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Thunder and lightning was popularized in the mid-2000s, when USC's backfield of Heisman Trophy-winning running back Reggie Bush and LenDale White were the Trojans' one-two punch. 

Bush (lightning) was flash, agile and acrobatic, while White (thunder) was a powerful and strong running back — essentially a fullback with speed. 

The °µÍø³Ô¹Ï Sugar Skulls have their own version of thunder and lightning in running backs Brandon Mackey and Tavion Thomas, who each scored two touchdowns apiece in last week's 48-42 loss to the San Diego Strike Force. The Sugar Skulls return to °µÍø³Ô¹Ï Arena to face the New Mexico Chupacabras Sunday at 4:30 p.m.  

"Everybody calls them 'thunder and lightning,'" Sugar Skulls head coach Rayshaun Kizer said of Mackey and Thomas. "I want a strong running game, especially with a young quarterback. That's why I brought in two dynamic running backs. ... Both of those guys are very hard to tackle, they're big bodies.

"Brandon Mackey is like a little bowling ball and Tavion, that's a business decision, you don't want to hit him. He's a load to bring down. We gotta establish the run game moving forward and take a little pressure off (quarterback Draylen Ellis)."

Following his path

Mackey, a 5-7, 190-pound McRae, Georgia, native, played at Kentucky Wesleyan and signed with the Ozarks Lunkers, a professional indoor team in Missouri that competed in The Arena League, a startup league that launched two years ago. Mackey was named the TAL Offensive MVP last year, scoring 26 touchdowns.

"My time in the TAL was really good, coming fresh out of college and jumping right into arena ball," Mackey said. "At first, I didn't want to play arena, but my agent was telling me that everyone has a different path to where they're trying to get to. I gave it an opportunity.

"Adjusting to the arena game, it was different because I was used to playing outside and the rules were different. Coming to the IFL is way different and way faster. The competition, you've got guys that are hungry and are trying to get to the top. Everyone has the same goal and is trying to get somewhere. You're playing against guys who are hungry and it's just better competition." 

Mackey "is small, which means he's hard to see in the holes," Kizer said.

"You gotta get down low to tackle Brandon Mackey," Kizer added. "If you don't get down low, he's going to run you over. If you saw his film from the previous league he played in, he pretty much dominated. Very good running back and we're lucky to have him here. He's only going to get better." 

Since Mackey signed with the Sugar Skulls earlier this year, "I love it out here in °µÍø³Ô¹Ï," he said. 

"Ever since I've been here, Coach Kizer shows me mad love — him and the owners," Mackey said. "I feel like I'm at home. We get treated right. The fans show mad love and they come out here on Thursdays and make sure the guys are taken care of before the game." 

Natural fit

Playing for Kizer, the Sugar Skulls' first-year head coach, was an easy sell for the 6-foot, 250-pound Thomas.

"When he called me, I just believed in him," Thomas said. "There's a new energy, a new vibe. You've got people behind you. I just felt like this was the place. There was no better option. I want to be a part of this rebuilding process with coach and get this program back to being a winning program. That made my decision easy. I like being an underdog and showing fight. I like being on the underdog team."

Thomas, a Dayton, Ohio native, started his college football journey at Cincinnati, before transferring to Independence Community College (Kansas), a school featured on the Netflix docuseries "Last Chance U."

After playing on the junior college circuit, Thomas transferred to Utah, where he was an All-Pac-12 running back in 2021, rushing for 1,108 yards and a school-record 21 touchdowns. Thomas led the Utes to their first-ever Rose Bowl appearance.

Thomas "is a bigger running back and we use him more in the red zone," Kizer said.

"It's hard to tackle that," said the Sugar Skulls head coach. "It's hard to tackle 250 pounds coming at you full speed. When he's running at practice, our (defensive backs) don't even want to touch him. It's a business decision.

"We're lucky to have him. I had a vision when we signed him. He's a load to bring down. He's living up to the expectations. I'm looking forward to him playing a bigger role for us moving forward." 

The time in °µÍø³Ô¹Ï is also "bettering my career for special teams," Thomas said. 

"I've been working on running down on kickoff," he said. "The little things, too. ... It's helping turn me into a pro all the way. It's going to help me transition when I go to the NFL." 

No letting up

The tandem of Thomas and Mackey "works well with each other and we just feed off each other," Thomas said.

"(Mackey) goes out, sets the tone. I go out, set the tone," Thomas said. "We just feed off each other and it's good energy. We always let each other know what we see out there."

The duo propelled °µÍø³Ô¹Ï back in the game against San Diego. After the Sugar Skulls trailed 34-14, Mackey and Thomas — coupled with a pair of interceptions by °µÍø³Ô¹Ï's defense — gave the Sugar Skulls a lead in the fourth quarter. But a late touchdown by San Diego, along with a fourth-down stop by the Strike Force, led to a 48-42 setback for the Sugar Skulls — the second loss of the season. 

"You see how quick this game turns around," Kizer said. "A couple of stops on defense, a couple of big plays on offense, we're right back in the game. This is arena football at its finest, and all the guys have to do is believe. San Diego wasn't doing anything special, we just weren't making plays we needed to make. We came out in the second half and we did that." 

The second-half rally "showed this team has some fight," Kizer added.

"I don't know what's going on with us in the first half," Kizer said. "We dropped the ball and then in the second half, we got our act together and started playing some football. We gotta learn how to put four quarters of football together. That's our goal this week: putting four quarters of °µÍø³Ô¹Ï Sugar Skulls football together." 

The Sugar Skulls "have to find our identity and come out hungry and fight hard from start to finish, not coming out second half and starting late, being down and being in a bad situation," Thomas said.

"We've got the coaches, the players, we just gotta put everything together," Thomas said. "This ain't the end for us. We're going to come out this Sunday and put it all together. We just gotta come out together." 

Maybe a little thunder and lightning can fix the first-half woes for the Sugar Skulls against New Mexico on Sunday. 

"Going into the next game, we just gotta come out (fast)," said Mackey. "We start so slow, so we gotta come out and keep our foot on the gas."