From the Portland Thunder:

PORTLAND – The Portland Thunder tore through the Tampa Bay Storm on Saturday night for a 61-42 victory.

The Thunder started the avalanche of points early, forcing a fumble on the first drive of the game and capitalizing one play later with a pass from Danny Southwick to Alvance Robinson in the corner. From there, they poured it on for the first time all season.

Southwick, filling in for a wounded Kyle Rowley, completed 24 of 33 passes on the evening for 307 yards and matched Rowley’s franchise-record eight touchdown passes. Five of those passes went to new wideout Eric Rogers, who burst onto the scene with a 110-yard, five touchdown performance.

The Thunder defense spent the evening swarming all over the Storm offense, forcing Randy Hippeard, who had led the league in several passing categories, into a 14-36 night with just four touchdowns before he exited the game after K.C. Obi got him for a safety, the first in team history, late in the game.

Varmah Sonie stood out again in the defensive backfield, denying pass after pass and coming up with an interception in the back of the end zone and a touchdown when he returned teammate Eric Crocker’s fumble after Crocker picked off a B.J. Hill pass in the fourth quarter.

The win marked the second win of the weekend for a Terry Emmert franchise, as the Portland Chinooks beat Bellingham in IBL action to move to 3-0 on the season. The Chinooks will play again Sunday night at 5 p.m. in Vancouver.

The Thunder return to the Moda Center with a two-game win streak to take on the Arizona Rattlers on Mother's Day Even, May 10. To keep up with everything going on with the Thunder, visit our website at www.portlandthunder.com or keep up with us on Twitter or Instagram (@PDXThunder).