Spokane at Philadelphia - Game Preview
July 3, 2012 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Spokane Shock News Release
SPOKANE, WA (July 3rd, 2012) - This week, the Spokane Shock (8-7) will go on the road to take on the Philadelphia Soul (13-3) this Sunday, July 8th at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA with a 3:05pm PST kickoff.
The two squads met in week 11 as Philadelphia traveled to Spokane ranked #2 in the Power Rankings and Coaches Poll with a 7-3 overall record while the Shock entered the game with a 4-4 overall record. Spokane had just come off an overtime victory the week before at home against the New Orleans Voodoo and remained the heavy underdogs in the contest against the high flying Soul offense.
The Shock began the game posting 21 unanswered points and were led by Adron Tennell's five touchdown receptions from QB Kyle Rowley. Defensively, Terrence Sanders had three interceptions against Soul QB Dan Raudabaugh; one of which he returned for a TD in route to a 65-47 upset.
As we enter week 18, the Philadelphia Soul have already clinched their division, a playoff berth, and home field advantage going into the final few weeks of the regular season. Having won six straight games and only losing one road game this season to the Shock in week 11, Philadelphia is ready to finish the regular season on a high note and fine tune their play going into the 2012 playoffs.
Philadelphia's offense has been potent throughout the entire season and is ranked 1st in Scoring (68.6 pts/g) and Rushing, 6th in Passing, and 4th in Total Offense. Last week, Soul QB Dan Raudabaugh threw for 415 yards and 11 TDs in Philadelphia's 83-79 victory over the Tampa Bay Storm; just one TD shy of tying Shock QB Kyle Rowley's Single Game Record posted just a few weeks ago against San Jose. Throughout the season, Raudabaugh has completed 336 of 503 attempts (66.7%) for 4,499 yards and 105 TDs. The Soul's leading receiver is Tiger Jones who leads the AFL in receiving yards with 2,010 on 133 receptions and 45 TDs. Philadelphia also boasts the leading ground game in the league behind FB Derrick Ross who has carried the ball 122 times for 481 yards and 27 TDs on the season.
After coming off an impressive win in San Jose last week as Kyle Rowley posted an AFL Single Game Record and tossed 12 touchdown passes in route to 90 total points (the most ever against San Jose), the Shock ended their week 17 matchup against the Arizona Rattlers on the opposite end of the spectrum. The Arizona defense intercepted Shock QB Kyle Rowley five times last week, three of which came on consecutive possessions for Spokane with one being returned for a TD. It has been a shaky three-week battle as the Shock have played all three of their West Division opponents in consecutive weeks, all of whom are ranked in the top five of the week 18 power rankings. As the Shock are now on the outside looking in toward the 2012 playoff picture, a loss this week would completely exclude them from a playoff berth.
Spokane enters this week's matchup ranked 5th in scoring (60.2 pts/g), 9th in passing offense, and 10th in total offense with a nearly inexistent ground attack. QB Kyle Rowley has completed 300 of 456 attempts (65.7%) for 3,459 yards and 76 TDs since taking over the starting role as of week 4. Adron Tennell leads the receiving effort with 123 receptions for 1,428 yards and 29 TDs. Injuries have continued to plague the Shock's offense through the season; however, WR Justin Ore and OL Chris Pino have been reactivated from the Injured Reserve list this week bringing experience back into the lineup. Spokane's rookie WR Jeffrey Solomon has offered an exciting prospect to the mix and alongside Steven Black is expected to create the big play potential Spokane lacked last week against Arizona.
This week's game broadcast will be LIVE on SWX and will be covered by 700 ESPN Radio. You can also watch this week's contest on the Shock's Ustream page at www.ustream.tv/spokaneshock.
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