The Mahoning Valley Thunder will close out their 2009 season at home this Saturday when they take on 9-6 Green Bay.  Mahoning Valley is coming off of their second win of the 2009 season, a 41-39 victory over Albany.  The win broke a two-plus year road losing streak and snapped a 13-game losing streak for Mahoning Valley.  What made the win so improbable was losing CJ Brewer on the opening kickoff.  Brewer was going to be the guy who picked up the slack for injured leader Quorey Payne.

Coach Chris MacKeown was pleased with the effort of his team.  “We started the game with one healthy receiver, CJ breaks his hand on the opening kickoff, Moye is forced to play a position he had never played before.  We played the game with two defensive backs at receiver, we’ve got a quarterback who is making his first start ever, we’re on the road against a team fighting for a playoff spot, and we end up getting a victory on the road.  It was huge.  I’m excited about how we did it under those circumstances.  We eliminated mistakes and won using our formula.”

Frashon McGee will get the call at receiver this week.  “The H is an important spot which CJ was going to fill.  You have to be intelligent and read the defensive coverages, the H has to get us into good situations.  McGee will play there for us this week”, commented MacKeown.

Should be a good crowd this week with hometown favorite, Tom Zetts, making his first home start at quarterback, reduced beer prices, and coming off of a big win.  MacKeown commented on the potential crowd, “I will be disappointed if we see less than 5000 people here Saturday.  Although people might look at the record and say, I’m not going.  Tom Zetts is starting at quarterback, got a win in his first start,  and I hope Youngstown comes out and supports one of their native sons.”

Zetts was not as optimistic about 5000 fans.  “I wouldn’t be disappointed, 5000 is alot of people.  That would be a huge boost and I hope we have a good crowd, I’m looking forward to it.”  Zetts also commented on his future in football when asked if this was it, “I couldn’t tell you.  I thought I was done when I left YSU, and then I thought I was done when I played in Italy, who knows, maybe this is it, maybe it isn’t.  It’s too soon to tell.  I am going to try to keep myself in shape in case anything ever comes up.”

The Mahoning Valley – Green Bay contest is Saturday night at The Covelli Centre.  Beer is selling at a greatly reduced price, Tom Zetts will want to put on a show for family and friends, Coach MacKeown wants the second consecutive win, and the Thunder want to deliver against a playoff team to prove their underachievements this season.  Come and watch!