Thunder Struggle for Consistency, Fall to Rattlers 65 to 47

April 19, 2015 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Portland Thunder News Release

Portland Thunder vs. Arizona Rattlers
(Portland Thunder)

"I thought we played hard enough," stated Thunder head coach Mike Hohensee. "I just don't think we played well enough. We didn't execute the little things that you have to in order to win against a great football team."

A difficult second quarter for the Thunder defined the game, and saw Portland surrender three unanswered scores to the Rattlers off of three total turnovers. The second of those turnovers was an Arizona goal line stand, with the Thunder unable to score despite starting the sequence with a 1st and Goal from the Rattler one yard line.

"We gave it away in the red-zone," Hohensee explained, when asked about the opportunities squandered in the first half. "We got down there, and maybe forgot how to run a route, or forgot how to block. We made a mess of things, and you cannot give a team like that (Arizona) momentum."

Thunder QB Kyle Rowley started the game completing six of his first seven passing, but was inconsistent throughout the rest of the first half, completing just seven of his next 20, seemingly unable to get on page with his receivers. He finished the evening 22 of 43, for 296 yards, and six touchdowns with one interception.

Rowley's counterpart, Arizona Rattler QB Nick Davila took advantage of the Thunder miscues, throwing for 319 yards and nine scores off of 31 completions from 44 attempts. His favored target of the evening was WR Rod Windsor. The five year veteran led all receivers on the night, catching 14 passes, for 141 yards and six touchdowns.

Continuing to show well for the Thunder were WR Jamar Howard and JLB Bryce Peila. Peila forced his third turnover in two games, intercepting Davila in the second quarter, just the third interception this season thrown by the Rattler signal caller. Howard tallied his fourth straight 100+ yard receiving performance to start the 2015 season, catching nine balls for 138 yards and four touchdowns.

The Thunder will head out for their second of three straight road games next Saturday, this time to San Jose to face the 4-0 SaberCats from the SAP Center. Kickoff is set for 7:30pm.

Portland Thunder Head Coach Mike Hohensee	Portland Thunder vs. Arizona Rattlers	Portland Thunder vs. Arizona Rattlers
Portland Thunder vs. Arizona Rattlers	Portland Thunder vs. Arizona Rattlers

Arena Football League Stories from April 19, 2015

• Thunder Struggle for Consistency, Fall to Rattlers 65 to 47 - Portland Thunder
• Rattlers Roll Past the Thunder 65 -47 - Arizona Rattlers

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.

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