Thunder hang tough before falling to Blizzard in season finale
July 25, 2009 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Mahoning Valley Thunder News Release
Youngstown, OH. - With a season best 3,893 fans on hand in the Covelli Centre, Mahoning Valley gave Green Bay all they could handle before falling 63-43 to close the regular season. Mahoning Valley jumped out to a 14-0 second quarter lead but couldn't contain the Green Bay offense from that point on. After being held scoreless through the opening frame, the Blizzard dropped 63 points on Mahoning Valley over the final three quarters.
In his first home start of the season Thunder Quarterback Tom Zetts completed 20 of his 43 pass attempts for a season-high 272 yards and five touchdowns. Zetts also contributed 19 yards on the ground. The Boardman High and Youngstown State graduate was one of three players with local ties to impact the game. Kicker Brian Palmer of Youngstown State and Mineral Ridge high school connected on three Field Goals including a 45 yarder in the second quarter which tied for the longest in team history. Green Bay's Anthony Hoke of nearby Warren Harding high school registered two tackles including a sack.
Green Bay was led by Quarterback Gino Guidigli who threw for 271 yards and four touchdowns completing 23 of his 32 attempts. Guidigli also added a rushing touchdown. Leading the way for the Blizzard receivers was Anthony Crissinger-Hill who hauled in 10 passes for 123 yards and two scores. Jermaine Moye proved to be Mahoning Valley's top target, catching eight passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns.
The Thunder was unable to weather the Blizzard pass rush which sacked Zetts four times on the evening. Zarnell Fitch recorded two quarterback take downs with Anthony Hoke and Rodney Allen contributing the other two sacks. As is usually the case, the team that turns the ball over least wins. The story remained the same tonight with Mahoning Valley turning the ball over three times compared to just once for Green Bay.
Mahoning Valley finishes their third season with a record of 2-14. Meanwhile the Blizzard closes the regular season with a 10-6 mark and will advance to the post season beginning next weekend.
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