Shock vs. Sharks - Game Preview
July 10, 2013 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Spokane Shock News Release
SPOKANE, WA - The Spokane Shock will call the state of Florida home this week as they prepare to take on the American Conference leading Jacksonville Sharks Saturday at 4 p.m. (PST) at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.
Last weekend the Sharks were the biggest Shock (11-4, 4-2) fans, as Jacksonville (10-5, 4-0) needed a Tampa Bay loss in order to secure the 2013 South Division title. The Shock, who were in Tampa Bay to face off with the Storm (7-8, 2-3), came through for Jacksonville defeating the Storm 63-49 at the Tampa Bay Times Forum. As the South Division champions, Jacksonville is ensured a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the American Conference for postseason play while Spokane also clinched a playoff berth with the win and will continue to compete for the third position seed in the National Conference.
Shock quarterback Erik Meyer orchestrated the offense to perfection completing 30-of-42 passes for 303 yards and seven touchdowns. He connected with wide receiver Brandon Thompkins 12 times for 123 yards and five touchdowns while Kamar Jorden caught nine balls for 97 yards. Offensive lineman Chris Pino even got into the scoring action taking a screen pass 19 yards for a touchdown.
The Sharks, who secured their fourth straight division title after defeating the Orlando Predators 62-55 on June 29 coupled with Spokane's victory against Tampa Bay, will come into Saturday's game well rested and recovered as they are coming off of their bye week.
During that June 29 game, former Shock quarterback Kyle Rowley stepped in for an injured R.J. Archer in the second half and picked apart the Predators with three passing and two rushing touchdowns. Jacksonville wide receiver's London Crawford, Markee White and Jeron Harvey had a field day against the Predators secondary combining for 29 catches for 317 yards and six touchdowns.
Defensive back Terrance Smith led the Sharks on defense collecting two interceptions on the night.
The bye week came at a perfect time for Jacksonville as it allowed starting quarterback Bernard Morris more time to recover from an injury he received in the week 12 matchup with Spokane. Morris, who was activated from injured reserved Monday, has started 11 games for the Sharks this season throwing for 2,419 yards and 50 touchdowns with just eight interceptions. The Sharks are 8-3 with Morris under center.
Jacksonville will also be welcoming back dynamic wide receiver Jeff Hughley to the lineup after serving a team suspension. Hughley has played in 11 games for the Sharks and is third on the team with 74 receptions for 830 yards and 13 touchdowns averaging more than 11 yards per reception.
Jacksonville will need all the offensive firepower they can get against a Shock defensive unit that throttled them on June 20. The Shock forced six turnovers including two interceptions from defensive back Terrance Sanders in the 76-41 victory. The Shock secondary limited Morris to 170 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions on 16-25 passing before he exited the game with an injury. His replacement, Archer, didn't fare much better throwing for only 113 yards and two touchdowns with an interception.
Spokane's offense was solid in the first meeting with Meyer completing 15-of-21 passes for 218 yards and six touchdowns while Tennell led the Shock receiving corps with eight receptions for 84 yards and three touchdowns.
If Spokane wants to have similar success against the Sharks Saturday they will again have to win the matchup in the trenches.
Jacksonville, who leads the Arena Football League with 36 sacks on the season, will be pitted against a Spokane offensive line that is second in the league in sacks allowed, only giving up 10 on the season.
If Spokane wants it to stay that way, they will have to contain defensive end Jerry Turner and linebacker Aaron Robbins who are tied for fifth in the league with nine sacks each.
They head a defense that is fourth in the league in scoring allowing only 48.5 points per contest. Smith, who is tied for the league lead with 11 interceptions, leads the Sharks secondary that is second in the AFL in pass defense allowing only 239.1 yards per game.
Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, July 13 at 4 p.m. (PST) at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Fla. and will be streaming online at shock.arenafootball.com/allaccess, and available on 700AM ESPN radio. The Shock will return to Spokane to play the San Antonio Talons Friday, July 19.
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