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Thunder keep plugging away; three games remain
The af2 team plays tonight at Peoria against the Pirates, who’ve won just four games.
YOUNGSTOWN — As shocking as it might seem, a Mahoning Valley Thunder win over Peoria tonight could snowball into another victory next weekend against Manchester.
A season-ending win at home against Green Bay on July 25 could be the icing on the cake for the af2 team.
Thunder quarterback Brad Roach had his best game of the season against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on June 27, when, in the rookie’s third start, he threw for a season-high 309 yards and five touchdowns.
However, Mahoning Valley lost, 62-47.
This week, former YSU quarterback Tom Zetts was signed as Roach’s backup, but coach Chris MacKeown likes the team’s momentum with Roach.
“The best guy is going to play,” said MacKeown. “It’ll be the guy I feel can win games for us. I feel like Roach can. Tom [Zetts] did a great job [Tuesday] with the plays on the scout card, but it’s a little different when he has to call the plays and then know what guys do and make the decisions after the ball’s snapped.
“Tom’s a good quarterback, there’s no doubt. I feel very good about our quarterback situation now. We could be set for the future at that position.”
Against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Roach had his strongest game of the season, completing 21 of 41. However, he threw two interceptions.
C.J. Brewer and Quorey Payne combined to catch 15 passes for a combined 240 yards. Payne scored three times with Brewer catching two scoring strikes and adding another two via rush.
Payne, however, won’t play tonight due to a knee problem.
MacKeown said the situation for Peoria (4-9) is similar to Mahoning Valley’s in that wins haven’t come as often as expected.
“Like us, you can not question their effort,” MacKeown said. “Since Coach Mike Hohensee came on board he really has this team playing at another level. It’s always tough going on the road and Peoria will be no different.”
Around the af2, the Iowa Barnstormers knocked off the previously unbeaten Spokane Shock, 54-48.
The July 4 night crowd drew 8,032 at Iowa’s Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Field.
Spokane is still a league-best 12-1.
The Barnstormers (9-4) opened the scoring quickly as QB Brian Villanueva hooked up with WR Dusty Kain for the first of his five touchdown passes on the night, giving Iowa a 7-0 lead.
Despite the loss, Spokane remains atop the coaches poll for the 17th straight week.
The Shock collected 372 of the possible 384 points with 18 first-place votes.
Spokane’s 17-week stay at the top is the longest run at No. 1 since the inception of the coaches poll in 2004. The Shock will continue to be tested over the final three weeks of the season as two of its last three games will be against top-5 opponents (at No. 2 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton today and at No. 5 Boise in Week 18).
This week all five of the league’s top teams held firm at their respective positions. The other Top-5 teams — Wilkes-Barre, No. 3 Tennessee Valley, No. 4 Tulsa and No. 5 Boise — were idle last weekend.
On the strength of its big home win against the Shock, Iowa climbed into a tie with Arkansas at No. 6.
The remaining teams are: No. 8 South Georgia, No. 9 Kentucky, No. 10 Green Bay, No. 11 Bossier-Shreveport, No. 12 Oklahoma City, No. 13 Rio Grande Valley, No. 14 Florida, No. 15 Albany and No. 16 Manchester.
Mahoning Valley has been idle since June 27 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, when the Pioneers’ offense scored on nine of their 11 offensive possessions.
QB Ryan Vena was his usual accurate self, completing 23 of 28 passes for 274 yards. Vena was not intercepted and threw for a game-high eight touchdowns.
Defensive player of the game Micheaux Robinson intercepted a first-quarter Roach pass and returned it 15 yards to put the Pioneers up, 7-6. From that point, they never trailed.
bassetti@vindy.com