Thunder needs to avoid a sluggish start Saturday
By John Kovach
Mahoning Valley needed a big second-half rally in its season opening win.
YOUNGSTOWN — Coach Mike Hold of the Mahoning Valley Thunder believes there were several reasons why his team was able to rally and overwhelm the Albany Conquest, 59-33, last Saturday in the af2 season opener on Cortland Banks Field in the Chevrolet Centre.
But Hold hopes that the Thunder, which didn’t play well in the first half before jelling in the second, won’t wait until the third quarter to excel this Saturday when the Manchester Wolves come to town for a 7:05 p.m. game.
“Manchester is a better team [than Albany],” said Hold, noting that Saturday’s matchup will be the Wolves’ season opener.
Last year, Manchester won both games against the Thunder, 67-49, which was Mahoning Valley’s first loss after three wins; then 50-40 four games later.
Hold is hoping to avoid another bad start like the Thunder had against Albany, when his team trailed 26-23 at the half and 33-23 early in the third quarter.
The Thunder proceeded to outscore Albany 36-0 the rest of the way, spearheaded by Josh Swogger’s passing attack and an outstanding defense.
“I knew we weren’t going to be as sharp on offense going into the game [against Albany], so I hoped our defense could control the game until we got going,” said Hold.
Swogger threw four TD passes, three in the second half and two of those to DeMarcus Mathes, to ignite the comeback.
“The receivers quit dropping the ball,” pointed out Hold, noting that, “Swogger’s passes were there for most part but we dropped a lot of them.”
In fact, “[The receivers] dropped four passes for TDs. We had six easy drops, four of them for TDs. I don’t want any drops. I don’t know if we were tight but after halftime we were a lot smoother.”
But he said that Swogger still is learning the af2 game.
“Josh still has a ways to go,” said Hold. “He is talented but he has to learn the speed of the game and get his timing down and footwork better.” But, “No doubt he is a large talent.”
Hold also said Mathes, the team’s top returning receiver, also is learning a new position.
“He was a ‘Y’ receiver last year and [is] a ‘Z’ receiver this year. They are two different positions. He had to learn a whole different [position].”
Hold loved the Thunder’s defensive performance, emphasizing it did what he hoped — give the offense time to find itself.
“We were putting pressure on the quarterback. We were far superior up front Saturday night and I thought we were in better shape. We forced [quarterback Dan Cole] to hurry his throws,” said Hold, stressing that the offensive and defensive lines were essential to the comeback win.
“We played well on both sides of the ball. I thought we controlled the line of scrimmage all night long. “If you can control the offensive and defensive line of scrimmage, you will win, and we did that. We forced the quarterback to make a lot of throws that he didn’t want to make.”
Hold said the Thunder’s 36-0 run is a rare feat in arena football.
“Sometimes the momentum swings in the game and that’s what happens,” said Hold. “We got a few breaks. We had a couple of calls that went our way and that changed the momentum.”
He said Anthony Jackson came up with a tide-turning defensive play.
“The interception by Anthony Jackson changed the momentum of the game,” said Hold, referring to Jackson’s pickoff that set up the Thunder’s go-ahead TD in the third quarter.
Hold also was pleased by the rushing performance from John Tackmann, who scored three TDs by replacing Swogger during goalline offensive situations.
“It’s a special package we put in for short yardage,” said Hold. “[Tackmann] runs a heck of a lot better than Josh runs.”
Hold also lauded the Thunder’s blocking and conditioning.
“The offensive line did a great job. We had a couple of letdowns early,” said Hold. And, “I thought that we were in better condition.”
kovach@vindy.com