End Game: It wasn't the greatest of offensive performances by the Spokane Shock tonight, but it was more than enough enough to get the job done. In their lowest scoring game of the season, the Spokane Shock still had plenty to down the Iowa Barnstormers 49-30. Despite it being the fewest points Spokane has scored in a game, it was also the fewest they've allowed. Now 5-0, the Shock can look forward to next week's meeting versus their division rivals, the Boise Burn, whom they defeated on the road 63-45 on April 18.
4th, 2:25 to go: After looking like they were just going to eat up clock, Davila connected with Olson deep to put the nail in the coffin of this one. After the extra point, Spokane leads Iowa 49-30 late in the fourth.
4th, 5:20 to go: If someone told Villanueva that he could have a Six Dollar Burger Meal and a King Size Twix every time he threw a touchdown pass, Iowa might be undefeated. Instead, they're heading for their third consecutive loss, barring a late-game collapse by the Shock. Spokane just regained possession after Iowa missed a 54-yard field goal. Time is running out for the visitors...
4th, 7:50 to go: On a do-or-die fourth down, Villanueva finds Dusty Kain (there's gotta be a joke there somewhere) to keep the drive alive. Iowa has to get away from their comfort zone of kicking field goals if they want this game to go down to the wire.
4th, 11:20 to go: Charles Dillon has got to be the runaway choice for Player of the Game. A spectacular grab of his got the Shock to the 1-yard line before Harrison Nikolao finished the drive with a touchdown run to give Spokane a little breathing room at 42-30. Somewhere, Pac-10 DBs are not surprised.
End 3rd: All things considered, the Shock are lucky to have the lead. For the third time, Iowa has to settle for a field goal, for the second time, they convert and for the first time, the ref blows the call, robbing them of three points. Instead of a 35-33 or 35-34 game, the Shock still lead 35-30 as the third quarter comes to a close.
3rd, 2:00 to go: The Barnstormers take advantage of the Shock's inability to move the ball on offense by scoring on a quick pass to the left side to inch closer. However, Iowa's kicker couldn't make the extra point, so Spokane still leads 35-30. That lead may not last long, however, as a squib kick on the ensuing kickoff was recovered by the Barnstormers in Shock territory.
3rd, 4:13 to go: After one of the most boring drives you'll ever see (imagine the San Antonio Spurs played arena ball ... nothing fancy, just a bunch of six and seven yard sideline routes - efficient but not showy) Sergio "The Joker" Gilliam picked his second pass of the year deep in Shock territory, but Spokane couldn't take advantage and give it back to Iowa on the Shock 21. I couldn't make this paragraph more exciting if I was Gus Johnson.
3rd, 12:14 to go: Vijil has had an incredibly quiet game, but Davila's first pass of the half finds him for about 25 yards. Dillon then picks up the other half of the field for his third touchdown of the game, extending Spokane's lead to 35-24. I know it's the af2, but I didn't know covering the deep ball was optional. Learn something new every day...
The second half is about to begin and I reclaimed the blog from Slim. I know everyone reading this who isn't my mom is disappointed. I'm sorry about that, but we'll try to make it work regardless.
Halftime extended: I take it all back. These kids couldn't beat me up if they tried. I would never let them set up and bow at me. I'd just punch them in the face. One kid just attempted to break a board with his foot.... AND FAILED!!! They didn't even give him a second chance. He will not sleep well tonight.
Halftime: I've successfully hijacked Dylan's blog. Go Mariners. The halftime show is all about karate tonight. A bunch of 12 year olds who could kick my butt. Anyway, this is the best blog site around. Enjoy the second half.
-Slim
End 2nd: Spokane spent the last few minutes of the first half driving the ball, but ran out of time two yards from the end zone. Shack decided to call a pass with 4.5 seconds on the clock, but stellar coverage by the Barnstormers prevented Davila from finding anyone in the end zone. The Shock will begin the second half with the ball and a 28-24 lead.
2nd, 1:00 to go: God Bless the af2. One of Iowa's players spent the timeout checking out and dancing along with the Spokane Shock Dance Team. Maybe he has plans with Pacman Jones after the game.
2nd, 2:36 to go: Shack is irate! I could hear him from the press box yelling at the stripes about an illegal defense call. I've only seen him more upset once and it didn't turn out well for his clipboard. Anyway, Villanueva just ate his way though on a 1-yard QB sneak to cut the deficit to 28-24.
2nd, 5:18 to go: If Tim Dodge remembers his name after the hit Dillon just laid on him, it would be incredible. Apparently, he's OK, as he just caught the first pass of the drive. But wow, what a hit. That momentum results in a hit on Villanueva and an incredible grab by Justin Warren for an interception in Barnstormer territory. Davila immediately finds Olson for a touchdown and just like that, the Shock are in charge of this football game, leading 28-17.
2nd, 8:02 to go: With the Shock's Meatball Mania promotion running during this break, I wonder what Villanueva is thinking on the Iowa bench. The Barnstormers' QB is as big as Spokane linebacker Lee Foliaki and he's probably hungry. Fat QBs aside, Iowa just took a 17-14 lead on a field goal. Now, the svelte Davila will look to regain the lead for the home team and almost did in one throw, just missing Olson in the end zone for the second time in the game. Fortunately, Iowa's coaches were doing something better than coaching and Spokane ran the exact same play, this time to Dillon, who made the catch to give the Shock a 21-17 lead.
2nd, 13:36 to go: I don't know what was better: Shock OL John Booker's TD catch or his end zone celebration. After a fingertip catch that the Seahawks' 2007 receiving corps couldn't have come up with, he laid out in the end zone, "swam" and hopped up to surf. I'll go with the catch. But not by much. Spokane 14, Iowa 14.
End 1st: EWU alumnus Raul Vijil broke loose on the ensuing kickoff return, running around like Iowa's tacklers had swine flu and set up the Shock in Barnstormer territory. Unfortunately, Davila and Olson miscommunicated on what would have been a gimme in the end zone, so the Shock have work to do to tie the game as the second quarter starts.
1st, 1:00 to go: Uh oh, I may have jinxed the home team. What was looking like a solid drive ended with an Andy Olson fumble near midfield. Three plays later, Villanueva found his favorite receiver, Tim Dodge, for a touchdown. Just like that, the Shock find themselves trailing by a touchdown late in the first quarter. Iowa 14, Spokane 7.
1st, 5:25 to go: Gutsy move by coach Adam Shackleford, going with an onsides kick following the touchdown. Even though Iowa made the recovery, I like what Shack did. The crowd has seemed a little more flat than usual, so he tried to get them really into it. Now, with the Barnstormers having great field position, the fans are rising to the occasion. Speaking of gutsy, Iowa called a run on 3rd and 2 and Micah King scored from eight yards out and after the extra point, the game is tied at 7.
1st, 7:28 to go: What a disappointing first drive for Iowa. After QB Brian Villanueva connected on his first three passes to get to the Shock 5-yard line, he threw an incompletion, followed by a sack and another incompletion before the Iowa field goal attempt was missed wide right. Looks like they've been watching too much Philadelphia Eagles game tape.
To top Villanueva, Shock QB Nick Davila completed his first three passes to get to Iowa's 1-yard line. After a failed run attempt, Davila found Wazzu's own Charles Dillon for the game's first score. It seems clear who the better team is already - the Shock aren't the top-ranked team for nothing. Spokane 7, Iowa 0.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tonight at the Spokane Arena, the undefeated and top-ranked Spokane Shock (4-0) put their perfect record on the line when the visiting Iowa Barnstormers (3-2) visit the Pacific Northwest.
The Barnstormers and Shock both feature high-scoring, pass-first offenses (that's a joke, af2 fans), though Iowa has struggled in recent weeks to put points on the board, totaling just 60 in their past two contests. Spokane, meanwhile, hasn't scored fewer than 59 in a game this season and has increased their point total each week of the season.
The Shock are coming off last week's 71-50 victory in California over the Stockton Lightning, while the Barnstormers fell at home versus the Quad City Steamwheelers 33-29. Kickoff for tonight's game is coming up in a matter of minutes, so stay tuned as the Spokane Shock look to improve to 5-0 to start the 2009 season.
No comments:
Post a Comment