Shock prepare for first of back-to-back home games
Published on May 8, 2013 under Arena Football League (AFL)
Spokane Shock News Release
SPOKANE, WA (May 8, 2013) - The Spokane Shock (5-2) take on the Orlando Predators (1-5) in a Week 5 Net10 Wireless Arena Football League match-up on Saturday, May 11th with a 7:00 PM PST kickoff at Spokane Arena. This week's game will be broadcast live on SWX, available for your listening pleasure on 700AM ESPN Radio and online at shock.arenafootball.com/allaccess.
Last week, the Shock traveled to Salt Lake City to take on their third West Divisional rival in four weeks in the Utah Blaze (3-3). With four of their five wins coming on the road the Shock were looking to bounce back from their first loss in the previous week and continue their road dominance but the Blaze had other plans, defeating Spokane 52-48. The Shock offense struggled for the second straight week, starting the game with a turnover and then would be stopped on five other possessions by the Blaze defense. Coming down to a final 4th down play with 15 seconds remaining the Shock had the opportunity to steal the late win from the Blaze, but the ball would be knocked out of the air just shy of the hands of Shock WR Adron Tennell by Blaze DB David Hyland to seal the Utah win.
QB Erik Meyer completed 26 of 39 attempts for 276 yards and 3 touchdowns; this is the first time this season where Meyer failed to throw for at least 7 touchdowns. Kamar Jorden led the team in receiving with 10 receptions for 112 yards but had no TDs. Kamar will be absent from the Shock lineup this week after heading to the NFL's Indianapolis Colt's Training Camp. Adron Tennell who currently leads the league with 22 touchdown receptions on the year, hauled in 7 catches for 76 yards and two TDs against the Blaze.
Orlando started the 2013 season with former Shock QB Kyle Rowley at the helm. With a rough start to the season, which included the introduction of QB Chris Dixon for three games until he was placed on the injured reserve list, the Predators failed to record a win in their first five games. At the end of April, Orlando made a trade for QB Aaron Garcia who the Shock faced in week 5 when he played for the San Jose Sabercats. In that game, Spokane's Paul Stephens set a new AFL Single-Game Record with 5 interceptions. The Shock have had success against Garcia in the past beating him last season when he played for San Antonio (63-60) and forcing him to throw 3 interceptions.
Last week Orlando won their first game of the season after Garcia took over the offense from former Shock QB Kyle Rowley defeating Pittsburgh 52-38. Prior to Garcia's arrival, the Predators had thrown 12 interceptions in the first 5 games (Rowly-11, Dixon-1) while in Garcia's first four games with San Jose produced 13 INTs by the AFL veteran (2nd in the league). It will be key for Orlando to protect the football this week as they are currently tied for 13th in turnover margin (-10) while the Shock are ranked 3rd (+10).
Despite the Predators overall record they are a talented team. With the addition of Garcia at QB and a standout receiver in Prechae Rodriguez through off-season free agency, the Shock defense will have to stay on their toes as they are currently ranked 14th in the league in pass defense allowing 314 yards/game. Rodriguez played last season with the Tampa Bay Storm where he led the receiving core in all categories having 125 receptions for 1653 yards and 32 touchdowns on the season. In 2013, he already has 44 catches for 610 yards and 13 TDs and is the seventh overall in the AFL.
For the Predators, Dominic Jones is second in the AFL in kickoff returns, trailing only the Shock's Terrance Sanders with 652 return yards. Spokane will need to keep him bottled up and force Orlando to make plays.
Three of Orlando's five losses this season have come to San Jose (4-2), Tampa Bay (5-2) and Arizona (6-1). On the other side, the Shock have also played these three opponents with an overall record of 2-1 losing to Tampa Bay in Week 6 for their first loss of the season.
Kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, May 11th at 7:00 PM PST at Spokane Arena will be broadcast on SWX TV, streaming at shock.arenafootball.com/allaccess, and available for your listening pleasure on 700AM ESPN radio. 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.
Arena Football League Stories from May 8, 2013
- Tampa Bay Adds Offensive Lineman - Tampa Bay Storm
- Shock prepare for first of back-to-back home games - Spokane Shock
- Talons Look to Win First Home Game - San Antonio Talons
- Rattlers Reclaim First Place in Week 8 Coaches' Poll - AFL
- Philadelphia Looks to Win First Home Game - Philadelphia Soul
- Soul Announce Faith against Cancer Concert Before Soul Game - Philadelphia Soul
- VooDoo Hoping to Storm the Barn for a Win - New Orleans VooDoo
- Tampa Bay Storm Initiates "Seats for Soldiers" Program - Tampa Bay Storm
- Utah Heads to Phoenix for Rematch with Rattlers - Utah Blaze
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