Spokane loses shocker to Orlando 82-83
Sunday May 12, 2013
Spokane drops 21 point lead in second half to suffer third straight loss of the season.
SPOKANE, WA (May 11, 2013) – In front of a crowd of 8,730 The Spokane Shock (5-3) suffered their third defeat of the season at the hands of The Orlando Predators (2-5), falling by a single point at 82-83.
After beginning the last two games failing to score on their opening drive, the Shock made amends this week and drove down the field on a three play drive capped off by a 7-yard touchdown pass from Meyer to Brooks. On the ensuing kickoff, Orlando’s Maurice Williams would go 56-yards for the score to tie the game 7-7. In an attempt to hold the momentum Orlando went for the onside kick which was juggled until Shock wide receiver Jeffery Solomon scooped up the ball and took it in for the touchdown giving the Shock a 13-7 lead. A fumbled snap exchange by Orlando, recovered by Terence Moore, would lead to a Shock 5 play drive ending with Meyer hooking up with Solomon for the 5-yard touchdown and the 20-7 lead. After a Predators touchdown drive, Spokane’s Terence Sanders would take the kickoff 55-yards being stopped 1-yard short of the score. Arvell Nelson would come in under center to run the wildcat goal line offense and rush for the 1-yard touchdown giving the Shock the 27-13 lead to end the first quarter of play.
Keeping possession going into the second quarter the Predators finished off a 5 play drive on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Garcia to Geathers. Terrance Sanders would make sure to get into the end zone this time taking the kickoff 56-yards for the quick score giving Spokane the 34-20 lead. Garcia would respond on a 32-yard touchdown pass to Toliver on their next drive to make it a one possession game. Spokane would go 3 plays and score on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Meyer to Solomon for his third scoring reception of the night. The Shock defense would turn up the pressure with Terrance Taylor forcing Garcia to fumble and Taylor falling on the ball in the end zone to give the Shock a 48-27 lead. It would take Orlando only one play to score when Garcia would find Rodriguez for the 43-yard touchdown pass. Meyer would drive the Shock down the field and connect with Tennell for his first touchdown of the game giving Spokane a 55-34 lead. Orlando and Spokane would each score one more time to make the halftime score 62-41 and a combined first half score of 103 breaking the previous record of most points scored in a half, 98.
After an explosive first half by both teams the third quarter would be all about slow drives, especially by the Predators. Orlando would receive the second half kickoff and score on a 28-yard touchdown pass from Garcia to Toliver for his fourth touchdown reception of the night. The Shock’s second half opening drive would result in a missed 27-yard field goal by Kenny Spencer. The Predators would take over with under 8 minutes to go in the third quarter and have a 9 play drive that took over 5 minutes off the clock ending in a 7-yard touchdown pass from Garcia to Geathers to bring them back within one touchdown at the end of the third quarter with the score 62-54.
After going scoreless in the third quarter the Shock would open the final quarter of play with possession and end their drive on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Meyer to Tennell in the corner of the end zone. As Orlando attempted to continue the comeback they would score on another one play drive when Garcia would go deep and find a wide open Williams for the 41-yard touchdown pass. For the second time in the quarter Meyer would connect with Tennell in the end zone for the 11-yard touchdown pass, making the score 76-61. With both teams going back and forth in the final quarter of play Garcia and Toliver would hook up for their fifth time of the night for the 27-yard touchdown pass. With a good two-point conversion attempt the Predators would pull within 7 points of the Shock 76-69. After another failed onside attempt, Meyer would only need one play to find Tennell in the end zone for his third receiving touchdown of the quarter, bringing the lead to 82-69 with less than 7 minutes to play in the game. With the defense coming up big and causing a four-and-out, the Shock would give the ball right back on a fumble by Solomon. Orlando would score again with 28 seconds to play bringing them within 6 points of the Shock. Orlando would finally recover an onside kick with 24 seconds left and would score the go ahead touchdown to take the lead 83-82 and complete their comeback. With 5 seconds left the Shock would miss a 44-yard field goal attempt by Kenny Spencer giving the Predators the 83-82 win.
Shock quarterback Erik Meyer completed 22 of 31 passes for 263 yards and 7 touchdowns. To go along with one forced fumble, Terence Moore and Terrance Taylor each had a fumble recovery. Terrance Sanders returned 7 kickoffs for 220 yards and 1 touchdown. Adron Tennell had 7 receptions for 76 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Aaron Garcia completed 30 of 48 attempts for 442 yards, 11 touchdowns. T.T. Toliver led the Predator receivers with 18 receptions for 251 yards and 6 touchdowns. Orlando’s Maurice Williams had 11 kickoff returns for 207 yards and 1 touchdown.
Next week, the Shock will host the New Orleans VooDoo at Spokane Veteran’s Memorial Arena in Spokane, WA to for their second straight home game. Kickoff is set for Saturday, May 17th at 7:00 PM PST.
SCORES BY QUARTER
Team 1 2 3 4
Orlando 13 28 13 29
Spokane 27 35 0 20
RUSSELL ATHLETIC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
Orlando Predators quarterback Aaron Garcia
RIDDELL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE GAME
Spokane Shock defensive line Terrance Taylor
J. LEWIS SMALL PLAYMAKER OF THE GAME
Orlando Predators wide receiver T.T. Toliver
CUTTERS CATCH OF THE GAME
Spokane Shock wide receivers Adron Tennell’s one-handed touchdown reception on a jump ball in the corner of the end zone in the 3rd quarter.
AFL HIGHLIGHT OF THE GAME
Spokane Shock wide receiver Terrance Sander’s kick return for a touchdown.
SPOKANE SHOCK MISSION
The Spokane Shock strive to deliver to our fans a high quality entertainment experience while serving and representing the Inland Northwest on and off the field as a proud member of the Arena Football League.
ABOUT THE SPOKANE SHOCK
The Spokane Shock is a professional arena football team of the Arena Football League from Spokane, Washington, USA. They play their home games at the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena. The Shock played their first four seasons in the former af2, winning division titles in all four seasons and ArenaCups in 2006 and 2009 before joining the AFL and winning ArenaBowl XXIII in their first season. Tickets and Sponsorships are available for the 2013 Season. For more information visit our website at spokaneshock.com or call 509-242-7462. You can also follow the Shock on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
