Thunder has bye to sort troubles

By John Kovach

After seven straight losses coach Mike Hold needs to find some answers.

YOUNGSTOWN — The slump-ridden Mahoning Valley Thunder are in the midst of a two-week break, which coach Michael Hold is hoping will give the team some time to find itself and make a comeback.

The Thunder have a bye in the schedule after losing their seventh straight game last Saturday at the Louisville Fire, 53-22.

Hold and his beleaguered team (1-7) are hoping to use the time to figure out what is going wrong with their second season in af2, after the Thunder opened with a 59-33 win over the Albany Conquest.

“I think [the layoff] will help because we get an opportunity to heal up some of our bumps and bruises,” said Hold, noting the team will return to practice Monday. “I think it will be good mentally for some of these guys to get away because every week has been a downer. It is good to get away and get a break and I can spend all [next] week bringing in players. It is a grind [during a game week] and it is hard to bring in players during the week with a game.”

Hold said new players are needed.

“We have to get better.”

He believes that evaluating new talent may “force our guys to step it up.”

The Thunder will resume play May 31 against Albany at 7:05 p.m. on Cortland Banks Field inside the Chevrolet Centre.

It will be the third meeting of the season between the two teams (they split the first two games), and will launch the Thunder’s second half of the 16-game season schedule, which will include four more home games.

It’s obvious there has been a big change this past month in the quality of play by the Thunder.

The team at least was competitive their first five games, losing the first four outings by an average of only 9.25 points.

But the last three games they have been outscored 189-99 and losing by an average of 29 points. For all eight games, the Thunder has been outscored 402-301.

The slump got even worse at Louisville last Saturday when the Thunder, after jumping out to a 14-0 lead at 3:29 of the first quarter, didn’t score against until three minutes remained in the game.

“We started off sharp offensively and defensively. But it seemed like something happened every play,” Hold said. “It was ridiculous. It was a comedy of errors in a sense.”

Thunder quarterback Shane Adler completed only 10-of-33 passes for 148 yards. He also threw five interceptions and was sacked seven times.

“After the game I felt [Adler] made some mistakes and missed some easy throws and made some bad reads and bad throws,” said Hold. “But after I watched the film the next day, I saw where pass protection broke down, receivers [were] dropping balls and running wrong routes.

“It was not all Shane’s fault. He didn’t play a good game. But when he is getting blinded-sided on a three-step drop [back to pass], that is uncalled for.”

Henry Tolbert was the lone offensive bright spot for the Thunder, scoring all three TDs on passes from Adler covering 24 and 15 yards, and on a 10-yard run.

Tolbert wound up with four catches for 81 yards while Golden Goodwin also had four receptions for 51 yards.

The Thunder experienced another setback early in the game when center Wally Sonnie was injured and sidelined.

“He has a torn ACL and is out for the season,” said Hold, calling Sonnie “one of the best centers in the league.”

But Hold was please by the play of Sonnie’s replacement, John Harper.

kovach@vindy.com