Shock Dominate Sharks in Convincing Fashion
Jeffrey Giuliani
Thursday June 13, 2013
During pre-game warmups, Erik Meyer was asked if backup quarterback Arvell Nelson would see snaps, a nod to Nelson playing the majority of the second half against San Jose when Spokane had a big lead. Meyer’s response? “I hope so.” Meyer would get his wish. The Spokane Shock’s winning streak continued on Saturday evening as they toppled the Jacksonville Sharks by a score of 76-41. Similar to the triumph over San Jose in their previous game, Spokane took the lead early and never looked back. The American conference team with the best record was dominated on both sides of the ball by the Shock and will return to Jacksonville with more questions than answers.
Jacksonville’s quarterback Bernard Morris looked very solid in early in the season, but has struggled as of late. Those struggles continued in Spokane. Morris would throw only two touchdown passes before being knocked out of the game with an injury. Morris threw an interception to Ruschard Dodd-Masters on the Sharks’ first drive of the game after deferring the opening kickoff to the Shock. Spokane would capitalize on Morris’ mistake and score, putting Jacksonville in an early 14-0 hole that they had little hope of digging themselves out of.
Later in the half, Morris would make another critical error. An errant pass was picked off by Spokane’s tremendously talented DB, Terrance Sanders. Sanders would take the interception all the way back for six points, extending the Shock’s lead to three possessions. To top off a woeful night, Morris would also fumble the ball away to Spokane. This came directly after a Spokane turnover. Jacksonville’s chance to cut into the Shock lead was wasted, and Morris’ night wouldn’t be far from over.
Backup Sharks quarterback RJ Archer, similar to Mitch Mustain for the Sabercats last week, would step into the game with an incredibly tall task ahead of him. Down 56-21, Archer was asked to bring the Sharks back. But the task was too daunting for Archer, and he fared little better than Morris. Jacksonville, clearly unhappy with their options at quarterback, signed Kyle Rowley the day following their defeat. Rowley began the season with Orlando, but was released following a DUI arrest, in addition to poor play. Morris was placed on IR and Archer was placed on league suspension, as reported by News4jax.com.
The Shock defense has stepped up in the past few weeks. After giving up 82 at home against the Predators, Spokane’s defense has improved by leaps and bounds. They have held their past three opponents to under 40 points, and most of San Jose and Jacksonville’s points came in garbage time well after the contest had been decided. The aforementioned Terrance Sanders has been terrific. He had two interceptions against the Sharks, once of which was returned for a touchdown (the other was also returned for six, but called back on a penalty). Despite injuries to key defensive backs, the Shock have managed to protect better against the big pass plays that plagued them during the three game losing streak. Jacksonville kept most of their pass attempts short, making little attempt to test the Shock on the deep ball.
Spokane’s offense was a sight to behold on Saturday evening. Star quarterback Erik Meyer threw for 218 yards and six touchdowns before being pulled for backup Arvell Nelson during the blowout. Meyer’s season has been absolutely sensational. Meyer is tied for the league lead in passing yards, and is the outright leader in passing touchdowns and QB rating. His number one receiver Adron Tennell broke a team record for points scored in a single season, and figured to add many more points before the season ends. Part of Meyer’s success can be attributed to his offensive line. Meyer raved about their play, telling reporters that, “Oh, they’re the best offensive line in the AFL, I really believe that. They’re awesome.” Head coach Andy Olson would echo a similar sentiment, saying, “Our offensive line is tremendous. We face the best pass rushes week in and week out. Meyer does a good job moving in the pocket, but we can’t give them enough credit.”
Spokane is rolling right now, winning their last four games. But the biggest test of the season looms large. The 11-1 Rattlers have been waiting two months for another crack at the Shock, who handed Arizona their only loss of the season. This is the game of the year thus far in the AFL. The undisputed two top teams in the league face off in Phoenix. If Spokane wins, they will still be a game behind for the division lead, but will leave Arizona no room for error in the following weeks. Kickoff is set for June 15th at 6:00 PM PST.
Jeffrey Giuliani is a sports journalist from Renton, Washington. He is a senior at Western Washington Univeristy where he is studying journalism. Giuliani is currently the sports editor for his college paper, The Western Front and hopes to move on to a daily after obtaining his degree. This will be his third season covering the Spokane Shock for ArenaFan.
