The Mahoning Valley Thunder showed heart and resiliancy in the second half of their game with the Kentucky Horsemen.  Ultimately, however, the Horsemen prevailed 61-39.  The Horsemen prevented new coach Chris MacKeown a victory in his debut and also sent Mahoning Valley away with their eighth consecutive loss.

Jared Lorenzen gave the Thunder defense fits as he passed for 195 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for another three scores on his way to being named Russell Offensive Player of The Game.  The high-powered Kentucky offense uses a semi-platoon system at quarterback with Lorenzen yielding snaps to Justin Rascati who threw for one score and ran for another, he also caught a few balls lining up at receiver en route to winning the JLS Ironman Player of The Game Award. 

Lorenzen drove the Horsemen down the field as they scored in two plays to make it 7-0.  Quorey Payne, as I guaranteed in his feature piece, returned the next kickoff for a touchdown to make it 7-7.  The Horsemen again scored to post a 13-7 lead as the extra point kick was blocked. 

The Thunder offense finally hit the field 20 points later and quarterback-center exchange problems on their first two plays gave the Horsemen the ball deep in Thunder territory, where they would again capitalize to take a 21-7 lead.  The combination of Blake Powers to Payne, which clicked all night, put Mahoning Valley back in the game at 21-13.  Lorenzen mowed some bodies on a one-yard TD to put the Horsemen up 27-13.

As the Horsemen mounted their next drive, a roughing the passer call erased  a Thunder interception in the Horsemen end zone.  Kentucky would eventually turn the ball over on downs.  The first quarter finally ended with Mahoning Valley trailing Kentucky 27-13.

The only score of the second quarter came on a Lorenzen to John Cooper touchdown pass and the Horsemen took a 34-13 lead to the locker room.  Cooper finished the game with 8 catches for 88 yards and the touchdown.

Blake Powers threw a pick on the Thunder’s opening second half drive.  Lorenzen drove the Horsemen down the field and went in untouched on a keeper making it 41-13.  Powers responded on the next drive finding Chris Schubert for a score.  The Horsemen again scored to push their lead to 48-20. 

Powers again found Payne to cut the lead to 48-26.  The Thunder attempted an onside kick, but failed to convert the attempt.  A third Jared Lorenzen TD pass extended the Horsemen lead to 55-26 on the first play of the fourth quarter.  Powers marched Mahoning Valley down the field and capitalized with a run for a touchdown to cut the Kentucky lead to 55-33.  Another onside kick attempt failed and the Thunder defense flexed its muscle keeping Kentucky out of the end zone. 

On the ensuing possession, Blake Powers showed where his heart was as he scrambled for a touchdown taking a very nasty hit at the goal line.  Powers hurt his right shoulder on the touchdown and his status for next week is uncertain.  With that score, Mahoning Valley cut the lead to 55-39.  Again, the Thunder attempted an onside kick unsuccessfully.  With 20 seconds left Lorenzen was driving the Horsemen again when an errant snap was scooped up by Michael Alston for what appeared to be a Thunder TD, but the play was flagged as Alston kicked the ball about fifteen yards downfield before he scooped it cleanly.

Lorenzen closed out the scoring throwing his fourth touchdown on the last play of the game, making the final score 61-39.

Blake Powers finished the game 23-42 for 259 yards and 3 TD’s but was intercepted twice.  He also rushed for 26 yards and two more touchdowns.  Quorey Payne had an outstanding gamecatching 11 balls for 143 yards and two touchdowns.  His 58-yard first quarter kickoff return tied a Thunder record for longest return in franchise history.  The tandem of Powers and Payne will thrive under Coach MacKeown’s new system.

“We shot ourselves in the foot early and we are making too many mistakes.  Playing a high-powered offense like this, you can’t afford to give them easy scoring chances, which we did.  We adjusted and played a better second half.  I was proud of the heart and fight shown by this team tonight.  We will break down the film in the morning and do what we have to do to become a better team for next week”, said Coach MacKeown after the game.  I asked Coach Mackeown if there would be wholesale personnel changes to which he replied, “No wholesale changes, I saw positives we will build on.  I was happy with the play of the O-line and the defense at times.  There is potential to win with what is here and we will turn it around, I am very optimistic from things that I saw tonight”.

The Thunder play at Milwaukee Friday.  I will get to practice this week and better acquaint myself with Coach MacKeown and his goals.  Coach Brennan Booth and Coach MacKeown will be a dangerous tandem in AF2 for the rest of the year.