Week 6 preview: Spokane vs Tampa Bay

Tuesday April 23, 2013

 Shock prepare for second home game of 2013 after 5-0 start

SPOKANE, WA (April 23, 2013) - The Spokane Shock (5-0) take on the Tampa Bay Storm (3-2) for only their second home game of the season in a week 6 Net10 Wireless Arena Football League match up. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, April 27th at 7:00PM PST at Spokane Veteran’s Memorial Arena and will be available for viewing as the featured CBS Sports Network game of the week as well as online at shock.arenafootball.com/allaccess. 700AM ESPN Radio will also be providing radio coverage of the contest.

Last week, in San Jose, Paul Stephens was played a key role in the game setting an AFL record and taking the league lead with five interceptions while giving the Shock the second best turnover margin going into week 6 of the season (+10) as the Shock are tied with Tampa Bay and trail Arizona (+12).

Erik Meyer continues to lead the league in passing yards, attempts, completions and touchdowns. On Friday, against the SaberCats, Meyer went 26-37, 242 yards and 8 TDs. To go along with Meyer’s leading numbers, Tennell had 3 TDs on Friday giving him 17 on the season which is also leading the league.
Spokane and Tampa Bay only played once last season on the final day of the regular season with the Shock coming out on top 63-53. In that game Shock QB Kyle Rowley threw for 6 TDs, hooking up with Tennell for 4 scores and after grabbing an early first quarter lead, the Shock never looked back and led for the remainder of the game.

Coach Andy Olson said, "Tampa Bay is a very good football team. They traveled to Utah just a few weeks ago and took care of a very good West Division rival of ours on the road. Tampa Bay is a very talented on both sides of the ball and well coached. So far they've caused 10 fumbles this season which shows their aggressive style of play and are ran by a dual threat QB in McPherson who has racked up 21 passing touchdowns and 14 rushing. It's going to put a lot of pressure on our defensive line and linebackers and we'll have to work extra hard up front to understand the timing involved and angles to be able to cut him off when he leaves the pocket."

Last week Tampa Bay defeated Orlando 53-35 with their defense also coming up big causing 4 turnovers on the day, 2 fumble recoveries and 2 interceptions. Storm QB McPherson threw 4 TDs and over 200 yards with 2 of those TDs going to WR Joe Hills who played for Spokane last season. Hills has 14 total TDs this season, only second to Adron Tennell, and is leading the league in receiving yards.

Andy Olson on this week’s game; "We're excited to come back to Spokane Arena and are itching to play in front of our fans back here at home. We have the best fans in the league and are ready for another sellout crowd with another big game and being featured on National TV."

In only their second home game of the season the Shock will look to add to their (5-0) start to the season when they play the Tampa Bay Storm on Saturday, April 27th kick off is scheduled for 7:00 PM. Game broadcast will be available on CBS Sports Network, radio on 700AM ESPN, and online at shock.arenafootball.com/allaccess.

SPOKANE SHOCK MISSION
The Spokane Shock strive to deliver to our fans a high quality entertainment experience while serving and representing the Inland Northwest on and off the field as a proud member of the Arena Football League.

ABOUT THE SPOKANE SHOCK
The Spokane Shock is a professional arena football team of the Arena Football League from Spokane, Washington, USA. They play their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The Shock played their first four seasons in the former af2, winning division titles in all four seasons and ArenaCups in 2006 and 2009 before joining the AFL and winning ArenaBowl XXIII in their first season. Tickets and Sponsorships are available for the 2013 Season. For more information visit our website at spokaneshock.com or call 509-242-7462. You can also follow the Shock on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.