Shock fall to Gladiators, 42-59

Sunday August 2, 2015

 Spokane turnovers and dropped passes dig early hole, prevents late rally

CLEVELAND, Ohio (August 1, 2015) – The Shock (6-11, 2-4) went on the road in Week 19 of the 2015 Arena Football League regular season and fell to the Cleveland Gladiators (8-9, 3-2) by a final score of 42-59 at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Gladiators jumped out to a 21-0 lead in the opening quarter of play thanks to two defensive stops against the Shock offense by way of an interception by Cleveland defensive back Devon Dace and a turnover on downs by Spokane. Gladiator quarterback Shane Austin and receiver Collin Taylor connected for the first three touchdowns, while Spokane found the end zone on a short pass from Arvell Nelson to Jabin Sambrano to close out the quarter trailing 7-21.

Cleveland converted on a 29-yard field goal by Adrian Trevino on their opening possession of the second quarter before Spokane responded with a 21-yard pass on fourth down from Nelson to Anthony Amos to bring the game back within two scores at 14-24. After trading possessions on back-to-back turnovers on downs by each offense, the Gladiators found the end zone on a 30-yard pass from Austin to Taylor. Cleveland’s defense then held Spokane from finding the end zone as time expired in the half and would go into the locker room leading 31-14.

Turnovers continued to plague the Shock offense in the second half as the Cleveland defense recorded a sack and forced fumble on Spokane’s opening possession that resulted in a recovery for a touchdown by defensive back Joe Phinisee. After Gladiator defensive back Dominic Jones intercepted a Shock pass, the Spokane defense dug in and forced a 23-yard field goal attempt that would be missed and then returned 52-yards by Shock defensive back Ruschard Dodd-Masters for the score as Spokane trailed 21-38.

Spokane would continue their possession into the start of the fourth quarter after defensive lineman Derrick Summers recorded a sack and forced fumble that would be recovered by James Ruffin. Working their way down to the one-yard line, quarterback Arvell Nelson attempted to reach the ball across the goal line but the ball would be knocked out of his hands and recovered by the Gladiators. After Cleveland drove the length of the field and scored on a 16-yard pass from Austin to Taylor, Spokane responded with an eight-yard pass from Nelson to Sambrano and a two-point conversion as they trailed 29-45. The two teams would go on to trade scores through the remainder of the fourth quarter, but Spokane would be unable to close the gap as the Gladiators would go on to win by a final of 59-42.

Cleveland quarterback Shane Austin completed 20-of-35 pass attempts for 235 yards and six touchdowns on the night. Collin Taylor led the Gladiators’ receiving effort with nine catches for 142 yards and five touchdowns. The Cleveland defense limited Spokane to 1-of-8 on third down attempts while recording two fumble recoveries and two interceptions.

Shock quarterback Arvell Nelson completed 21-of-41 pass attempts for five touchdowns and two interceptions. Anthony Amos led the Spokane receivers with nine receptions for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Jabin Sambrano added two touchdown receptions and Nick Truesdell had one receiving score. Ruschard Dodd-Masters returned a missed field goal attempt by Cleveland for a 52-yard 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. The Shock will kick off their 10th Anniversary Season in 2015. Tickets and Sponsorships are available. 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.