Spokane victorious over Stockton

April 25, 2009 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Stockton Lightning News Release


STOCKTON, Calif. - Quarterback Nick Davila threw for eight touchdown passes and 252 yards to help the Spokane Shock embark a 35-0 run in the second half send the Stockton Lightning (1-3) to their third consecutive defeat in a 71-50 loss before 3,543 fans at Stockton Arena on Saturday, in Week 5 of arenafootball2 play.

WR Justin Taplin broke a Lightning record with 216 receiving yards on 14 catches and three touchdown receptions but the Lightning were forced to deal with a blow to their offensive personnel in the loss of QB Andy Collins for the game to a knee injury, via a second-quarter sack by Justin Warren.

Collins, who had an 11-for-19 completion rate with 146 passing yards and two touchdowns before exiting, was officially listed as "day-to-day" and is scheduled to undergo an MRI exam on Monday.

QB Chad Cavender, a former NAIA national champion quarterback at Sioux Falls University, replaced Collins and completed 13-of-19 passes for 209 passing yards and five touchdowns in his professional debut.

Spokane capitalized on a game-opening interception with Nick Davila's 21-yard touchdown strike to Raul Vijil in the left corner of the end zone, putting the Shock up 7-0 with 10:30 left in the first quarter. John Booker then took Davila's flip pass in for a 28-yard touchdown on the ensuing drive, increasing Spokane's lead to 13-0 with 5:36 left with a missed point-after attempt.

Roger Moppin's one-yard blast up the middle cut the deficit to 13-7 with 2:24 left, finally getting the Lightning on the board.

Spokane increased its lead to 16-7 on a Brian Jackson 25-yard field goal in the second quarter with 11:29 left in the second quarter, but the Lightning retaliated on a highlight-reel touchdown grab by Taplin, which earned Catch of the Game honors.

The second-year receiver caught an 11-yard pass from Collins which was tipped off the Spokane defense and into the hands of Taplin, who dove to his right for the scoring catch. Taplin's scoring grab cut the Spokane lead to 16-13 with 7:12 left, preceding a missed two-point conversion.

Vijil then caught his second touchdown pass of the game on a 24-yard slant route to the left corner of the end zone with 3:41 left in the second quarter, boosting Spokane's lead to 22-13. Collins followed on the ensuing possession by hitting WR Troy McBroom with a 36-yard bomb to the left corner of the end zone with 1:41 left in the half to cut the Lightning deficit to 22-20.

WR Patrick Bugg caught a seven-yard heave from Davila with 37 seconds left to put the Shock up by nine points and the Lightning threatened with one final drive in the quarter which claimed Collins on Warren's four-yard sack. Cavender stepped in and found the end zone on just his second pass of his pro career, a 14-yard strike to WR Andre Taylor with four seconds left to put Stockton down 29-26 after Stephen Irvine's failed PAT attempt.

Spokane responded with a whopping 28-0 run in the third quarter to lead 57-26. Davila began the run with a 28-yard touchdown snare to Markee White with 12:51 left in the quarter, followed by three straight touchdown strikes from Davila to Vijil. The final scoring play of the quarter came with 2:09 left when Davila found Vijil on a deflected seven-yard pass over the middle of the end zone.

Following Harris Nikolao's one-yard blast with 12:20 left in the fourth quarter, the Lightning broke the Spokane flurry with Taplin's 11-yard touchdown reception from Cavender and Moppin followed with his second TD of the game on a 6-yard lob from Cavender with five minutes left in the game, cutting Spokane's lead to 64-38. Vijil's sixth and final touchdown reception of the game, a 43-yard bomb from backup QB Casey Hansen, put Spokane ahead 70-38 with 2:56 left in the game.

The Lightning posted the game's final 12 points in Taplin's fifth touchdown catch of the game - an 18-yard missile from Cavender with 46 seconds left and another Cavender three-yard throw to McBroom over the middle as time expired.

Vijil racked up 141 receiving yards and six touchdown catches to lead all Spokane receivers.



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