TD Rush: Tim Frost

First Play from Scrimmage: Gauntt pass to Kenneth Johnson for nine yards

First Interception: Brian Majors

First Fumble Recovery: Mike Lane

PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH:

WR/DB Tiger Jones will give the Thunder defensive backfield something to key in on as he looks to continue his streak of over 100 yards receiving per game this season. WR Chris Archie and WR Kenneth Johnson both tallied up two TD catches last weekend in Manchester and look to continue their scoring ways this Saturday back home in the Valley. Archie already has two "Catch of the Game" awards to his honor this year; can he make it number three this weekend?

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD

(selected by media)

Week Opp. Player

1 TRI WR Chris Archie (MVT)

2 @ ALB QB Glen Gauntt (MVT)

3 BYE BYE

4 CIN WR DeMarcus Mathes (MVT)

5 @ MAN QB Ryan Porter (MAN)

6 LOU

IRONMAN OF THE GAME AWARD

(selected by media)

Week Opp. Player

1 TRI OL/DL Tim Frost (MVT)

2 @ ALB DB Jarvis Johnson (ALB)

3 BYE BYE

4 CIN TE/DL Jamel Lee (MVT)

5 @ MAN WR/DB David Bailey (MAN)

6 LOU

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME AWARD

(selected by media)

Week Opp. Player

1 TRI OL/DL Anton Ceaser (MVT)

2 @ ALB DL Durrand Roundtree (ALB)

3 BYE BYE

4 CIN DB Maurice Taylor (MVT)

5 @ MAN DL Maurice Fountain (MAN)

6 LOU

CATCH OF THE GAME AWARD

(selected by media)

Week Opp. Player

1 TRI WR Chris Archie (MVT)

2 @ ALB WR DeMarcus Mathes (MVT)

3 BYE BYE

4 CIN WR Kenny Johnson (MVT)

5 @ MAN WR Chris Archie (MVT)

6 LOU

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