Shock Week 16 Game Preview
July 7, 2015 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Spokane Shock News Release
SPOKANE, Washington (July 7, 2015) - The Shock (4-9, 1-4) will go on the road in Week 16 of the 2015 AFL regular season to take on the Los Angeles Kiss (2-11, 0-4) on Sunday, July 12 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California with a 3:00 p.m. PT kickoff. Game coverage will be available online via WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app. Radio coverage will begin at 2:30 p.m. PT on the Shock-VPI Radio Network on AM 700 ESPN Spokane.
The Shock lead the all-time series 3-0, which includes two games from Los Angeles' inaugural season in the AFL in 2014.
In the first match-up of the 2015 season in Week 7, the first-ever meeting between the teams at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, the Shock were led by rookie quarterback Warren Smith during his first career start as he completed 23-of-29 pass attempts for 313 yards and seven total touchdowns. Spokane recorded two special teams' scores in the first quarter by way of a 52-yard kick return by defensive back Sergio Gilliam and an 8-yard net recovery by receiver Nick Truesdell. After taking a 20-14 lead at the end of the opening quarter, the Shock would hold on to the lead the rest of the game on their way to a 68-46 victory.
Prior to the Week 15 bye week, the Shock suffered a 27-62 loss at home to the first-place Sabercats. Through the first fourteen games of the 2015 regular season, San Jose has outscored their opponents 834-511, which includes three wins over Spokane by an advantage of 200-81. Removing those three losses from the Shock's 2015 schedule would place Spokane at 4-6 versus all other opponents, which includes three losses by six or less points.
During the Week 14 loss to San Jose, Shock quarterback Carson Coffman left the game with a shoulder injury. Coffman was hurt in the first game of the season at Arizona and was unable to return to action until Week 6 in New Orleans. After undergoing surgery during the Bye Week, Coffman is expected to miss the remainder of the 2015 regular season.
Coffman's exit leaves Spokane with two options at quarterback going into Week 16 in Los Angeles in rookie quarterback Warren Smith and third-year quarterback Arvell Nelson. Smith started six games (Week 7-12) and recorded a 2-4 overall record as he completed 150-of-228 passes (65.8 percent) for 1,715 yards, 32 touchdowns, nine interceptions, and five rushing touchdowns. Nelson has yet to record a start for Spokane, but did play in relief of Coffman in Week 14 against San Jose. He has completed 9-of-17 pass attempts for 78 yards, two touchdowns, one interception, and one rushing score on the season.
The second-year franchise in the Los Angeles Kiss have struggled this season as they have posted a 2-11 overall record. The offseason signing of quarterback Adrian McPherson provided early hope that the team would be able to get over their growing pains as an expansion franchise in 2014, but injuries early in the year and then the recent departure for the CFL's Toronto Argonauts has left the Kiss utilizing multiple signal callers in 2015.
The Shock and Kiss completed a trade earlier in the season where quarterback Danny Southwick joined the Los Angeles roster, after playing in one game for Spokane, in exchange for receiver Jabin Sambrano. Southwick has seen action in five games for the Kiss since and has started four contests as he has completed 116-of-202 pass attempts (57.4 percent) for 1,420 yards, 25 touchdowns and five interceptions. Sambrano has played in five games for the Shock and continues to take on a larger role within the Spokane offense since the losses of Mike Washington (achilles) and Rashaad Carter (thumb). Samrbano has recorded 20 receptions for 262 yards and three touchdowns for the Shock.
The Kiss' two wins in 2015 came against each of Spokane's Pacific Division opponents. On June 7, Los Angeles defeated the Thunder in Portland by a score of 52-40 and then followed it up the next week by handing San Jose their only loss of the season in a 48-42 overtime victory.
Prior to the bye week, the Kiss lost their previous two games against Philadelphia (48-56) and Arizona (43-49).
Entering Week 16, the Shock are averaging 48.6 points per game (ranked seventh) and giving up a league-worst 58.4 points per game to their opponents. The Kiss, meanwhile, are averaging a league-worst 40.5 points per game while giving up 53.4 points per game (ranked ninth).
In Week 14, Spokane fielded three rookie defensive backs against the Sabercats in Mike McMillan, Jeff Richards, and Ricardo Kemp. During his Week 13 debut in Portland, McMillan recorded two interceptions and added a fumble return for a score in Week 14 against San Jose. If the Shock choose to stick with youth in the secondary, they will have their hands full against Kiss receiver Donovan Morgan. Despite the team's hardships this season, Morgan currently ranks first in the AFL in yards per game (121.2) as he has hauled in 102 receptions for 1,575 yards and 34 touchdowns in 13 games.
With five weeks remaining in regular season play, the Shock currently sit at the fourth seed within the National Conference. The next five weeks will dictate the wild card positions as Las Vegas (currently the third seed) sits at a 5-8 overall record while Portland is 3-10, just one game ahead of Los Angeles at 2-11. San Jose (13-1) and Arizona (11-2) have each punched their playoff tickets, but will continue to fight for the number one seed and home-field advantage as the Sabercats have four games remaining and the Rattlers have five games remaining in regular season play.
• Discuss this story on the Arena Football League message board...
Arena Football League Stories from July 7, 2015
- Portland Hosts Jacksonville for the First Time - Portland Thunder
- Thunder Activates All-Arena DB Varmah Sonie - Portland Thunder
- Arizona Rattlers (11-2) at Las Vegas Outlaws (5-8) Game Preview - Arizona Rattlers
- Shock Week 16 Game Preview - Spokane Shock
- Storm vs. Orlando Predators Game Preview - Tampa Bay Storm
- Muldrow Joins Tonight's "Witching Hour" from Fiorella's - New Orleans VooDoo
- Storm Adds Fullback to Roster - Tampa Bay Storm
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
