Shock win second straight after 61-48 victory over Talons
Saturday May 25, 2013
Erik Meyer accounts for 9 touchdowns, Tennell records 177 yards and 4 scores
SPOKANE, WA (May 24, 2013) –The Spokane Shock (7-3) won their second straight game with a 61-48 win over the San Antonio Talons (4-5) at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX. Shock quarterback Erik Meyer accounted for 9 touchdowns on the day (7 passing, 2 rushing) while Adron Tennell recorded 12 receptions for 177 yards and 4 scores.
On the first drive of the game, the Talons suffered two defensive penalties to allow Spokane to score in one play on a 17-yard touchdown reception by Adron Tennell. Talons’ quarterback Nick Hill would respond with a 6 play drive eating up 4 minutes and 10 seconds and cap off the series with a 9-yard touchdown scamper to tie that game at 7-7. Spokane would respond quickly as Tennell would record his second score of the game to give the Shock the one touchdown lead. On San Antonio’s next possession, quarterback Nick Hill would be sacked by Shock newcomer Diyral Briggs and suffer an injury during the play to keep him out the rest of the contest. Backup quarterback and wide receiver Xavier Lee would be called upon to take the snaps for the Talons and go on to lead the offense down the field on a 6 play drive, capping it off with a touchdown pass to Jomo Wilson from 11 yards out and tie the game at 14-14 to end the first quarter of play.
Spokane would dominate the scoreboard in the second quarter, posting three touchdowns to San Antonio’s one. Kamar Jorden would make his presence known on the Shock’s opening drive, catching a pass on a drag route over the middle while Brandon Thompkins would lay an edge sealing block to allow Jorden to scamper up the right sideline for the 15-yard score. Spokane would miss the extra point, giving the Talons and quarterback Xavier Lee possession as they would put together a 5 play drive eating up 3 minutes and 23 seconds on their way to score on a 28-yard touchdown pass to Jomo Wilson and give the Talons the 21-20 lead. Shock quarterback Erik Meyer would respond quickly, engineering a three play drive and scoring on a one-yard rush to retake the lead. On the Talons’ ensuing possession, the Shock defense would hold to a four-and-out and allow Spokane to take over on downs at the 16-yard line. Spokane would focus on eating up the clock late in the second quarter. Duane Brooks would enter the game and be on the receiving end of Meyer’s touchdown pass from 8-yards out, leaving only 7 seconds on the clock for San Antonio as the Shock would hold on defense and go into halftime with the 34-21 lead.
In the first half the Shock were perfect on offense, scoring on all five possessions while the defense held the Talons to a four-and-out late in the quarter after giving up three fourth down conversions to San Antonio earlier in the half. Shock quarterback Erik Meyer completed 13 of 15 pass attempts for 165 yards and 4 touchdowns in the air while adding one rushing score. Wide receiver Adron Tennell hauled in 6 receptions for 105 yards and 2 touchdowns. Talons’ quarterback Xavier Lee completed 8 of 19 pass attempts for 103 yards and 2 touchdowns after Nick Hill left the game early in the first quarter due to injury. Jomo Wilson led the San Antonio receiving effort with 4 receptions for 73 yards and 2 touchdowns. In the first half, San Antono dominated time of possession as they engineered lengthy scoring drives while giving up quick scores to Spokane. The Talons would run 29 plays and hold possession for 18 minutes and 36 seconds compared to Spokane’s 17 plays while holding onto the ball for 11 minutes and 24 seconds.
On the Talons’ opening possession of the second half, Shock defensive back Patrick Stoudamire would intercept the pass by Xavier Lee on the 4-yard line. Erik Meyer would lead the Shock offense the length of the field and scramble for a 10-yard rushing touchdown to cap off the five play drive and give the Shock a 40-21 lead and post the only touchdown in the third quarter between the two teams.
San Antonio would continue their 10 play drive into the fourth quarter, eating up almost eight minutes off the clock on their way to scoring on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Xavier Lee to Jomo Wilson. After failing to recover the onside kick, San Antonio would intercept the pass by Shock quarterback Erik Meyer in the end zone and take over possession on their own 5-yard line. The Talons would push the length of the field and score on a 1-yard touchdown pass to Ruffins to bring the game back within one score at 40-35. A second failed onside kick attempt would set Spokane up on the Talons’ 5-yard line after a chop block penalty on the kick. Erik Meyer would connect with Kamar Jorden on the short screen pass in the left flat who would take it in for the 5-yard touchdown and reestablish Spokane’s two-score lead. On the Shock’s ensuring kickoff, Talon return specialist D.J. Stephens would take the kick 56-yards for the quick strike with just over 7 minutes remaining in the game. Shock quarterback Erik Meyer would lead Spokane down the field and connect with Tennell for the third time in the game as Adron would haul in a one-handed score with the San Antonio defender all over him in the back of the end zone. After the Shock score, D.J. Stephens would take his second straight kickoff back for a touchdown and give the Talons a fighting chance, down by only six. The Talons would go on to attempt another onside kick and fail to recover after Adron Tennell snatched the ball out of the air and ran back to the 20-yard line to give his team more space to work with and the opportunity to eat up the final seconds off the clock. Spokane would go on to score with 44 seconds remaining in the contest as Erik Meyer and Adron Tennell would make their fourth and final connection of the game to give Spokane the 61-48 lead that they would go on to hold for the final score to improve to 7-3 overall.
Shock quarterback Erik Meyer completed 23 of 29 pass attempts for 255 yards and 7 touchdowns with only one interception while adding 4 rushes for 6 yards and 2 touchdowns on the night. Tennell would lead the Shock receiving effort with 12 receptions for 177 yards and 4 scores. Patrick Stoudamire recorded an interception on the night, while the Shock defensive front accounted for one sack (Briggs) and 9 quarterback hurries in the contest. Talons’ quarterback Xavier Lee completed 22 of 48 attempts for 237 yards and 4 touchdowns with one interception after entering the game midway through the first quarter due to an injury to starter Nick Hill. Jomo Wilson led the San Antonio receivers with 8 receptions for 105 yards and 3 touchdowns. D.J. Stephens gave the Talons’ a late spark, returning two kick returns for touchdowns in back to back possessions late in the fourth quarter.
Next week, the Shock will return to Spokane for their first of back-to-back home games to begin the month of June. This will be the second and final matchup between Spokane and San Jose in the regular season, featured as the CBS Sports Network Game of the Week. Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, June 1st at 7:00pm PST. Spokane’s June 1st game will be Military Appreciation Night and fans will receive bandannas courtesy of Century Link. Use the promo code ‘Military’ via TicketsWest for $7 tickets to next Saturday’s game!
SCORES BY QUARTER
Team 1 2 3 4 Final
San Antonio 14 7 0 27 48
Spokane 14 20 6 21 61
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.
