Shock sloppy in loss to Gladiators
Brian Beaudry
Monday March 21, 2011
After their second loss in as many games, it’s clear that the 2011 Spokane Shock aren’t the same team that earned the ArenaBowl banner raised to the rafters of the Spokane Arena prior to Saturday’s game against the Gladiators.
At 0-2 despite being considered possibly the league’s most talented team heading into the season, the Shock find themselves searching for answers.
“I think we put together one of the best teams in the league. I think we’re a whole lot better than 0-2,” said defensive back Alex Teems. “We’re not showing our talent right now. Whatever we’ve got to do. Maybe we’ve got to practice 10 hours a day … we’ve got to figure something out.”
The Shock started the game shorthanded, missing Week 1 standout Raul Vijil due to illness.
“It’s always nice to have Raul; we all know what type of player he is, but I have confidence in all our receivers,” quarterback Kyle Rowley said.
Rowley started the game ice cold, however, throwing his first two passes incomplete. On third-and-10, Rowley threw an out to Vijil’s replacement, Shaun Kauleinamoku, but Kauleinamoku slipped with the ball in the air and Cleveland defensive back Levy Brown found himself wide open.
The team with the best first-quarter scoring margin of 2010 found themselves with nothing to show for their first possession for the second consecutive week.
Cleveland, unlike so many teams last year, took full advantage of the opportunity, scoring on that drive and keeping the Shock from ever getting ahead in the possession game.
Even the Gladiators’ errors worked to their advantage. With 28 seconds left in the first half, Robert Redd rushed for a three-yard touchdown to an empty left side of the field, leaving what seemed to be plenty of time for a Spokane drive for a potential halftime lead. Instead, offensive lineman Adam Tadisch was called for a false start, giving Cleveland the chance to run 20 seconds off before John Dutton hit Redd for the tying touchdown.
The Shock made several mistakes too, with much less desirable results. Emery Sammons dropped a wide-open first down pass on a fourth-down play for a turnover. Shaun Kauleinamoku picked up just 19 yards on a 4th-and-21. The offensive line and Rowley gave up two sacks and there was a fumbled exchange. Taylor Rowan, who had such a great 2010, put two more kickoffs out of bounds. The defense finally came up with a couple of plays, but not until the final few minutes of the game, with the Shock down three scores.
“We could’ve had a few more stops, but we had a lot of mental mistakes,” said Teems. “We should be playing a whole lot better than what we have, offensively and defensively. We need to put a better product on the field for these fans.”
Those mental mistakes helped guide Cleveland’s offense down the field, especially in the second half. The Shock were penalized 12 times for 116 yards, and that doesn’t include the several penalties that were called but declined. Twice, the Shock committed penalties on fourth down on drives that ended in Gladiators touchdowns.
Cleveland welcomed Troy Bergeron back to the AFL, letting him make plays to the tune of a game-high 134 yards and four touchdowns, including the game-clincher with 57 seconds left from backup quarterback Kurt Rocco. Rocco was in due to an Achilles tendon injury suffered by John Dutton on the previous drive.
Markee White led the Shock in receiving with 103 yards, including the best catch of the night, a falling-over-the-back-wall touchdown that left him pinned between the stands and a TV stage behind the wall while trainers attempted to figure out how hurt he was. The score was part of the Shock rally that brought the game within one possession.
“I told [White], ‘If they zone it up, I’m still going to give you a chance for it,’” said Rowley. “No regard for his body, probably hurt something there – unbelievable. That’s heart.”
Heart isn’t proving to be enough this year. Head Coach Rob Keefe, visibly angry, took his coaching staff and his team into the locker room immediately following the game. The coaching staff was still at the arena in a meeting at 2 a.m. as they try to get this team looking more like the top-tier team they believe they should be before they head to Iowa on Friday for their first national television game of the season.
“Winning is a habit,” said Teems, summing up the team’s feelings after the game. “But losing is a habit as well, so we need to stop the direction that we’re going and we need to stop it real soon.”