Spokane Drops Road Opener 49-68 in Arizona
Monday March 24, 2014
The Spokane Shock (1-1) fall to the Arizona Rattlers (2-0) in rivalry matchup
SPOKANE, WA (March 23, 2014) – The Spokane Shock (1-1) fell to the Arizona Rattlers (2-0) by a final score of 49-68 on Sunday, Mar. 23 at the US Airways Center.
The Shock got off to a hot start, leading 21-13 halfway through the second quarter, before surrendering 27 straight points to the Rattlers potent offense.
Spokane opened the game with a quick scoring drive, with quarterback Erik Meyer hitting wide receiver Brandon Thompkins for a pair of first downs before finding wide receiver Mike Washington in the end zone to put the Shock up 7-0. The Rattlers would respond with a quick touchdown of their own from quarterback Nick Davila to Tysson Poots, tying the game up at 7-7. The final score of the opening quarter again came from Thompkins, taking in a pass from Meyer and breaking a tackle along the wall on his way to a 33-yard touchdown putting Spokane up 14-7.
After working the ball down to the Shock one yard line to end the opening quarter, the Rattlers punched in a touchdown on the ground to open the second quarter; after a failed extra point the Shock retained a 14-13 lead over the Rattlers. On the following drive the Shock would work the ball down to the Arizona 10 yard line, where Meyer would scramble and find Adron Tennell in the middle of the field to make the catch and dive in for a Shock touchdown extending Spokane’s lead to 21-13. Arizona followed with their third touchdown drive of the game, punching it in from 15 yards out before failing a two-point conversion and allowing the Shock to keep the lead at 21-19. After a turnover on downs for Spokane, defensive lineman Diyral Briggs would come up with an interception of Davila with just one minute remaining in the first half. However, the Shock would give the ball right back to Arizona on a Thompkins fumble, ultimately leading to a Rattlers touchdown that would put them up 26-21 heading into halftime.
The second half proved less fortunate for the Shock, who would allow an opening drive touchdown to the Rattlers. The following drive sunk the Shock, losing Adron Tennell to an injury breaking up a near interception in the end zone and seeing a pass bounce off the hands of Washington would lead to Meyer’s first interception of 2014. The ensuing Rattlers touchdown would extend their lead to 40-21, pushing their lead to three possessions. The Shock would cut back into that lead on their next drive, with Meyer finding Washington for his second touchdown grab of the night on a 29-yard bomb. But in what had become a pattern, the Rattlers would punch right back, with Davila striking again for a touchdown through the air. The Rattlers would go into the final quarter of play with a comfortable lead of 47-28 over Spokane.
The fourth quarter opened up poorly for Spokane when Meyer was again intercepted, this time off a deflection by the Arizona defense, on the first play of the quarter. After a back-and-forth of touchdowns and onside kicks throughout the quarter, the Rattlers would come away on top by a final score of 68-49.
Meyer finished the night for Spokane with 27 completions on 44 attempts for 352 yards and six touchdowns while tossing two interceptions. Spokane’s leading receiver, Brandon Thompkins, hauled in nine receptions for 123 yards and one touchdown while Mike Washington added nine catches of his own for 102 yards and four scores.
Nick Davila lit up the scoreboard for the Rattlers, completing 22 of 27 pass attempts for 225 yards and eight touchdowns with one interception. The receiving duo of Rod Windsor and Maurice Purify for Arizona combined for 15 catches for 139 yards and six touchdowns.
Spokane heads into its first bye week of the season before hitting the road again to take on the San Jose SaberCats on April 4 at 7:30 p.m.
------
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 2014 Season. For more information visit our website at spokaneshock.com or call 509-242-7462. You can also follow the Shock on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine, and YouTube.
