The Spokane Shock, 3-0 and ranked No. 1 in arenafootball2, today boarded a plane for Portland and then on to Sacramento. They'll face Stockton, a 59-42 loser to Spokane earlier this month, tomorrow at 7 in Stockton.

Below is an unedited game preview that will run in Saturday's S-R.

By Jim Meehan

Staff writer

The scouting report probably hasn’t changed much.

Undefeated and largely untested, the No. 1-ranked Spokane Shock hit the road for the second straight week to take on an arenafootball2 division rival.

Spokane (3-0) faces Stockton (1-2) at 7 tonight, three weeks after opening its season with a 59-42 win over the Lightning in Spokane.

“I think we’re going to see a lot of the same things. They don’t do a whole lot on offense, but what they do they do well,” Shock coach Adam Shackleford said. “Their secondary made some mistakes against us and I expect them to have that fixed.

“The thing that sticks out to me more than anything was their offensive production and the capability they have of scoring points.”

Spokane thumped previously unbeaten Boise 63-45 last week for its third consecutive double-digit victory. Stockton, protecting a one-point lead with about 40 seconds remaining, botched a center-quarterback exchange while trying to run out the clock. Central Valley recovered the fumble and scored the game-winning touchdown.

Instead of being 2-1 with a chance to force a first-place tie tonight, Stockton is trying to rebound from a disheartening home defeat.

“I’m sure they feel they gave it away,” Shackleford said.

Spokane’s depth at receiver will be tested again. Andy Olson (knee) will miss his second straight game and Charles Dillon (ribs) won’t make the trip. Patrick Bugg, a key contributor last season, came up with four touchdown catches and defensive back Sergio Gilliam helped out with five receptions.

Markee White, a 6-foot-7 af2 rookie, will start along with the 6-5 Bugg and Raul Vijil. Gilliam will be the fourth receiver.

“It probably chops our playbook down by one-third with Sergio because he has a set of plays he knows and he’s responsible for and that’s about 25 plays,” Shackleford said. “We were really counting on Patrick coming into the season and thought he’d be in our top two. Just the last week or 10 days, he’s starting to feel 100 percent (after off-season knee surgery).”

Lightning quarterback Andy Collins had five touchdown passes and four scoring runs last week. He passed for 311 yards against Spokane, but he tossed a game-turning interception in the closing seconds of the first half.

Collins leads af2 in rushing (47.7 yards per game) by 15 yards over his nearest challenger. He’s also second in total offense at 309.7 yards per game.

“He loves to take chances,” Shackleford said. “He’s not a quarterback that is going to throw the ball away.”

Notes

Defensive lineman Jonal Saint-Dic, an af2 rookie out of Michigan State, is expected to make his Shock debut. Martrel Brown, who suited up a week ago, won’t make the trip. “We’re trying to figure out that next guy in so we’re rotating (Saint-Dic and Brown) through game by game,” Shackleford said. Saint-Dic had a workout with the Buffalo Bills last week. … Spokane is fifth in scoring offense (61.3 points) and first in scoring defense (39.7). Stockton ranks seventh in scoring (56) and 20^th in points allowed (59.3). … The Lightning will be without ex-Oregon State receiver Ruben Jackson, who has been placed on injured reserve. Justin Taplin and Troy McBroom have combined for 54 catches and 14 touchdowns. They had 22 catches and five TDs against the Shock earlier this month. … Shackleford’s record is 33-7, counting playoffs, in his third season as head coach.