Ex-YSU QB Marshall pulverizes Thunder

By JOSH KATZOWITZ

Mahoning Valley dropped its seventh-straight game.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — For about 14 minutes on Saturday, the Mahoning Valley Thunder looked like they’d have no problem breaking free of their six-game losing streak.

Quarterback Shane Adler, starting his third game for Mahoning Valley, seemed to have found his footing. The running game was effective, and the defense was keeping Louisville out of the end zone.

“We were rolling and clicking,” said receiver Golden Goodwin. “But we made a few mistakes, and we started hanging our heads.”

Good thing, too. Because if his teammates’ heads were hanging, they didn’t have to watch the Fire and former Youngstown State quarterback Aaron Marshall score 47 straight points en route to a 53-22 victory before 4,952 at Freedom Hall.

Still, if you tried hard enough, you could take solace in the 14-0 Mahoning Valley lead. Thunder coach Mike Hold, though, chose not to dwell on the positives.

“Playing a complete game would be something positive,” said Hold, whose team continued its franchise-record seven-game losing streak. “There are some guys who aren’t pulling their weight. I don’t know if it snowballed on us, but it was just poor play. We didn’t make plays.”

Though Hold didn’t single out any of his players, Adler likely is at the top of that list. Entering Saturday’s debacle, Adler — the third quarterback to start this year for Mahoning Valley (1-7) — had completed just 41.8 percent of his passes for three touchdowns and four interceptions.

Against the Fire (5-3), he was worse. Though he was the victim of two dropped balls by receiver Kenneth Johnson — one of which led directly to a Dominic Ross interception — Adler completed 10 of 33 passes for 148 yards and five interceptions. He also was sacked five times for 39 yards.

Last week, after a 26-point loss to Lexington, Hold called Adler a winner. Mahoning Valley, though, has yet to see that.

“He struggled,” Hold said. “That’s another spot where I want to watch the film. They got some pressure on him, but if you get yourself in fourth and long, that’s going to happen. We have to make the plays in first and second down to make it easy. That’s not going to happen if you’re always in fourth and forever.”

In the first quarter, Mahoning Valley played like it was intent on breaking free from its slump.

On its first possession, Adler lofted a 24-yard touchdown pass to a diving Henry Tolbert, and after Thunder defensive lineman Royce Morgan sacked Marshall on fourth down to regain possession, Tolbert took a pitch from Adler and rushed in for a 10-yard touchdown.

The Thunder had momentum — and a 14-0 lead. It was short-lived.

“You could tell their defense was nervous,” Goodwin said. “They were nervous.”

But under the direction of Marshall, Louisville had little trouble reengaging. In by far his best game of the season, Marshall was 15 of 29 for 178 yards, five passing touchdowns, one rushing score and one interception.

Afterward, as he signed autographs on the field, he said he’d never been part of a team that scored 47 consecutive points.

“It started off in practice this week,” Marshall said. “You try to take it from practice onto the field. We struggled in the red zone early, but we ended up getting into a rhythm.”

No arguing that point.

There were, however, at least two positives to emerge from the game for the Thunder. Tolbert scored 18 of the team’s 22 points, and the kicking game, which was abysmal last week, was solid with newcomer Eric Schnatz making both of his extra point attempts.

But more personnel changes could be on the way.

“Some guys,” Hold said, “need to be held accountable.”