Hymes’ snag secures sixth straight Shock playoff berth
Brian Beaudry
Monday July 18, 2011
2.9 seconds.
For the San Jose SaberCats, that’s what separated them from a shot at returning to the playoffs in their first year back from a two-year catnap. For the Spokane Shock, that’s how long it took to erase every bad memory this season has provided, clinching a playoff spot with a 63-61 victory on a last-second Hail Mary.
Wide receiver Randy Hymes, in his first game in a Shock uniform, dropped his first pass – but he made sure that the last one ended up in his hands.
“Somebody had to make a big play. Either I was going to make the play, San Jose was going to make the play, or the ground was going to make the play,” said Hymes. “It appeared to me that nobody hit it – it just fell right into my arms.”
Quarterback Kyle Rowley, who was benched earlier in the season, injured, then placed in the backup role when he returned from IR, came in after Erik Meyer went down and threw eight touchdown passes, the last of which turned the Shock from an also-ran into a dangerous playoff team.
“Every time we’ve needed to do something, we’ve done it,” Rowley said.
2.9 seconds and the Shock led the SaberCats when it counted after spending 116:35 of their season series looking up at San Jose on the scoreboard.
The game itself was a microcosm of the season – nothing went right early as the SaberCats recovered the opening kickoff after kicker Juan Gamboa struck iron, setting up San Jose for an early lead.
On Spokane’s opening offensive drive, starting quarterback Erik Meyer was injured as he reached in vain for the end zone. After Rowley punched the ball in from inside the 1, the Shock couldn’t score on their first full drive with Rowley in, turning the ball over on downs – it began to look like the season-opening debacle in San Jose.
Word reached of Orlando’s thrashing of Tulsa, and it seemed as though an opportunity would be wasted.
Then Rowley hit Hymes for the first passing touchdown of the game. The defense earned its first stop of San Jose’s offense in two games, shutting down Chad Cook on a 4th-and-1 attempt inside the Shock 5-yard-line.
Rowley and the offense would not fail to score again, ending every drive in a touchdown. The defense blocked an extra point and a field goal in the third quarter, limiting the SaberCats to just six points in the period and setting up the game’s final minute.
With just a minute left, Brandon Thompkins took an end around into the end zone to convert a two-point conversion that tied the game for the first time since 0-0. The Shock elected to kick it deep, and San Jose kick returner Marco Thomas sent Shock fans into delirium as he broke the plane of the goalline, then stepped back to try to escape the grasp of Emery Sammons.
After he crossed back into the end zone, Sammons and Alex Teems dragged him down as the Shock earned their first lead of the season against the SaberCats.
The SaberCats would not give up, however, as they recovered the ensuing onside kick and seemed to effectively end the game by forcing Spokane to use all of their timeouts in a drive that ended with James Roe catching his fourth touchdown pass of the game with just four seconds to go.
That set up possibly the most exciting single play in Shock history, a play in which even the players involved weren’t completely sure what happened.
“I actually got a hand on it, kind of brought it in a little bit, and it slipped through my hand and fell right to Randy,” said Adron Tennell, who finished the game with nine receptions for 92 yards and two touchdowns.
Hymes felt it came cleanly to him. Rowley thought Tennell was the one who caught it. Perhaps Head Coach Rob Keefe summed it up best when assigning credit.
“Everybody steps up this year,” Keefe said.
With the win and Tulsa’s loss, the Shock clinched a playoff spot for the sixth consecutive year. They’ll go in as the No. 4 seed, but they recorded wins over the No.1 Rattlers, No. 2 Rush, and No. 3 Vigilantes already this season at home. In the postseason, however, the Shock will have to beat them away from Deaf Valley.