Nail-biting Win for Shock
Shawn and Lori Mosqueda
Wednesday June 7, 2006
Shock's WR/DB Kevin Beard wowed the crowd with a sweet 35-yard reception on the second play of the game. This put the Shock in great field position and lead to the first touchdown of the game by WR/DB Charles Frederick.
Shock's OS Antwone Savage was also shining with some great receptions, setting up the next play. However, his most amazing play of the game was the reception from Shock QB Alex Neist and then lateral pass to Kevin Beard. This play had the crowd on their feet as it resulted in a touchdown by Kevin Beard in the last three seconds of the first half. This play was named the Catch of the Game and also helped Beard with his rightful earning of Offensive Player of the Game.
The Shock's defense seemed consistent throughout the game. They really kept the pressure on Coyote QB Scott Rislov. In fact, he was sacked twice in the game. Once in the first quarter by FB/LB Chauncey Ako, and then again in the second quarter by OL/DL Kurt Sigler. However, DS Rob Keefe, now named "Keefense" by his many fans, did what he always does best – TACKLE. He was named Defensive Player of the Game.
The second half was all about Charles Frederick. Although WR/LB Chris Stallworth deserves credit for scoring the first touchdown of the second half with a 16-yard reception from QB Alex Neist, Charles scored the remaining four touchdowns. He was named Ironman Player of the Game for the second week in a row.
This was by far the most intense game of the season. As usual, the Shock provided the
10,000 plus raving fans one serious game of electrifying football.
Shawn's Take: I keep hearing about arena football games that are won with large margins like 70 to 47. However, I have yet to see that kind of game with the Shock. The most I have seen was a 20 - 57 Shock loss. The Shock, however, prefer to keep it close and continue to give their fans fantastic last-second wins.
This game was no different. It started with Central Valley Coyotes scoring. The Shock quickly answered with six points. However they missed their extra point. Shock's kicker, John Koker, was out with an injury. The relief kicker, although showing promise, was having difficulties.
This back and forth scoring continued the entire game. The Shock trailed the Coyotes up until the last 30 seconds of the 1st half when, as Lori mentioned, Antwone Savage and Kevin Beard ran their special lateral play, giving the Shock the lead for the remainder of the game.
We interviewed both WR/DB Kevin Beard and OS Antwone Savage after the game regarding their special play.
Antwone said, "We have been working on this lateral play for the last two weeks. It wasn't supposed to go like it did. I was supposed to run with the ball and draw the defense, but they weren't cooperating. So I had to hold on to the ball longer and then when they were drawing up to me, I passed it to Savage who was able to take it in for the score, thanks to a block by E.T. They said it would work, and it worked."
When we mentioned to Kevin Beard that it appeared like he hit the wall. He quickly corrected us and said, "I made sure I didn't hit the wall. I couldn't mess up a beautiful play like that! When I started off after catching the ball, the defender was approaching. I yelled at ET, 'You need to get this dude!' E.T replied, 'I got it, don't worry about it!' Boy he got him. E.T. came through!"
Charles Frederick has continued to show his uncanny ability to be in the right place at the right time. He was able to turn a fumbled play by Kevin Beard into a play with positive yardage, which led to another Shock score.
We asked Charles Frederick about this ability of being in the right place, he responded, "I don't know. I am just going out there to have fun! This game is fast and anything can happen. I just try to be in the right spot to make the catch first. After I have made the catch, I try to make that big play. I just watch for the ball. I want the ball all the time."
This game was a big win for the Shock. As Lori mentioned, this game gave the Shock an 8-1 record and has put them ahead of the pack. Shock QB Alex Neist commented on the game with a simple, "Sssshhweh, man! This was a big win. That was a huge win and gave us a big lead in the league. Central Valley is a great team. We got the win, now we can focus on Louisville."
We also interviewed Shock's head coach Chris Siegfried about the game, "We have changed from an expansion team, who is having a pretty good year, to a team that is starting to say, 'Hey we are going to make a good run and qualify for the playoffs'." Chris went on to say, "I think we played a full game. We stumbled a little bit in the first half. Every game in the first quarter we seem to have a turnover, a stop or we are stopping ourselves. We need to stop that. We are getting close to playing a complete game."
Chris Siegfried credits you fans for shaking up the competition. "I know at least two Coyote time outs were because of the fans. They are starting to get a feel as to when to cheer and make noise to help us out. We love it here in Spokane and we love our fans!"
So there you have it. Another fantastic Shock game. Next week the Shock will be on the road to meet with the Louisville Fire who are 4-5 in their division. The Shock are currently 4 for 4 on the road.
Shawn and Lori with their children Kaiden and Moriah live in beautiful Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. Suffering from football withdrawals, the two diehard Seahawk fans found out that a new team was coming to town, the "Spokane Shock". Shawn and Lori are excited to cover the team as new sportswriters and new fans of Arena Football (you just can't beat year round football). GO SHOCK!!!
Shawn is in the process of completing and publishing an ebook entitled "The Complete HTPC Guide: Everyone's Guide To Building A Home Theater PC". Shawn has a structured wiring company where he helps homeowners create automated homes through the use of home electronics and computers.
Lori is an aspiring children's writer. After years of being an accomplished QA Analyst for a cutting edge software manufacturer, she now enjoys spending her time with her family and writing.
Shawn is in the process of completing and publishing an ebook entitled "The Complete HTPC Guide: Everyone's Guide To Building A Home Theater PC". Shawn has a structured wiring company where he helps homeowners create automated homes through the use of home electronics and computers.
Lori is an aspiring children's writer. After years of being an accomplished QA Analyst for a cutting edge software manufacturer, she now enjoys spending her time with her family and writing.
