Shock hold on to beat Vigilantes
Brian Beaudry
Monday May 16, 2011
The Spokane Shock resumed their winning ways against highly-ranked teams, surviving injuries to quarterbacks Bill Stull and Kyle Rowley to bring down the Dallas Vigilantes, 71-49.
Stull, who was given the start to "provide a spark" to a Shock offense that scored just 14 second-half points in a loss to Pittsburgh last week, did just that, but each touchdown took its toll on the quarterback.
On the first touchdown, a pass to wide receiver Raul Vijil, the pile of linemen at his feet rolled up on his left leg, tweaking his knee. Just three plays into his first start, however, Stull felt ready to continue leading the Shock to points.
He did, leading another touchdown drive just minutes later. Stull left Vigilantes linebacker Joe Goosby grasping at air as Stull pump-faked and cut back to his right, slipping in the end zone for an 11-yard score. The move, however, tweaked his left knee further, and he was unable to walk off the field.
"I didn't want to force anything into the end zone, so I just took off and tried to make the Jack miss - well, made him miss. As I was doing that, I tried to pump-fake and my left leg just kind of gave out on me," Stull said.
In stepped Kyle Rowley, off the bench for the first time since coming back to Spokane in 2010, who kept the offense humming as the Shock defense began to create turnovers against a Dallas offense that came in ranked fifth in the league.
The first Dallas turnover was served up on a platter. Vigilantes quarterback Dan Raudabaugh dropped back to pass and the ball slipped backwards as he pulled his arm back, sending the ball into the Vigilantes end zone for Shock defensive lineman Lance Witherspoon to recover.
After the teams traded touchdowns, Spokane tried an onside kick and began using their timeouts inside the one-minute mark in order to set themselves up with the ball last. The strategy worked out even better than anticipated when defensive lineman Khreem Smith ripped through the line on 4th-and-3 and dropped Raudabaugh for a 9-yard loss, earning Spokane the final possession of the half. Rowley converted on the drive with a 4-yard pass to Raul Vijil for a two-possession lead with the ball coming to the Shock to start the second half.
"Everyone stepped up when they were supposed to step up. Defense and offense, everyone was making plays and that's what we need to win," Rowley said.
Rowley's night ended in the fourth quarter after hitting the turf in an awkward position on his final drive at the helm, which ended in the third consecutive touchdown for wide receiver Greg Orton. Orton led the Shock with seven receptions for 86 yards and those three touchdowns.
The Shock offense scored a touchdown on every drive they started with a quarterback under center. Stull ended the day with 38 passing yards on 4-of-5 completions and a touchdown and added that 11-yard touchdown with his legs. Rowley completed 18 of 28 passes for 169 yards and five touchdowns.
They weren't the only players to throw passes for the Shock, however. The highlight of the night came after both quarterbacks left the game, with newly-signed wide receiver Chas Gessner hitting Emery Sammons on a rainbow for 36 of Sammons' 64 yards on the night.
"I knew Emery was going to outrun him because he was so close, so I figured we'll take a shot over the top," Gessner said.
The Shock decided not to tempt fate after the awkward-looking play, letting Sammons run from the quarterback position for the rest of the game.
Stull and Rowley will both be evaluated by doctors and the team will know more about their prognosis on Monday.
If needed, though, the Shock have someone who now has a pretty good AFL passer rating available in Gessner.
"I doubt they have any sort of confidence in me whatsoever...but obviously I'll do anything I'm asked to do when called on to do it to help this team win," said Gessner, laughing. "That's why I came, and that's why this game's fun."
NOTES
With an interception on Dallas' penultimate drive, Shock defensive back Alex Teems picked off a Vigilantes pass for the Spokane secondary's second interception in as many weeks after beginning the season with seven straight games without one.
"[There was] a lot of pressure. Nothing against Gessner - he's not a quarterback," said Teems, who also forced a fumble on the Vigilantes' final drive. "We knew it was going to be tough to score and put the game away, so we knew we couldn't afford to allow them to score again."
Vigilantes WR DeAndrew Rubin led all receivers with 9 receptions for 134 yards and three touchdowns.
The Shock, who rarely run, picked up 57 yards on 15 rushes against the Vigilantes, nearly doubling the Vigilantes' total. Dallas, who runs more than any team in the league, was held to just 29 yards on their 12 rushes.
The Vigilantes played the game without WR/LB Jerrian James, who, according to sources, was suspended after an assaulting a minor member of the Goal Line Bandits between pre-game warmups and game time.