Thunderstrike Gameday 4/14: Thunder 72, Corpus Christi 31
April 14, 2008 - Intense Football League (Intense)
Frisco Thunder News Release
By Dan Ryan FriscoThunderIFL.com
FRISCO, Tex. (April 13, 2008) -- Wes Cooper had something to prove. So did the Frisco Thunder defense.
So the guys in green proved it all night with a complete 72-31 destruction of the Corpus Christi Hammerheads before a DeJa Blue Arena in the Dr Pepper StarCenter crowd of 2,288 that included NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin.
Extracting a modicum of revenge against a team he felt underappreciated his contributions during consecutive Intense Bowl championship game appearances, Cooper threw seven touchdown passes as he led the Thunder (5-2) to its best offensive output of the season. He threw just one harmless interception and actually RAN the ball once, coming within inches of a 7-yard touchdown run.
``This is how we're supposed to play,'' said Cooper, who finished 18 of 31 for 223 yards. ``That's as close to a complete game as we've played all season.''
While Cooper flourished, former Thunder QB Dustin Almond, who threw for a gazillion yards under the keen tutelage of Brad Frazier last season, struggled in his return to Frisco as the match-up between transposed signal callers never materialized.
Almond's line: 17 of 48 for 150 yards. Before a touchdown to Fred Wallace with eight seconds remaining, Frisco's defense had as many touchdowns off Almond as did the Corpus Christi receivers.
Though partially a victim to numerous drops -- one Hammerhead receiver did a Jackie Smith on a wide-open touchdown in the second quarter -- Almond was battered by a strong pass rush and a defensive secondary determined not to let another overwhelming victory turn into a narrow escape. Both Thunder losses have occurred on touchdowns in the final six seconds, the final touchdown Sunday was only a blip on an otherwise perfect half of defense.
Frisco held Corpus Christi scoreless for 29 minutes and 52 seconds as the Thunder pulled away from a 33-23 halftime lead and handed the previously unbeaten Hammerheads (3-1) one of their worst losses in franchise history.
``This effort started from practice on Wednesday ... we hadn't been playing good as a whole in the secondary,'' said defensive back Marcus Stiggers, whose third-quarter interception return for a touchdown sparked the pullaway. ``Individually, we stepped up and made plays.''
Richard Morris (nine catches, 125 yards) posted his fifth 100-yard night of the season and scored two touchdowns along with Jason Deml (4-53), but the receiving spark came from Moses Harris, who, in his first game back, pulled a Cris Carter --all he did was catch three touchdowns on his first three touches.
After Michael Larry recovered a fumble to end Corpus Christi�s second possession, a Cooper to Harris 2-yarder put Frisco ahead 13-7 with 5:18 remaining in the opening quarter. Another defensive stop allowed the Thunder to take a 20-7 lead early in the second quarter on Deml's 7-yarder from Cooper.
Cooper hit Morris twice in the second quarter --one on a season-long 46-yarder -- as Frisco maintained a double-figure lead heading in the locker room.
After Cooper and Morris connected on their third touchdown to start the second half, Stiggers' 34-yard interception set the tone for the remainder of the game. Almond completed just five of 23 attempts -- throwing ten consecutive incomplete passes during one stretch -- as the Thunder increased its lead to 52-23 after three.
Ricky Madison made the most of fourth-quarter garbage time, rushing for three touchdowns and a two-point conversion in the final 15 minutes. He finished with a season-best 43-yards, and his 33-yard touchdown run was the longest in both the Thunder's history and in the Intense Football League this season.
``The big difference tonight is we finished,'' said Thunder coach Troy Esprit. ``We came out with the intensity in the first half, and we brought it in the second half.''
Don McGee led the Thunder defense with seven tackles, while Michael Catchings registered an interception and LaMont Finley and Linnis Smith were each credited with three hurries.
Harris was named the Thunder's offensive MVP, while Stiggers garnered the Randy White Hall of Fame BBQ defensive player of the game award. Madison, who also had two special teams tackles, took the Coach Joe's Sports Grille special teams player award.
The Thunder now embarks on a seven-game road trip next Saturday against the Odessa Roughnecks. Kickoff is 7:11 CST.
Intense Football League Stories from April 14, 2008
- Thunderstrike Gameday 4/14: Thunder 72, Corpus Christi 31 - Frisco Thunder
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