YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning Valley Thunder’s first season in the af2 was a huge success

YOUNGSTOWN — The Mahoning Valley Thunder’s first season in the af2 was a huge success even though the team finished with a 7-9 record and failed to make the playoffs.

The Thunder enjoyed great success on their home field, The Cortland Banks Field, at the Chevrolet Centre.

Under coach Mike Hold, the Thunder opened the season before nearly 6,000 fans at the Chevrolet Centre with a 48-40 victory over the Tri-Cities Fever. Former Ursuline High standout Tim Frost had two rushing touchdowns for the Thunder.

But after winning their first three games of the year, the Thunder went into a tailspin and dropped five straight games. They battled back to get into playoff contention, but a loss against Tennessee’s Valley in the next-to-last game of the year ended their playoff hopes.

The Thunder finished 5-3 at the Chevrolet Center, but was 2-6 on the road.

Veteran quarterback Glenn Gauntt was the team leader early in the year, but suffered a shoulder injury and missed six games. Rookie Mike Schneider, a former Sharon High, Duke and Youngstown State University player, took over for Gauntt and directed two victories in the five games he started.

In the season finale, a 70-50 victory over Green Bay Blizzard, played before 3,762 fans at the Chevrolet Center, Schneider had his best game as he completed 28 of 32 passes for 278 yards and six touchdown. The 70 points was a franchise record.

Another outstanding performance by the Thunder came in a 65-64 overtime win against Albany, where wide receiver Chris Johnson caught 16 passes for 238 yards and seven touchdowns. All were franchise highs.

Schneider finished the year completing 159 of 269 passes with eight interceptions and 31 touchdowns, while Gauntt was 204 for 373 with 13 interceptions and 49 touchdowns.

The Thunder roster included several area standouts in addition to Schneider and Frost. They included Sam Crenshaw (Rayen), Brandon Brown (Ursuline), Jamel Lee (YSU) and Mike Stanec (Fitch), who suffered a season-ending injury in the team’s sixth game.