Turnovers sink Flood City Thunder in loss to Moshannon Valley

May 2—A two-game winning streak for the Flood City Thunder came to an end Saturday night in a turnover-plagued 46-26 Great Eastern Football Association loss to the Moshannon Valley Vikings at Sargent's Stadium at the Point.

Flood City (2-3) trailed the Vikings (2-2) by 22 at halftime, but eventually rallied to make it a one-score game early in the fourth quarter when Bishop McCort graduate Levi Cook fired a 24-yard touchdown pass to Greater Johnstown graduate Wuanyai Mayo to pull the Thunder within 34-26.

However, Flood City turned the ball over on two of its final three possessions of the game, and Moshannon Valley answered the Thunder comeback attempt with two late scores to put the contest out of reach.

"When you turn the ball over six times in a three-score game, that's a big deal," Flood City head coach Chuck Kassick said.

The Thunder lost a pair of fumbles, one of which was recovered in the end zone for a Viking touchdown, and had four interceptions.

"We made it tough on our defense, giving them short fields," Kassick said.

Moshannon Valley defensive back Tyler Osterhout had three of the four Viking picks.

"Our defense was aggressive and was swarming toward the ball," Moshannon Valley head coach Thor Marlow said.

Viking quarterback Billy Thompson completed 12 of 18 passes for 103 yards and four touchdowns, while rushing for another score.

"Our quarterback played extremely well," Marlow said. "We were able to run and throw the ball effectively."

The Thunder defense came up big early, stopping the Vikings on downs in the red zone on the game's opening possession. Later in the first quarter, the Thunder recovered a fumble at the Moshannon Valley 12, but they were unable to capitalize as Flood City quarterback K'Shawn Powell was trapped for a 7-yard loss on fourth down after a bobbled snap.

Moshannon Valley answered with a 31-yard drive capped by Thompson's 6-yard touchdown pass to Malik Breon to open the scoring.

Osterhout picked off Powell and returned it to the Thunder 14 on the ensuing series. Four plays later, Thompson hit Khalil Bell for an 8-yard touchdown. Thompson's conversion pass to Michael Lefevbre made it 14-0.

The Thunder responded with a seven-play drive that was climaxed by Powell's 13-yard touchdown strike to Greater Johnstown graduate Duke Rosiek, but the conversion attempt failed, keeping the margin at 8.

An 18-yard toss from Thompson to Lefevbre on the ensuing possession set up Thompson's 4-yard scoring pass to Bell that made it 20-6, and another costly turnover on Flood City's next drive allowed the Vikings to add to that lead.

Moshannon Valley's Sheldon Jones recovered a fumble after a Thunder pass completion and returned it 24 yards to the Flood City 2, and two plays later Thompson's sneak and subsequent conversion pass to Justin Alvarez gave the Vikings a 28-6 halftime advantage.

The Thunder got off to a good start in the third, taking the kickoff and putting together a five-play drive capped off by Powell's second touchdown pass of the game to Rosiek, a 19-yarder that cut the deficit to 16.

Jon Dodson's 22-yard rumble on the ensuing series set up his 2-yard scoring run that made it 34-12.

But after Powell was forced to leave the game with an ankle injury on the Thunder's next drive, Cook came in and threw deep down the middle to Forest Hills graduate Shareef Blough for a 29-yard touchdown. Blough then ran in for the conversion to close the gap to 14 heading into the fourth quarter.

After Cook's touchdown pass to Mayo early in the fourth that pulled the Thunder within eight, Thompson completed three straight passes during a six-play drive, including an 11-yard score to Alvarez that made it 40-26.

Cook was picked off by Osterhout on the ensuing series, and on the next Flood City possession, Moshannon Valley defensive tackle Leondrei Fenderson recovered a fumble in the Thunder end zone for a touchdown to set the eventual final.

"Moshannon Valley didn't do anything that we didn't expect," Kassick said. "They just executed very well."

The Thunder will travel to face the Columbia County Maniacs next Saturday afternoon.