New Castle News

It took Sam Holmes a minute or two to realize the significance of what had taken place. The New Castle Thunder head coach watched his squad pull out a 14-13 comeback victory against the Ohio Red Bulls on Saturday at Taggart Stadium. It was a meeting of Steel Valley Division opponents, North American Football League powers and nationally ranked minor league teams. “Once we met in the middle of the field (after the game), it hit me,” Holmes said. “We won this game. “It’s a great thing to be ranked No. 1 in the NAFL.” The Thunder-Red Bulls encounter and the city’s Fireworks Festival delivered two powerful shows. “It was an unbelievable slugfest,” Thunder owner Anthony Razzano said. “It was actually the most intense game I was ever a part of.” New Castle found itself in the unusual position of playing catch up to the Youngstown-based team. The Red Bulls (4-1) went ahead 7-0 in the first quarter when quarterback Craig Ladson fired a 34-yard touchdown pass to Jerome Betts. Randall Moore connected on the extra point. New Castle (5-0 overall, 5-0 league) rallied with 19.7 seconds left in the second quarter when Laurel High graduate Brandon Dando hit Clem Ragster on a 4-yard pass. Antonio Reino (Laurel) nailed the point-after attempt. That should have been it going into halftime. However, the Red Bulls stunned the Thunder defense with a Hail Mary touchdown pass with 0.3 seconds left. Forty-four yards from the Ohio end zone, Roosevelt Griffen lofted the ball to Betts and came away with six points. The extra-point try failed. With the start of the second half, came a change of quarterbacks. Dando, who started the contest, came out because of an injured knee. Cecil Howard replaced Dando but later returned to the sidelines.  “He was coming off of three weeks of military (duty) and no practice,” Razzano said. “He took himself out.” With Preston Jones injured and Pat Cain (New Castle) unavailable as the result of a business commitment, Holmes went to a fifth-string signal caller, J.J. Wilson – the team’s starting wide receiver. Wilson was a Farrell standout at quarterback and defensive back. He graduated in June 2000.  “He didn’t want to play quarterback out of respect for the other players,” Razzano said. “He said if you give me the ball. I’ll win the game.” Good to his word, Wilson hit another Farrell grad, Lokie Howell, with less than two minutes in the game for a 16-yard pass. Reino was good on the second extra-point try. “It felt great and still does,” Holmes said. “I’m still rejoicing after the win.” New Castle travels to Pittsburgh this weekend to play the Colts.

Check out the entire poll:

http://www.minorleaguefootballnews.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=91&twindow=Default&mad=No&sdetail=&wpage=&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=2576&hn=minorleaguefootballnews&he=.com

Checkout the NAFL Power Ranking as of Monday, July 14, 2008

http://www.nafl.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=536&Itemid=377

Thunder would like to congratulate #27 Steve Byerely, LB as game 2 Razzano Consulting, LLC defensive player of the game and #8 Preston Jones, QB as Razzano Consulting, LLC offensive player of the game!

Great game guys!

Gates open at 6pm.

Kickoff at 7pm.

Thunder Release:
Amos Wilson, LB
John Devite, RB
Anthony Pegues, QB
Jason Exline, WR
Leonard Wilder, WR
Chris Harvey, DB
Roger Holmes, DB
Jamar Hammod, LB
Tyree Dessau, DB
John Million, FB
George Weston, WR
Donnie President, OL
Caleb Quimby, OL

Injuries
Theo Banks, Shoulder, Questionable Week 2
Alonzo Whittier, Wrist, Doubtful Week 2

The New Castle Thunder kicked the season off right on Saturday.
The Thunder forced seven turnovers by the North Coast Vikings in a 35-0 season-opening victory in a North American Football League contest.

Sam Holmes led the Thunder defense with two interceptions. New Castle’s defensive unit held North Coast without a pass completion as well.

“The defensive secondary is among the most talented groups in the country,” New Castle Thunder owner Anthony Razzano said. “With three interceptions and a fumble recovery it makes for a very exciting season.”

New Castle’s offense, led by quarterback Cecil Howard, had difficulty getting in sync in the first half. The Thunder failed to score on three first-half red zone opportunities.

The second half was different as Howard went 15 for 20 for 212 yards and two touchdowns. Pat Cain (New Castle High grad) hauled in seven receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown.

“I was impressed by the way that Cecil Howard stepped up and pulled the team together, this is a professional quarterback,” Razzano said. “I just can’t say enough about him; it’s nice to have a Cecil Howard on the squad.

“Pat Cain did a lot to open some eyes, he’s unstoppable. He ran the ball, punted the ball, was a lead blocker; very impressive.”

New Castle broke a scoreless deadlock midway through the third period. North Coast mishandled a Cain punt and the Thunder recovered. Howard then found Steve DeSalvo (New Castle) on an 18-yard scoring aerial for a 7-0 buffer with 6:53 to go in the stanza.

After the Vikings went three-and-out on their next series, Baretta Chavis (New Castle) returned the punt 67 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead.

New Castle got another quick score when Chris Hunt (Union) recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and raced 30 yards for a score. The Thunder capped a 3:03 span that saw the team break the game open and claim a 21-0 margin.

Howard and Cain hooked up on a 16-yard scoring aerial with 13:06 to play and backup quarterback Preston Jones found Clem Ragster on a 19-yard touchdown pass to close the scoring.

New Castle will return to action on Saturday, June 21 at 7 p.m. at Taggart Stadium for its Home Opener against the Beaver County Warriors.

NEW CASTLE, Pa. – May 21, 2008 – Anthony Razzano, owner of the New Castle Thunder, and Dr. Dave Barner, head of Broadcast Department at Westminster College, will host a new sports radio show on Titan Radio based on the New Castle Thunder every Wednesday night throughout the 2008 season at 6:30 p.m. starting on June 4, 2008.

The New Castle Thunder is an AAA Minor League Football team that is part of the North American Football League and is entering its third season.  The team has recorded two winning seasons and is expanding its operations in several ways, including a radio talk-show.

“We hope to create community awareness, achieve a higher level of success, and build a fan base from the talk-show,” said Razzano. “We are trying to promote the whole operation from the actual games to the behind-the-scenes work that is done for the organization and the community alike.” 

 The radio show will be broadcast on Titan Radio digital 88.9 FM every Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. Dr. Barner will be the host for the show with Razzano as a the guest for each week. There will also be several special guests on each show that will include different personnel from the Thunder organization as well as their opponents’ organization and anyone else who may be of interest for different shows.

The show will cover an analysis of the previous Thunder game and offer an in-depth look into each game. It will also present a preview to the next game and what the teams and the fans can expect to see. Among these two aspects, the show will also be a place to discuss other happenings around the league and any events the Thunder will hold or be affected by.

The show will debut on Wednesday, June 4, 2008. It will offer an insight into the upcoming season and a preview of the first game of the season on June 7 at the Chardon Vikings. For more information on the New Castle Thunder organization contact the Thunder Office at 724-654-8970 or visit www.newcastlethunder.com

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