Shock want to stop Blitz
Three is the magic number this week for the Spokane Shock.
Two teams in the history of the Shock franchise have come into the Spokane Arena and won – and that’s the one number the Shock don’t want to increase.
The initial home loss was to division-rival Bakersfield on May 6, 2006, which the Shock avenged by knocking the Blitz out in last year’s American Conference semifinals.
When the Shock (3-2), coming off their bye week, host the Blitz (3-2) tonight in arenafootball2 action, a three-way tie in the division standings will be broken.
“This is going to be a very tough game,” Shock coach Adam Shackleford said. “I preached all week, (Bakersfield) has come in twice and played Spokane well both times, they beat them pretty bad once at home and played them tough in the playoff game here last year.
“I don’t think the crowd intimidates this team, it makes for a pretty good matchup.”
If the Shock win, they will improve to 3-0 in division play, 3-1 against Bakersfield and extend their winning streak to three games.
But to do so, the Shock will have to deal with an injury-riddled lineup.
Receivers Raul Vijil and Chico Mackey, who has been dealing with injuries all season, will be game-time decisions, according to Shackleford.
The good news on the injury front is defensive lineman Jerome Stevens will be in the lineup. Stevens injured himself three weeks ago in the Shock’s win over Lubbock and didn’t travel with the team to rest, a move that paid off.
“Having that bye week really gave us an advantage,” Shackleford said. “He needed two weeks to rest and because of the bye week he only had to miss one game.”
The Blitz will likely target star receiver Antwone Savage, who had eight receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns two weeks ago and hauled in four of his six receptions into the end zone three weeks ago. Savage is second in the league in all-purpose yards (208.4 a game) and scoring (18 points per game).
Another factor will be Bakersfield looking to end a two-game losing skid.
“A team that’s lost a couple in a row is hungry for a win,” Shackleford said. “We have to continue to do the things we have been doing – controlling the offense and getting some defensive stops.”
Blitz coach Gary Compton acknowledged the growing rivalry between Bakersfield and Spokane.
“We’ve developed a nice little rivalry with those guys,” said Blitz coach Gary Compton. “We know it’s one of the toughest places to play in the league, but if we go up there and cut out the mental mistakes, we can do well.”