2014 #ThunderTopPlay Champion Announced

It took a couple of months, but we did it! We determined the single top play of the 2014 season for the Portland Thunder.

Fitting for a defensive backfield that had three players in the league’s top 10  turnover forcers, the top play of the Thunder season was Eric Crocker’s interception of the Tampa Bay Storm’s B.J. Hall, which turned into a 23-yard touchdown run by Varmah Sonie.

The play involved one of the EIGHT fumbles between both teams in the game, six of which were picked up by the opposing team.  Tampa Bay’s Michael Lindsey forced three of them, the top mark for the AFL in 2014, including the one that sent Sonie into the end zone.

“Not again!” said Crocker, when asked about what he was thinking as the ball was poked out by Lindsey. “But Varmah was Johnny-on-the-spot, and he has great return skills, so once the ball hit his hands, I was like ‘He’s going to score anyway.'”

The cap to the play was Sonie’s roll across the end zone from the T of Tampa to the Y of Bay before Coach William Mulder stopped him and pulled him up to celebrate.

“I was just happy I got in the end zone,” said Sonie. “I think that was my first touchdown of the season on defense, so I was just excited.”

Check out the full interviews with Crocker and Sonie below.