Road skid grows to 15 in Albany

The previously winless Firebirds dropped Mahoning Valley to 1-5.

By BILL TOSCANO

Special to The Vindicator

ALBANY, N.Y. — Mahoning Valley’s 15th straight road loss may have been the most painful of the af2 team’s nearly two-year-old streak.

The Thunder held a 27-15 lead over Albany at halftime, but stumbled badly in the third quarter and dropped a 50-41 American Conference East decision to the previously winless Firebirds at the Times Union Center.

Albany and quarterback Stephen Wasil avenged a 44-34 season-opening loss and spoiled Brennen Booth’s coaching debut.

The Thunder, losers of five straight, have not won on the road since a June 2007 victory at Cincinnati.

“It’s a situation where we’re going to have to make some changes,” Booth said. “We thought we could do it with the personnel we had, but we can’t. There are going to have to be some changes.

“We won the first half, but we’ve got to play 60 minutes,” Booth said. “We came out and we had a great first half, but in the second half we let up.”

Mahoning Valley will return home Friday, but faces a difficult task against division-leading Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, which improved to 5-1 after Friday’s 53-50 victory over Manchester.

“It’s going to be tough. That’s a tough team,” said Booth, who was named to replace former coach Mike Hold on Tuesday. “If we play the way we did tonight, it’s going to be the same result.”

Wasil, saw his first action after suffering a knee injury during the first series in the season-opener, was 26-for-41 for six touchdowns, including three in the fourth quarter. Johnnie Butler caught five of those TD passes and Alvin Jackson caught the sixth. His five-yard reception with 2:42 remaining proved to be the game-winner. Albany’s other touchdown was a five-yard run by Anthony Rodriguez. Both teams are 1-5.

Blake Powers made his third start for the Thunder. After struggling on the first possession, Powers connected on three first-half touchdowns.

He connected twice to Quorey Payne, once for 18 yards and again on a 3-yarder with 25 seconds left in the half.

De’Tario Frederick scored on a 55-yard kickoff return and caught a 35-yarder from Powers.

But the Thunder could not keep up the scoring in the second half, getting just 14 points. Powers hit Chris Schubert on a 29-yard pass and Payne caught his third, a 43-yarder with 12:57 remaining to give Mahoning Valley a 41-35 lead.

Albany responded by closing out with a pair of touchdowns and winning its first game since changing its name from the Conquest to the Firebirds in an attempt to recapture the glory of the Arena Bowl XIII-winning team of 1999.

Wasil put the ball right in Booth’s hands as the receiver crossed the goal line with 10:37 left, then hit a wide-open Jackson in the middle of the end zone for the game-winner.

Wasil had kept the drive alive with a 13-yard scramble on the previous play.

The key mistake for the Thunder came midway through the third quarter. After a Wasil-to-Butler touchdown pass cut the margin to 27-22, Mahoning Valley was driving, but stalled on the Albany 7 and set up for a 23-yard field goal.

Powers was down as the holder, but the ball was snapped unexpectedly, went past kicker Derek Shorejs and rolled to the Thunder 13 before Shorejs fell on it. Three play later, Rodriguez scored on a 4-yard counter play, and Brian Umstead’s kick made it 29-27.

Brennan said that fullback Matt Brunck, who does the snap count on field goals, got hurt on the previous play and a reserve player had to be rushed in and made a mistake on the count.

“It was a rush-rush play. We made a mistake on the snap count,” Booth said. “That one was on me.”

Powers finished with 21 completions on 39 attempts and one interception. He threw for 251 yards. Schorejs hit on five PATs, but hit the upright on one and missed the two field goals he got off.

Defensively, the Thunder got an interception from Jamar Landrum in the Albany end zone and a fumble recovery at the Albany 8 by Ray Williams.

The game was a positive ending for a rather uncomfortable week for the Firebirds. The team announced it had offered a contract to jailed former Atlanta Falcons quarterback Michael Vick, only to have owner Walter Robb, order the offer withdrawn, saying no one had ever said anything to him about it.