The Surge's All-World wide receiver Eddie Brown fumbled the punt catch, allowing the Thunder to recover the ball at Sacramento's 9-yard line. Two plays later, Mitchell threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to Willie Davis in the back of the end zone to increase the lead to 14–3. With the first half winding down and the Surge in a desperate attempt to cut the lead, Archer's pass was intercepted by Thunder cornerback Malcolm Frank at midfield and returned to the Sacramento 9-yard line.
The Thunder struck first with a 12-play, 98-yard drive that was capped off when quarterback Scott Mitchell threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Chris Ford for the only score in the first quarter. In the second quarter, the Surge got into the game with Cary Blanchard's 32-yard field goal. The Thunder's second drive was not as successful as the first, so the team had to punt.