Shock on road for National Conference showdown
Published on May 23, 2013 under Arena Football League (AFL)
Spokane Shock News Release
SPOKANE, WA (May 22, 2013) - The Spokane Shock (6-3) take on the San Antonio Talons (4-4) for a National Conference matchup in Week 10 of the NET10 Wireless Arena Football League season. Kickoff is set for Friday, May 24th at 5:30PM PST at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX. Game will be streamed live online at shock.arenafootball.com and on 700AM ESPN Radio.
Last week, the Shock hosted the New Orleans VooDoo (1-7) after coming off a three game losing streak, two of which games were held at Spokane Arena. Shock quarterback Erik Meyer completed 29 of 40 pass attempts for 353 yards and 6 touchdowns while wide receiver Adron Tennell led the receiving effort with 14 receptions for 174 yards and two scores. Kamar Jorden returned to the Shock lineup after spending Week 8 with the NFL's Indianapolis Colts and yielded 8 receptions for 95 yards and one score while Brandon Thompkins would make his first start of the season and record 6 receptions for 82 yards and 3 touchdowns. Paul Stephens still held on to his league lead for interceptions on the season (7) as he picked off VooDoo quarterback Kurt Rocco twice on the night, while Terrance Sanders recorded an interception and kick return for scores during the Shock's 65-54 win.
San Antonio enters Week 10 atop the Central Division of the National Conference after back to back wins against the Jacksonville Sharks (6-3) and the Cleveland Gladiators (2-6). In the Talons' Week 9 matchup against the Gladiators, the Talons' took the early first half lead and didn't look back with quarterback Nick Hill at the helm in their 57-33 victory. Hill, joined the Talons' roster in Week 3 after John Dutton went down with an achilles injury. Since becoming the starter, the Talons have gone 4-2 behind Hill who has completed 59.2% of his pass attempts for 1,163 yards and 21 touchdowns with 9 interceptions while San Antonio's receivers are led by Jomo Wilson with 47 receptions for 605 yards and 11 touchdowns on the year. Defensive lineman Joe Sykes led the AFL last season as a member of the Sabercats with 16 sacks on the season. In 2013 through Week 9, Sykes is currently third in the AFL with 6.5 sacks in 8 games.
The Shock will enter their Week 10 matchup against the Talons boasting the 2nd ranked scoring offense in the league (66.8 pts/g) against a struggling San Antonio offense ranked 12th, scoring only 43.0 pts/g. So far this season, the strength of the Talons' and recent success has relied heavily on their defense who is giving up only 253.4 total yards per game (ranked 4th). Over their last four games in which they've achieved a record of 3-1, the Talons have given up an average of 37 points per contest. While the Talons will have their hand's full with a high powered Spokane offense, it will be the Shock defense that will yet again be under the microscope this week as they are still ranked last in the league in total yards per game (349.8 yds/g). While the Shock are still ranked third in turnover margin (+13), Spokane will need to continue to improve their defensive pressure on the quarterback led by James Ruffin who is tied for third in the league with 6.5 sacks after coming off a 3 sack performance last week against the VooDoo. The additions of defensive back Dodd-Masters and defensive lineman Diyral Briggs will be spotlighted in the Week 10 matchup with hopes to be high end contributors for the Shock in the second half of the season.
Last year, the Shock traveled to San Antonio in Week 2 and were led by quarterback Adam Froman after a Week 1 injury to Erik Meyer would put him out the rest of the 2012 season. In a game which was controlled heavily by the home team Talons in the first half, the Shock would score 4 of the 7 second half touchdowns to take the late lead and hold on for a 63-60 victory. Froman completed 25 of 35 attempts for 227 yards and 6 touchdowns with 3 interceptions while wide receivers Brandon Thompkins and Adron Tennell would combine for 17 receptions, 177 yards and 4 touchdowns. Froman would also ad 5 rushes for 53 yards and 2 scores on the ground. The Talons made a run into the 2012 AFL playoffs behind quarterback Aaron Garcia who completed 29 of 48 passing attempts for 311 yards and 6 touchdowns with 2 interceptions. Jomo Wilson led the receiving effort with 10 receptions for 128 yards and 3 scores.
So far in 2013, San Antonio and Spokane have shared six common opponents (SJS, CHI, TBY, AZ, IOWA, CLE). In those games, Spokane has achieved a 5-1 record while San Antonio has struggled at 2-4. Hitting the mid-point of the season, playoff implications will begin to take fold in the National Conference as Spokane prepares to embark on the second half of their West Division schedule, taking on their three rivals over a four week span in Weeks 11-14.
Kickoff is scheduled for Friday, May 24th at 5:30 PM PST at the Alamodome in San Antonio, TX and will be streaming online at shock.arenafootball.com/allaccess, and available on 700AM ESPN radio. Spokane will return home for back to back home games in Week 11 and 12 with June 1st against the San Jose Sabercats being the Shock's second CBS Sports Network Game of the Week and Military Appreciation Night at Spokane Arena. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by contacting TicketsWest at 800-325-SEAT, visiting TicketsWest.com online, or by visiting the Box Office located at Spokane Arena. Use the promo code "Military" for $7 upper level tickets to the Shock's June 1st home game.
Arena Football League Stories from May 23, 2013
- Barnstormers Add Familiar Face to Roster - Iowa Barnstormers
- Talons JLB Ransom Voted Week 9 AFL MVP - San Antonio Talons
- Heating Up: Blaze Defense Finding Its Stride - Utah Blaze
- Shock on road for National Conference showdown - Spokane Shock
- Jacksonville looks to extend recent dominance over in-state rival - Jacksonville Sharks
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.
