Monday, April 27, 2009
By Tom Williams
Two interceptions, two fumbles and two key penalties turned the game into a blowout.
YOUNGSTOWN — Thunder coach Mike Hold is a firm believer that in arena football, even one mistake can be costly.
Living proof of Hold’s philosophy was demonstrated by the Tulsa Talons on Saturday night at the Chevrolet Centre.
Behind the pinpoint passing of Talons quarterback Justin Allgood, the Talons produced touchdowns on their first 10 possessions, turning a close game into a 66-30 rout.
Allgood led the way, completing 24 of 32 passes for 336 yards and nine touchdowns. Running back Carlese Franklin scored the other Tulsa (4-1) touchdown on a 3-yard run.
On the other side of scrimmage, the Thunder (1-4) struggled with giveaways and penalties. Outscored 28-7 in the second half, the Thunder dropped their fourth-straight game by watching a competitive contest evaporate.
“Give credit to our guys up front because Mahoning Valley has a very good pass rush,” Talons coach Mitch Allner said. “They really put a lot of pressure on Justin when we played two weeks ago and I think our guys stepped up and protected him for the most part very well.”
Allner was referring to the Talons’ 79-35 win over the Thunder on April 11 in Tulsa. Saturday, Allgood wasn’t sacked.
Meanwhile, af2 rookie quarterback Blake Powers struggled in his first home start. The Thunder was knocked out of the game in the third quarter with a shoulder injury.
Powers completed 16 of 22 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns. He was sacked twice and intercepted twice. His status for Saturday’s game in Albany, N.Y., has not yet been determined.
Davon Vinson, who started the Thunder’s first three games before being replaced by Powers in the game at Tulsa, completed six of 15 passes for 64 yards. He also rushed twice for nine yards.
On the down side, Vinson was sacked once, intercepted once and fumbled near the Tulsa goal line with the Thunder trailing 52-30 late in the third quarter.
The Talons immediately drove down the field for a score that ended the Thunder’s final hopes for a rally.
Asked to assess Vinson’s play, Hold was blunt.
“He didn’t do a whole lot,” the third-year Thunder coach said.
In the first quarter, the Thunder took the lead when Quorey Payne caught a 23-yard touchdown pass.
After three losses by at least 20 points, Payne admitted that the Thunder had hope for snapping their streak.
“To score first, to score early is a big part of this game,” Payne said. “But we can’t score and then not score again. We’ve got to continue to put up points and play football.”
After the Talons’ third touchdown, Payne returned the kickoff into the end zone, but the Thunder were penalized for an illegal block by Clarence Curry.
“It looked like a clean block,” Hold said. “I questioned the call ... but maybe he had a better angle than me.”
On the next play, Talons defender Pierre Thomas picked off Powers at the Tulsa 8 and the Talons marched downfield for their fourth touchdown and a 26-7 lead.
Hold said the Talons forced “Blake into some bad decisions. We worked all week on things and it’s like he forgot them.
“And then he got into a rhythm and we started moving on offense,” Hold said, “But then he got hurt and we were pretty ineffective after that.”
Saturday in Albany, the Thunder will play the Firebirds in a rematch of the season opener on March 27, a 44-34 victory for the Thunder.
williams@vindy.com