Posts Tagged ‘Chris Mackeown’

Larry Harrison is one of those guys who can talk about anything.  I have seen him talk to management, coaches, fans, kids, media, and members of his Mahoning Valley Thunder team.  The fact that he can adapt his conversation level to suit who it is he is talking to makes him one of the most charismatic members of the 2009 Mahoning Valley Thunder team.  Larry is one of those people who has the gift of communication piped into his blood.

Harrison is enjoying his time spent in the greater Youngstown area, “I love it here, Youngstown is a football town and the people have been supportive.  I wish we were winning and this place would be full for home games“.  The Thunder are not winning, but Harrison is buying into the “never quit” attitude being pushed by new coach Chris MacKeown.  He has had an impact as a defensive lineman for Mahoning Valley.  I now expect to see him hurry quarterbacks the rest of this season the way he has in the last couple of weeks.

Interestingly, Harrison says his football role model is Reggie White, another charismatic guy that the fans liked.  Larry said he could only hope to be the kind of person Reggie White was both on and off the field.  I see the Reggie in Larry.

Larry watches Sportscenter and CNN.  He has a PS3 and is currently playing the newest Grand Theft Auto game and says he is addicted to first person shooter games.  Harrison admitted to me that his favorite thing to do to relax is sleep.  “I don’t watch that much TV, the best thing to me is a nice nap and a good night of sleep”.

Because Harrison grew up in Detroit, he has to have some Motown in his diverse musical preferences.  “When you grow up in Detroit, you gotta have Motown on at some point”.  Larry also likes Gospel, Blues, Hip Hop, and Rhythm & Blues.

Harrison said he likes to eat at Jeremiah Bullfrogs.  “We have meal card allowances, so the food is free, but it is delicious“.  Larry liked Bullfrogs so much that he said if family or friends came in to visit, he would take them there because it is a nice crowd and they would like the food too.

Hopefully Larry Harrison is a Mahoning Valley Thunder player for a long time.  He, like Quorey Payne, is one of those guys who politely leads by example and smiles when he gets it right.  He is polite and well-spoken and the kids love getting his autograph at the home games.

• Blake Powers broke his left collarbone and is out indefinitely.  In AF2, a player put on the disabled list must be inactive for at least four weeks.  Unfortunately for Powers, collarbones usually take six to eight weeks to mend.
• Davon Vinson has been named the starting quarterback.  “I have all the faith in the world in Davon, he is having a great week of practice “, said new Coach Chris MacKeown.
• Chris Schubert, Joe Kleinsmith, and Derrell Carlton were released by the Thunder.
• Jermaine Moye and Jon Loyte have been brought in.  Loyte is a lineman who played at Boston College, and Moye is a DB from U of Cal. in PA.  Loye will double up as the teams backup quarterback for now.

Coach Brennan Booth loves the game of football.  He has A1 league coaching experience but someday would like to head back to coaching high school ball.  If the opportunity presents itself, Booth, like many Thunder players, has expressed an interest to jump to A1 Arena League if and when the opportunity may present itself.

The Thunder named Booth interim Head Coach when the fired Mike Hold four weeks ago.  Unfortunately, Booth couldn’t create enough magic in that short of a time to retain the Head Coaching duties and Chris MacKeown was brought on to replace Booth as a permanent move.  Booth made enough of a positive impression with management to retain a coaching spot as Thunder Defensive Coordinator.  Former Tennessee QB Andy Kelly, who served as Offensive Coordinator under Booth was the odd man out and released by Thunder management.

Coach Booth keeps busy saying,  “I like to get a good workout in.  It’s a good way to rid aggression between practice and films “.  Booth also said he catches episodes of Rescue Me and The First 48 when he has a chance.  He has a special way with the players, and more importantly, their respect. 

Coach Booth roots for teams all over the place because he has been so many different places.  He said he is a huge Phillies fan and was proud when they won the World Series last year.  He also roots for the Atlanta Hawks, as he call Duluth, Georgia home for now.

I liked the way Coach Booth presented himself to the public.  He gave me his cell number and told me if there was ever a question or something I needed to call him, and he meant it.  After my initial meeting, I figured I would have to reintroduce myself several times, but the second time I met the guy, he walked up to me, shook my hand, and asked me how the website was going.

Class act, hope he stays with the Thunder at any capacity.

The Mahoning Valley Thunder showed heart and resiliancy in the second half of their game with the Kentucky Horsemen.  Ultimately, however, the Horsemen prevailed 61-39.  The Horsemen prevented new coach Chris MacKeown a victory in his debut and also sent Mahoning Valley away with their eighth consecutive loss.

Jared Lorenzen gave the Thunder defense fits as he passed for 195 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for another three scores on his way to being named Russell Offensive Player of The Game.  The high-powered Kentucky offense uses a semi-platoon system at quarterback with Lorenzen yielding snaps to Justin Rascati who threw for one score and ran for another, he also caught a few balls lining up at receiver en route to winning the JLS Ironman Player of The Game Award. 

Lorenzen drove the Horsemen down the field as they scored in two plays to make it 7-0.  Quorey Payne, as I guaranteed in his feature piece, returned the next kickoff for a touchdown to make it 7-7.  The Horsemen again scored to post a 13-7 lead as the extra point kick was blocked. 

The Thunder offense finally hit the field 20 points later and quarterback-center exchange problems on their first two plays gave the Horsemen the ball deep in Thunder territory, where they would again capitalize to take a 21-7 lead.  The combination of Blake Powers to Payne, which clicked all night, put Mahoning Valley back in the game at 21-13.  Lorenzen mowed some bodies on a one-yard TD to put the Horsemen up 27-13.

As the Horsemen mounted their next drive, a roughing the passer call erased  a Thunder interception in the Horsemen end zone.  Kentucky would eventually turn the ball over on downs.  The first quarter finally ended with Mahoning Valley trailing Kentucky 27-13.

The only score of the second quarter came on a Lorenzen to John Cooper touchdown pass and the Horsemen took a 34-13 lead to the locker room.  Cooper finished the game with 8 catches for 88 yards and the touchdown.

Blake Powers threw a pick on the Thunder’s opening second half drive.  Lorenzen drove the Horsemen down the field and went in untouched on a keeper making it 41-13.  Powers responded on the next drive finding Chris Schubert for a score.  The Horsemen again scored to push their lead to 48-20. 

Powers again found Payne to cut the lead to 48-26.  The Thunder attempted an onside kick, but failed to convert the attempt.  A third Jared Lorenzen TD pass extended the Horsemen lead to 55-26 on the first play of the fourth quarter.  Powers marched Mahoning Valley down the field and capitalized with a run for a touchdown to cut the Kentucky lead to 55-33.  Another onside kick attempt failed and the Thunder defense flexed its muscle keeping Kentucky out of the end zone. 

On the ensuing possession, Blake Powers showed where his heart was as he scrambled for a touchdown taking a very nasty hit at the goal line.  Powers hurt his right shoulder on the touchdown and his status for next week is uncertain.  With that score, Mahoning Valley cut the lead to 55-39.  Again, the Thunder attempted an onside kick unsuccessfully.  With 20 seconds left Lorenzen was driving the Horsemen again when an errant snap was scooped up by Michael Alston for what appeared to be a Thunder TD, but the play was flagged as Alston kicked the ball about fifteen yards downfield before he scooped it cleanly.

Lorenzen closed out the scoring throwing his fourth touchdown on the last play of the game, making the final score 61-39.

Blake Powers finished the game 23-42 for 259 yards and 3 TD’s but was intercepted twice.  He also rushed for 26 yards and two more touchdowns.  Quorey Payne had an outstanding gamecatching 11 balls for 143 yards and two touchdowns.  His 58-yard first quarter kickoff return tied a Thunder record for longest return in franchise history.  The tandem of Powers and Payne will thrive under Coach MacKeown’s new system.

“We shot ourselves in the foot early and we are making too many mistakes.  Playing a high-powered offense like this, you can’t afford to give them easy scoring chances, which we did.  We adjusted and played a better second half.  I was proud of the heart and fight shown by this team tonight.  We will break down the film in the morning and do what we have to do to become a better team for next week”, said Coach MacKeown after the game.  I asked Coach Mackeown if there would be wholesale personnel changes to which he replied, “No wholesale changes, I saw positives we will build on.  I was happy with the play of the O-line and the defense at times.  There is potential to win with what is here and we will turn it around, I am very optimistic from things that I saw tonight”.

The Thunder play at Milwaukee Friday.  I will get to practice this week and better acquaint myself with Coach MacKeown and his goals.  Coach Brennan Booth and Coach MacKeown will be a dangerous tandem in AF2 for the rest of the year.  

The Mahoning Valley Thunder have named Chris MacKeown (Mack-Cue-Win ) as their new Head Coach.  Interim Coach Brennan Booth will retain his position as Defensive Coordinator.  The move comes just a few days away from a home game with Lexington at The Covelli Centre.

MacKeown has a surplus of coaching experience in both AFL and AF2.  In his ten years as a head coach, his teams have made the playoffs seven times.  He has led teams to conference finals four times and to the championship game once. 

Thunder GM Adam Tokash thinks Coach MacKeown brings the chance of turning things around faster than most other candidates would.  “Chris brings a tremendous amount of arena experience and a history of winning along with a track record of turning teams around.  We appreciate the effort of Coach Booth who did a nice job of righting the ship and getting the team headed in a positive direction. We’re confident the hiring of Coach MacKeown will result in a winning product for several seasons to come.”

I am happy Coach Booth was retained and thank him for his accessibility and demeanor whenever I had a question.  With MacKeown, Booth and Andy Kelly form a dangerous coaching triangle that will be tough to outsmart. 

The Thunder host Kentucky Horsemen this Saturday.  The Horsemen are coming off of a 83-48 win against Florida.  They have a quarterback named Jared Lorenzen, a former Kentucky starter, who is built like a tackle.  The Horsemen bring a 4-4 record to Youngstown.  Kickoff is at 7:05 at The Covelli Centre.