Thunder get things started with KO of the KISS

There is little reason to think the Portland Thunder will be a participant in ArenaBowl XXVIII on Aug. 29 after their season-opening 42-37 victory over the Los Angeles KISS Friday night at Moda Center.

On the other hand, the Thunder are 1-0 and unbeaten under first-year coach Mike Hohensee, who is the Arena Football League's answer to George Halas.

Hohensee, 54, didn't co-found the AFL. But he threw the league's first touchdown pass in 1987 and has been with it since as a player, assistant coach or head coach.

And when he looked up at a cheering throng of 7,194 at game's end, Hohensee grew nostalgic.

"Are you kidding me?" Hohensee asked. "From the intro video that (ex-AFL star) Rashad Floyd did, which was tremendous, to the end when we won that game and you looked up and everyone was standing on their feet -- that's what Arena Football has been for me for almost 30 years.

"It did my heart good to look up and see them excited about what I've been doing for such a long time."

The opening-night win wasn't easy, and at times it wasn't pretty against an L.A. team that went 3-15 a year ago. It wasn't secure until the Thunder surrendered a successful KISS onside kick and got a stop in the closing seconds.

"When they got the onside kick, it was like, well, we still have some work to do," Hohensee said with a smile. "With a basically first-year team, with so many new guys and staff, when you make a ton of mistakes like that and you win, that's a coach's dream.

"We have things we can show the players on (video) that they can get better at, but you can't question their attitude or effort. These guys have worked extremely hard. We had a little more left in the tank than (the KISS) did at the end."

Veteran quarterback Kyle Rowley was effective, completing 19 of 28 passes for 209 yards and five touchdowns with only one interception. Receiver Jamar Howard was spectacular, snaring eight passes for 114 yards and three TDs. And in a game that features offense, Portland's defense allowed just two scores in the second half -- one until the final minute.

The Thunder weathered 10 penalties -- five in the game's first seven minutes -- and stumbled at times throughout the game, but found a way to win in the opener. That's much different than during their inaugural campaign last year, when they started 0-5 and didn't win at home until their 11th contest en route to a 5-13 regular-season record.

"You know in the first game there are going to be some bumps in the road, some mishaps," said Rowley, the 6-foot, 195-pound former Brown University QB who has 12 ArenaBall seasons -- six in AF1 -- under his belt. "A couple of times on offense, we were moving backward with penalties.

"But we composed ourselves. That was my focus coming in. Whatever happens, whatever learning curve we have, focus on getting the 'W,' and we can build momentum going into game two."

If there were a budding star who emerged, it was Howard, a 6-4, 215-pound Central Missouri product who caught 44 passes in 11 games for the Thunder last season. With the team's top three receivers of a year ago -- Jeffrey Solomon, Eric Rogers and Douglas McNeil III -- departed, Howard may be the heir apparent.

On Friday night, Howard hauled in TD receptions of 28, 9 and 23 yards in the second half, the first one while flipping over the boards in the end zone in a SportsCenter "Top 10 play"-worthy grab.

"It ain't nothing," said Howard, 27, who had a cup of coffee with the Canadian Football League's Edmonton Eskimos in 2013, catching one pass. "The AFL is not where I really want to be. I'm going to keep working, keep grinding until I get to where I want to go."

And that is?

"The CFL or NFL," he said. "I'm still young. I have a lot of motivation from McNeil and Rogers. They left me back here. I did my thing at the end of last season.

"This year, I want to start off hot. Wherever my next step is going to be, I'm hoping it's soon. But coach Hohensee and his staff are great coaches. They're teaching me how to play the game, to be a complete receiver. If I'm here, I'm going to love it. If I'm gone, I'll love it even more."

Rowley granted Howard some early impatience.

"He was a little frustrated in the first quarter," Rowley said. "He expects to get the ball. I told him, 'Just stay with me. It's a game of waves.' I knew his wave was coming."

Hohensee said Howard has showed signs of becoming the team's No. 1 receiver.

"He has been emerging all camp," the veteran coach said. "He's a kid who lost 30 pounds from last year and has re-invented himself.

"He wants to be great. Tonight was a first step. He made some mistakes -- some that hurt us -- but he did some tremendous things, too. He's on his way to being something special."

Rowley doesn't have a large frame or powerful arm, but he has the savvy of a leader. Is he still in his prime at 36?

"I think he's going to get better," Hohensee said. "He's a tremendous competitor. With a new set of receivers and a new offense, he executed extremely well against a defense (with which) he had no idea what they were going to do. He stayed composed and was great in the huddle with these guys, especially at the end."

When the KISS scored to narrow the gap to 42-37 with 51 seconds left, then recovered an onside kick, Rowley began his mental preparation.

"I thought one of two things," he said. "I trust my defense, but if (the KISS) score, as long as we have 14, 21 seconds left to run two or three plays, we're OK. We were composed on the sidelines, but the defense came up big, so we didn't have to do it."

Hohensee said the final verdict didn't surprise him.

"We said at halftime, after a few drives, (the KISS) were going to lose it, that they didn't have enough gas left in their tank," he said. "Our guys stepped up and did a super job."

Rowley, who joined the Thunder at midseason last year, said the opportunity to start the season with the club will help him from a personal standpoint.

"It's nice when you can come in before training camp and build chemistry with your teammates, so that during camp, you're working together already," he said. "There's a difference for me, especially."

Rowley quarterbacked the Thunder to a near-upset of Arizona in the first round of the playoffs last year, losing 52-48 in a game in which the eventual AFL champion Rattlers came up with a game-saving interception in the final seconds.

"Arizona ran through the playoffs last year," Howard said. The Rattlers "ran through everybody, and they barely beat us. We're better this year. We're young, we're talented. We're striving to be the best, and Coach Hohensee is pushing us. Our training camp was probably harder than anybody's. We worked three-hour (practices). We're hungry and ready to ball.

"This win sets the tone, lets us know we can compete with anybody. We needed this win to get a good start."

The fans got into it. The Thunder rewarded each of them with a free "Jumbo Jack" burger from Jack In The Box for scoring 40 points. Afterward, there was a large procession of fans on the Moda Center field to get autographs from the players.

It was a nice scene all around.

"And we're just getting started," Hohensee said. "We were so sloppy. We're going to get much better."

I'll take his word for it. After all, the man has been around this game forever.

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