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Thunder outgunned, 77-47
Adler passes for 204 yards and 2 TDs but was picked twice
YOUNGSTOWN — What was expected to be a relatively low-scoring game turned out the opposite as Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers defeated Mahoning Valley Thunder, 77-47, at Cortland Banks Field at the Chevrolet Centre Monday night.
Mahoning Valley Thunder
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Mahoning Valley Thunder played against the Wilkes- Barre/Scranton Pioneers at the Chevrolet Center
The American Conference’s East Division-leading Pioneers (5-1) have won five in a row while the Thunder dropped its fifth straight.
Mahoning Valley (1-5) has 10 games remaining.
Ryan Vena threw eight touchdown passes and finished 22-of-32 for 304 yards.
Both Rich Musinski and J.J. Outlaw had three TD receptions while Larry Kendrick made two TD grabs.
Musinski had nine catches for 108 yards.
The Thunder debuted quarterback Shane Adler to replace Josh Swogger and the newcomer hit 16-of-40 passes for 204 yards, but had only two for touchdowns. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Adler also threw two interceptions.
“I didn’t do well,” Adler said. “That’s something [interceptions] I need to improve.”
However, the adjustment period has to be taken into consideration.
“I’ve just got to get on the same page with receivers. That happens when you have new guys,” Adler said.
Adler, a second-year af2 player who was acquired via trade from the Green Bay Blizzard, arrived last Wednesday, then practiced Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
“All offense is pretty much the same and there’s some terminology I need to familiarize myself with,” Adler said.
“Shane is the guy,” Thunder coach Mike Hold said of Adler as the No. 1 quarterback.
Swogger has been hampered by foot problems, but Hold was looking for a change.
“Josh was banged up, so we felt like we needed to try to get some execution going because we haven’t been executing,” said Hold, whose team is last in the American Conference’s East Division.
Based on Mahoning Valley’s 33-20 loss to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton April 11, the game was expected to be low scoring.
Plus, the Pioneers were allowing an af2-best average of 21.6 points.
Mahoning Valley never led in the game, but exchanged touchdowns with the Pioneers until falling behind for good after just nine seconds elapsed in the second quarter.
However, despite being down, 50-27 following Micheaux Robinson’s interception return for a TD with 13.8 seconds left in the first half, Mahoning Valley struck quickly to pull within 50-34 at the half.
“They were putting pressure on us, offensively, because they were scoring every possession,” Hold said of the first-half pace.
Robinson’s pickoff was temporarily deflating, but a sack, a few point-less possessions and an onside kick that backfired for a Pioneer touchdown, put Mahoning Valley in a deeper hole, 70-40.
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s Justin Parrish had the sack and Allan Barnes returned Mahoning Valley’s onside kick 10 yards.
Robinson’s second interception after collecting the ball off the pads and Isaac Hilton’s fumble recovery pushed put Wilkes-Barre in a position to score for a final time.
“We just had a couple miscues that hurt us and, all of a sudden, we’re down two and three touchdowns,” Hold said of the late first half and beyond.
Although the onside kick didn’t pan out, Hold said the attempt was worth trying.
At the time, Mahoning Valley trailed, 57-40, thanks to Henry Tolbert’s 50-yard kickoff return for six points and Derek Schorejs’ point-after kick.
The Thunder’s first Monday night game drew 2,946 fans, a number that was better than the team anticipated.
Both Hold and Adler acknowledged the level of efficiency when playing the Pioneers.
“Wilkes-Barre is a good team,” said Adler, a product of Wisconsin-LaCrosse. “We just need to come to work and get a win in Lexington next.”
bassetti@vindy.com