Spokane, WA - 06/28/2008 - For the third consecutive season, the Spokane Shock have won the Western Division title after defeating the Central Valley Coyotes Saturday night, 56-54 (game stats) - thanks to K Brian Jackson.

With only :05 seconds left, Head Coach Adam Shackleford put the weight of the Division title on the 5-7 185 pound Jackson. Back-up QB Jason Murrietta placed the ball perfectly and Jackson nailed the 31-yard game winning field goal as the clock expired.

Jackson, who had already missed two point-after attempts earlier in the game, called it in an “angry kick.”

“I knew that I had to make that field goal to get the respect back from my teammates,” Jackson explained. “It was the highlight of my career.”

Jackson’s game winning field-goal was set up after Central Valley’s QB Clay Groefsma connected with his leading receiver Jason Barnes (12 receptions, 165 yards and three touchdowns) for a 10-yard TD pass with only: 16 left. Coyotes Head Coach Fred Biletnikoff elected to go for the win with a two-point conversion. Once again, Groefsma connected with Barnes to put the Coyotes ahead by one point.

“Central Valley is such a good football team we knew it would come down to the end,” Shock Head Coach Adam Shackleford explained. “Brian Jackson has been our guy all year…he made a big one for us tonight.”

Offensively, Shock QB Nick Davila shined as he contributed eight total touchdowns (six through the air, and two on the ground) including a four-yard QB sneak that kept the Shock’s hope alive with only 44 seconds left in the game.

Davila’s performance tonight topped all of his previous career-best numbers including pass attempts (50); pass completions (34), and passing yards (367).

On the defensive side of the ball, rookie LB Lee Foliaki (recovered two fumbles) and DB Sergio Gilliam (one interception) combined for three crucial Central Valley turnovers. Gilliam’s interception firmly planted the rookie’s name in the af2 record book as he tied the league record for most interceptions in a season with 15.

The Shock have a bye next week and will return to action on July 12th in Stockton, CA against the Lightning.

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
CV Coyotes.......... 13 20 7 14 - 54
Spokane Shock....... 20 14 6 16 - 56

ADT Defensive Player of the Game: Spokane Lee Foliaki
JRL Ironman of the Game: CVC Jomo Wilson
Schutt’s Offensive Player of the Game: Spokane Raul Vijil
Cutter’s Catch of the Game: Spokane Raul Vijil one handed 2nd qtr TD catch
Attendance: 10, 558

Spokane, WA - 06/26/2008 - The Spokane Shock announced today WR Etu Molden has been added to their 2008 roster.

Molden, 6-1, 185, spent four seasons with the AFL’s Chicago Rush - including their 2006 Arena Bowl Championship season. Over his four-year career with the Rush, he collected 284 receptions and 59 touchdowns. In 2005, Molden, who played WR and LB for Chicago, was also named the 2005 AFL Ironman Player of the Year. This season, Molden – a Sacramento, CA native – appeared in one game for the af2’s Stockton Lightning and had four receptions and 73 yards before he was sidelined with an injury.

“When a player of his caliber is available, you have to take a chance on him – it’s a no-brainer,” Head Coach Adam Shackleford said. “You cannot simulate his experience and it’s very tough to find a guy like that at the af2 level who is trying to make a come back.”

Molden will be available to play this weekend, although at this time it is not yet known if he will be in Saturday’s line-up.

The Western-Division leading Shock will host the second-place Central Valley Coyotes Saturday night with a 5 PM kick-off. Tickets still remain for the game and can be purchased by contacting TicketsWest.

Chicago, IL - 06/25/2008 - The defending ArenaCup Champion Tulsa Talons have moved back into the No. 1 spot in the Week 14 Coaches Poll, the arenafootball2 (af2) league office announced today. The Talons (11-1) collected 430 of a possible 448 points and 14-of-29 first place votes in securing the top position. Tulsa clinched a playoff spot this past week with a 58-52 road win against Rio Grande Valley. It was the Talons’ ninth straight postseason appearance, the most of any active team. Tulsa, one of three original af2 member teams, has qualified for the playoffs every season of the team’s existence.

The Spokane Shock (11-1, 427 points, 11 first place votes) slipped back one spot to the No. 2 position this week after suffering their first loss of 2008, 57-55, at home to the No. 6-ranked South Georgia Wildcats. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (10-2, 391 points, 4 first place votes) held firm at No. 3 as the team scored an impressive, 69-40, Week 13 home victory against Manchester. With the win the Pioneers clinched their second straight East Division title and secured their fifth straight trip to the postseason. Green Bay also qualified for the playoffs in Week 13 and maintained its place in the poll at No. 4 on the strength of 69-27 home win against Mahoning Valley. The Blizzard (9-3, 342 points) have won four consecutive contests. The Florida Firecats (8-3, 315 points), who enjoyed a bye in Week 13, held onto the No. 5 spot in the poll. The team returns to action in Week 14 when they host No. 3 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The complete Top 16 is listed below. The number in parentheses indicates the number of first place votes the team received.

Each week during the season af2 coaches will vote for the Top 16 teams in the league by ranking them one through 16 on a ballot. Teams ranked first receive 16 points with the point value decreasing by one for each place below first, meaning a team ranked 16th would receive one point. Total points will determine the Top 16 list. In the event of a tie in total points, the team with the greater number of first-place votes will be ranked higher. The af2 Coaches Poll will be announced every Wednesday during the regular season. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team and the poll results have no bearing on postseason qualification.

- A PROUD MEMBER OF THE ARENA FOOTBALL FAMILY -

Spokane, WA - 06/21/2008 - It’s been said that all good things must come to an end, and tonight the South Georgia Wildcats snapped the Shock’s 11- game winning streak with a 55-57 win. Before tonight’s loss the #1-ranked Shock were the only undefeated team in the af2.

On their fifth and final drive of the game, QB Andrico Hines and the Wildcats started from their own 17-yard line. With only 2:02 left in the game, the Wildcats were down by only one-point. Hines started the drive with a swing pass to his leading receiver PJ Berry (9 receptions with 193 all-purpose yards) for a 3-yard gain. His next two passes fell incomplete but on third down Hines and Berry connected for a 28-yard pass that proved to be the back-breaker. This set-up the game-winning field goal attempt for South Georgia’s K Scott Hode. Despite a botched-snap, Hode converted on the 20-yard field goal attempt as time expired for a two-point victory.

“Hopefully, this is a wake-up call for our guys,” Head Coach Adam Shackleford said. “Coach Stingley (South Georgia’s Head Coach) got us tonight he did a good job. If we learn from it, that’s what we’ll take from it.”

Tonight’s game also marked the return of former Shock players WR Antwone Savage and Hines. For Savage’s part, he made the most of his receptions with three – all of which were for touchdowns. Hines, who had 40 touchdowns coming into tonight’s game, added five more to his season total with 216 yards passing.

“We knew that because they (Savage and Hines) were on that team they were going to be good,” Shackleford explained. “Certainly, I’m upset by the way we played: special teams were a let down tonight, defensively we need to get more stops and offensively we had two or three drives where we just looked real bad.”

The Shock’s QB Nick Davila matched Hines numbers with 5 touchdowns of his own for 272 passing yards without an interception. WR Raul Vijil and Andy Olson were the lone bright spots from Davila’s receiving core that combined for 19 receptions (10 for Vijil and 8 for Olson) and three touchdowns (two for Olson and one for Vijil).

Defensively, the Shock recorded two interceptions off of Hines – one for LB Kevin McCullough and one DB Roshawn Marshall.

The Shock return home next week as they host the Central Valley Coyotes. Tickets are still available and can be purchased by contacting TicketsWest.

Score by Quarters 1 2 3 4 Score
----------------- -- -- -- -- -----
S G Wildcats........ 14 13 13 17 - 57
Spokane Shock....... 14 14 14 13 - 55

Schutt’s Offensive Player of the Game: SPOKANE Andy Olson
ADT Defensive Player of the Game: SPOKANE Kevin McCullough
IRL Ironman of the Game: SOUTH GEORGIA PJ Berry
Cutter’s Catch of the Game: SOUTH GEORGIA Antwone Savage, 4th Quarter
Attendance: 10,558