WR Payne holds Thunder records, more on the way

By John Bassetti

YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning Valley Thunder wide receiver/return man Quorey Payne is a sure-handed speedster who electrifies the af2 team and owns six franchise records and is tied for a seventh.

He has 68 receptions this season and 91 for his Thunder career. The 5-foot-9, 182-pound product of Southern Illinois needs eight more receptions to tie the franchise record for career catches (99).

Kenneth Johnson, who played in 2007, is the record holder for receptions both in a career and a season.

Payne needs nine receptions to break the record, which would also make him the first player in the team’s three-year history to have 100 career receptions.

Payne needs one 100-yard receiving game to tie a team mark (6) for 100-yard receiving games. He needs two 100-yard games to snap the record.

Payne, who joined Mahoning Valley for the final four games of the 2008 season, has 1,020 receiving yards this year and is seven away from tying the single-season receiving yards record of 1,027 and eight yards from breaking it. Payne already has the team career receiving mark of 1,379 yards.

He also has the Thunder’s career touchdown record with 29. He is four receiving TDs from tying the team’s single-season record of 22.

Also, with 22 touchdowns overall, he needs one more to snap the franchise’s record for TDs in a single season.

Payne holds the record for points in a career (174) and is tied for most points in a season (132). He is one away from breaking the single-season points record.

The player also owns three other marks: all-purpose yards for season (1,986) and career (2,551); TD return record for career and season (four each) and single season (966) and career return yards (1,172).

It must not be coincidental that Payne’s uniform number is 1.

bassetti@vindy.com