Spokane opens 2015 in desert against defending ArenaBowl champion Rattlers
March 24, 2015 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Spokane Shock News Release
Spokane Shock in Action
(Spokane Shock)
SPOKANE, Wash. (March 24, 2015) - The Shock will open their 2015 AFL regular season play on the road against the defending ArenaBowl champion Arizona Rattlers on Saturday, March 28 at 6:00 p.m. at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, AZ. The game will be available for listening via AM 700 ESPN Spokane on the Shock-VPI Radio Network and for viewing online via ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN App.
This will be the 14th meeting between the teams since Spokane's inaugural season as member of the AFL in 2010. The Rattlers currently lead the series with the 7-6 advantage and haven't lost to the Shock in Arizona since Spokane's 2010 ArenaBowl championship season. The Shock's only win in Arizona came on the first-ever meeting between the teams on May 7, 2010 as Spokane clinched the 63-56 victory. Shock quarterback Kyle Rowley passed for 369 yards and 7 touchdowns, complimented by wide receiver Raul Vijil's 10 receptions for 157 yards and 4 touchdowns.
The 2014 AFL regular season featured three meetings between the teams. Arizona cruised to home wins against the Shock in Week 2 and Week 10, but failed to win their Week 17 road game in Spokane.
In the Week 2 match-up in Phoenix on March 23, the Rattlers were led by quarterback Nick Davila's 225 passing yards and 8 touchdowns. The two teams traded scores until Arizona would took a 26-21 lead with 5:56 remaining in the second quarter and wouldn't look back on their way to a 49-68 win.
The Shock would visit Arizona again in Week 10, this time without quarterback Erik Meyer who suffered an injury two weeks before against the L.A. Kiss. Arizona would set the tone early, scoring on their opening drive of the game in just over one-minute. The Shock would respond on a short touchdown run by Rashaad Carter, but three-straight Arizona touchdowns would break the early tie and send the Rattlers cruising to a 38-70 victory.
The red-hot Rattlers would visit the Shock in Week 17 for their final meeting of the 2014 season. During the absence of Erik Meyer the Shock fell under the .500 mark after a Week 14 loss to the SaberCats. Meyer would return under center in Week 15 and lead the Shock to two wins before hosting Arizona. The game appeared to be all but a blowout in the Rattlers' favor after posting a 0-21 lead in the first quarter, but the Shock were able to keep pace over the next two quarters until a Terrance Sanders interception for a touchdown would spur a 16-point swing late in the third. Arizona would tie the game with 29 seconds remaining, but the Shock would answer with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Meyer to Carter and then intercept the Rattlers on their final drive to clinch the 73-66 Shock win.
The Shock will enter their 2015 season opener with a newly equipped roster after losing a number of key veterans during the off-season free agency period.
The Shock defensive front features the most experience of any position group on the roster, with four of the five players having played three or more seasons in the AFL. The defense will feature 2014 AFL Defensive Lineman of the Year James Ruffin, who led the league and set a new franchise record for sacks in a season (14). He will be joined by Shock returners in Derrick Summers (10.5 sacks in 2014) and Terrance Taylor (7 sacks in 2014), along with a new-comer at mac-linebacker in three-year AFL veteran Matangi Tonga.
Carson Coffman is expected to be the Week 1 starting at quarterback. Prior to the 2014 season when Coffman was with the Iowa Barnstormers, he spent 2013 with the Chicago Rush where he led a Week 18 win over the Rattlers in Arizona. Coffman's 262 passing yards and 6 total touchdown performance was complimented by a stout Chicago defense that recovered three Arizona fumbles and forced three Davila interceptions to propel the Rush to a 63-42 win.
Five-year AFL veteran lineman Patrick Afif will lead a young offensive line group this season along with Samuel Tupua, Rory Nixon, and Mark Jackson returning to the lineup after seeing time on the field for the Shock in 2014.
The Shock will look to get the ball down-field to returning AFL veteran wide receiver Mike Washington who led the team last season with 106 receptions for 1,356 yards and 23 touchdowns. He will be complimented by Rashaad Carter who recorded 74 receptions for 780 yards and 17 touchdowns in 15 games as a rookie for Spokane in 2014. The Shock will also look to veteran wide receiver Rod Harper (recently acquire via trade from L.A.) who led the San Jose SaberCats in receptions last season with 100 catches and added 1,027 receiving yards with 18 touchdowns.
Spokane's defensive secondary, like the defensive front, is also deep in experience. AFL veterans in Sergio Gilliam and Andre Jones will be joined by Ruschard Dodd-Masters, who will make his return to the field in 2015 as a player after spending last season on the Shock coaching staff. The Shock will also return Samuel Pope, who spent most of 2014 on injured reserve before playing in the final regular season game of the year, and J.T. Fitzgerald who is expected to be the starter at jack-linebacker. Devon Dace is a new addition to the Shock roster in 2015, who spent his rookie AFL season with the Iowa Barnstormers in 2014.
The Shock will need to keep their quarterback upright in Week 1 in order to pull the road opener upset against the Rattlers, with the emphasis on protecting the football and giving Coffman the opportunity to make plays down field. Faced with the rotating quarterback situation last year, the Shock gave up 39 sacks on the season (T-12th in AFL). They will be matched up against a Rattlers' defense that registered 25 sacks last season (8th in AFL). After a competitive 2015 training camp that consisted of being matched up against a very strong defensive line unit for Spokane, the Shock offensive line will look forward to taking on some new faces in the season opener.
In addition to protecting the quarterback, the Shock will need Coffman to make smart decisions and limit turnovers as the Arizona offense thrives additional opportunities to score. The Rattlers led the AFL in scoring offense last season with 63.9 points per game, 7.2 points more than the next best team.
Pairing smart offensive play with aggressive defense, the Shock will rely heavily on their defense in Week 1 to limit the Rattlers' efficient offense. The AFL sack-leading Shock defense from 2014 (40) will look to put pressure on Davila early and often and will have their hands full against an Arizona defense that gave up only seven sacks in 2014.
The Shock will look to the experience in their defensive secondary to expedite the development of chemistry early in the season. While Spokane's defensive backs possess a wealth of experience in the AFL, J.T. Fitzgerald will be the only player for the Shock that saw significant time on the field in 2014 (played in 11 games, no starts).
Arizona's wide receiver corps will look vastly different than previous seasons with the departure of former wide receiver Tysson Poots to Las Vegas and Maurice Purify not being cleared yet for the 2015 season. The Rattlers' receiving corps in 2015 will be led by Rod Windsor (currently listed on the Inactive Reserve roster to start the week) who led the team with 124 receptions for 1,685 yards and 44 touchdowns last season. The Rattlers will also feature recently acquired receiver Markee White who started the 2014 season with the L.A. Kiss before being traded to the Philadelphia Soul. Chase Deadder also joins Arizona for the 2015 season, who last played for the Utah Blaze in 2013 where he recorded 85 receptions for 793 yards and 15 touchdowns in 17 games.
Kickoff between the Shock and Rattlers is for Saturday, March 28 at 6:00 p.m. at the US Airways Center in Phoenix, AZ. The game will be available for listening via AM 700 ESPN Spokane on the Shock-VPI Radio Network and for viewing online via ESPN3.com and the WatchESPN App.
The Shock hosts dollar night and the home opener for its tenth electrifying season against the Philadelphia Soul on Saturday, April 4 at 7 p.m. at the Spokane Arena (720 W Mallon). Single game tickets go on sale Wednesday, March 4 at all TicketsWest box office locations, at the Spokane Arena box office and at www.TicketsWest.com.
Images from this story
 Spokane Shock in Action |
• Discuss this story on the Arena Football League message board...
Arena Football League Stories from March 24, 2015
- Soul Add Another Pass Rusher, Curtis Young - Philadelphia Soul
- Spokane opens 2015 in desert against defending ArenaBowl champion Rattlers - Spokane Shock
- Game Preview: Week 1 - Thunder Host LA KISS - Portland Thunder
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.
