Tight end Lane says Thunder’s aim is off

By John Kovach

The tight end from Tiffin said the Thunder should be focusing on making plays, not winning.

YOUNGSTOWN — Mike Lane is taking a common sense approach as to how the Mahoning Valley Thunder can break out of a six-game losing streak.

“This may sound stupid but we need to forget about trying to win and really focus on every play and making that play work, how it is designed to work. We need to make plays,” said Lane, a tight end and former All-American from Tiffin University, whose hometown is Tontogany located near Bowling Green.

Lane (6-foot-4, 250 pounds), who recently was moved from fullback to tight end, was referring to the problems that new quarterback Shane Adler and a group of new receivers are having trying to complete passes, score touchdowns and win games.

“I just think [Adler] needs to calm down back there and try to make plays. There is so much pressure on him back there to make a play. He has to start making some completions,” said Lane, who joined the Thunder last season for the final three days of training camp, after spending about 1 1/2 weeks at the South Georgia Wildcats’ pre-season drills. “The quarterback and receivers have to click. We have to make things happen.”

Then Lane qualified his statement, “That’s an excuse and we should win regardless.”

The Thunder (1-6) visit Louisville (4-3) Saturday at 7:05 p.m.

But Lane said offense isn’t the only problem. He is aware that the Thunder defense has given up 136 points combined in the last two games, to the Lexington Horsemen (56-30) last week and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers (77-47) May 5.

“It has a lot to do with pass defense and our offense has been turning over the ball a lot [four times against Lexington],” pointed out Lane.

Lane has been a versatile fixture with the Thunder for both of its seasons in af2. He started at fullback the first five games of the season.

“They needed me to play some tight end, so that what I’m doing now,” said Lane. “We needed some help up there and I am a pretty good pass blocker and I don’t mind it, so I said I’ll do it.”

It’s not a new position for him — he started there two or three games last season. But that was just the start. Last year he saw action at defensive end, nose guard, tight end, offensive guard and fullback.

Lane likes his versatility.

“I can play most any position that a bigger guy can play in this league,” he said. “That gives me more value as a player because I can play different positions.”

His main job at tight end is to block, usually one of the defensive ends.

“Ninty-nine percent of the time I block the same guy,” he said. “I pretty much know who I am blocking, and it’s usually the same guy every play.”

Lane came to the Thunder with impressive credentials. He was a defensive end and offensive guard at Tiffin, and set the school career record for tackles for losses, despite starting only two seasons, and was named to the Division II All-American second team as a senior.

kovach@vindy.com