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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Starting quarterback up for grabs

The starting quarterback for the Spokane Shock will be … announced Thursday.

By then, Jason Murrietta, who started the first five games, and Nick Davila, who came off the bench to direct a fourth-quarter comeback against Lubbock last Saturday, will have three practices to determine the pecking order. The practice reps will be divided evenly.

“This is really the first week it’s kind of been public, but it’s been a battle since camp,” said head coach Adam Shackleford, whose second-ranked Shock (5-0) face an arenafootball2 showdown with Boise (4-1) at the Spokane Arena at 5 p.m. Saturday. “We felt physically they were the same and Jason had the offense down a little better and that’s why we made the decision we made (after training camp).

“Now, when you replace a quarterback and put another one, then it becomes a public issue. We certainly know we have two capable quarterbacks. I’ve been on the other side of the stick and that’s not easy.”

Shackleford changed quarterbacks at the start of the fourth quarter with Spokane trailing 34-33. Under Davila, Spokane scored on two of three possessions, including a 21-yard winning field goal by Brian Jackson with 1 second left.

“We felt our offense was in a little bit of a lull and you try to think of things to get over that hump,” quarterbacks coach Matt Sauk said. “It’s tough for anyone to come in, especially in the fourth quarter and get the job done. Nick still made some mistakes, and that’s acceptable to a point, but it was really good to have him prove that he can be a backup or a starter and get the job done.”

Murrietta has averaged 176 yards per game and completed 20 touchdown passes with six interceptions. He’s also run for four touchdowns. Davila has played in just two games, the other during a blowout victory over Stockton. His passer rating of 111 is about 22 points higher than Murrietta’s.

“You just have to stay focused,” said Davila, who played at the University of Cincinnati. “Being in the position I’m in, you have to be prepared. I’ve been through this in college.”

According to Shackleford, Davila gets rid of the ball quicker on shorter routes while Murrietta can fire the ball into tighter spots when necessary.

Murrietta handled the benching “very professionally,” Shackleford said. “He’s very focused and wants to be successful. We picked the right two quarterbacks coming out of camp. We knew these two would battle each other all season, and if one gets beat out they’d continue to push the other.”

Injury update

The season is just five games old, but Spokane already has a lengthy injury list.

Here’s the rundown: Katon Bethay dinged his knee Saturday – not the one that was surgically repaired last month – but he missed practice Tuesday with a viral infection; Raul Vijil is battling shoulder and hamstring issues; Andy Olson played with a sore neck; Kelvin Dickens has a sore knee; Nygel Rogers has a bruised knee; and Jason Jack, returning from a knee injury, practiced for the first time Tuesday but remains questionable for Saturday.

Shackleford anticipates the aforementioned players will be available Saturday. The exception is Jack, who is questionable.

For one of the rare times this season, the players weren’t in pads for practice and they won’t be again today. If Shackleford is satisfied with the two practices, the team will have another non-pads workout Thursday.

Notes

Less than 100 tickets remain for Saturday’s game. … Defensive back Tremaine Tyler got his first start and delivered six tackles and a pass breakup. “We’ve got 22 good players here,” Shackleford said. “We picked Roshawn (Marshall) after the Tri-Cities scrimmage, but Tremaine has continued to work hard and he got better and better. Tremaine played really well and now they’re battling it out. The best guy will play at the end of the week.”… Anthony Brown has been suspended for violating team rules. … Mutsumi Takahashi is scheduled to arrive Friday afternoon. The Japanese receiver won’t play Saturday but could be in the mix for the following Saturday against Tri-Cities.