Inside the confines of Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines, Iowa, Spokane lit up the scoreboard quickly in the opening minutes, putting up 14 points as the Barnstormers struggled to catch up.  Shock quarterback Erik Meyer hooked up with receiver Steven Black for 12 yards and then three yards for the scores.  Meyer completed 24-of-34 passes on the night for 330 yards and nine touchdowns.

 

Barnstormers quarterback J.J. Raterink, who had been poised and on task for the first two games of the season struggled with the pressure of the Shock defense and miscues on offense.  Raterink and the Barnstormers were able to reach the end zone once in their first five possessions; a 31-yard pass for a touchdown to Barnstormers receiver Darius Reynolds.  Phil Marfuggi's kick after the point was blocked by Spokane.  Raterink finished the night with 378 passing yards and four touchdowns.  He completed 27-of-40 passes and was intercepted once.

When asked about coming from behind, Raterink expressed, “We can't put our defense and special teams in that position.”

 

Marco Thomas led all Barnstormers receivers with 10 receptions for 119 yards and one touchdown.  Collin Taylor and Reynolds also scored.  Marcus Harris scored his first AFL touchdown.
 

Taylor told the Des Moines Register, “We were excited to play in front of the home crowd for the first time this season.  Unfortunately, we let them down.  We'll be better next week.”
 

Mid-way through the final quarter of the game, Barnstormers principal owner and president, Jeff Lamberti, got vocal about the performance via Twitter.  In an effort to give good P.R., Lamberti exercised his woes to a world-wide audience by tweeting, “Terribly disappointed in how we played tonight. We are better than this. But time for some player changes. Need players who want 2 win.” (Source: Twitter ).  He went on to say, “We need playmakers not players filling a spot on the roster. Time for some changes.” (Source: Twitter ).  After the game, Lamberti recanted the tweets and admitted that owners don't get involved with personnel decisions regarding players and said, “I will go out on a limb and say [that] the Barnstormers are playoff bound!”  Lamberti is an emotional guy and the game was disappointing to the organization and fans alike as they watched a possible 3-0 start to their season being pulled out of their grasp.

 

The Barnstormers host the Philadelphia Soul at 6 p.m. next Saturday.

Christina Rivers has been an active journalist for several years. She covers American football in both the NFL and AFL. Christina is a native-Iowan with a love of Pittsburgh sports. Christina is also a photographer. Her experience includes time with CBS Sports Local - Pittsburgh (KDKA), Examiner.com, and The Beam in Pittsburgh.