Joseph Pumphrey
The Communicator
With the season starting in a few days, the Spokane Shock are looking to dominate to competition.
Last year, the Shock’s season ended with a heartbreaking loss at Arizona in the National Conference Championship in August. The Shock started off great, taking an early lead and holding on until the second half. Arizona’s key plays and defensive turnovers in the third quarter sling-shot them into the lead. The Shock started a fourth quarter comeback but fell short 57-65. Players like Terrance Moore want to use that as a fuel to start the season off wanting it all.
“Everyone has the bitter taste of last year because of our loss,” Moore said, “I think we’re more hungry.”
Quarterback Erik Meyer is confident that this squad could be good enough for another great season.
“I see a lot of energy and a lot of team camaraderie,” Meyer said, “It’s always good to see that especially with the new guys coming in and the vets on the team, so we’re just kind of excited to see where we go.”
Meyer broke several team records last season and won the Arena Football League (AFL) MVP and Offensive Player of the Year Awards. Adron Tennell also had a great season, as he led the league in receptions and receiving touchdowns, ultimately earning him the AFL Wide Receiver of the Year award.
The team lost a few key players of the team in the offseason. Offensive Lineman Chris Pino retired and Ruschard Dodd-Masters became the Defensive Backs coach. Head Coach Andy Olson was prepared for the changes
“We were kind of expecting it, so it wasn’t a huge surprise to us,” Olson said about Pino, “Chris had been talking about it since the season was over last year, so we were prepared for it and it didn’t hurt us too much.”
Meyer feels comfortable about the Offensive Line without Pino.
“From what we’ve seen, we have a lot of big guys and they’ve been pretty good on their one on one’s,” Meyer said, “We’ve got some guys who are playing good up front and it should be a good year and hopefully another year of very few sacks.”
Terrance Moore enjoys having Dodd-Masters as a coach.
“At first I thought it would be weird, but it turns out that it probably the best thing that could happen to us as a group” Moore said, “ He knows the game, he has experience playing the game, I feel more comfortable working with him than I have with any other coach here.”
The players are excited for the season start in a few days
“I’m ready to just start playing,” Meyer said, “and the first game is going to be exciting and to just be back on the field in front of the fans out there playing.”
“Play like a champion, that’s the main thing, Moore said, “not just to win the game, but to dominate the game.”
The Shock play their season home opener this Saturday, March 15th against the Iowa Barnstormers at 7 p.m. at the Spokane Arena
First Photo Description: Quarterbacks Erik Meyer passing during Shock practice.
Second Photo Description: Defencive-Backs Tim Shelley and Sam Pope running defensive plays