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PHOENIX, Ariz. – Beating the three-time defending Arena Football League champs pretty much requires the football equivalent of a perfect game. The Spokane Shock were often good Saturday night but far from perfect in a 60-43 defeat by the Arizona Rattlers. Two key early mistakes and a big defensive stop by the Rattlers on the final play of the first half sealed the Shock’s fate.

Back in his playing days, Andy Olson caught a lot of passes from Nick Davila. The two were key players on the Spokane Shock’s arenafootball2 championship team in 2009. These days, Olson would prefer seeing Spokane’s defense knock Davila on his wallet.

The Spokane Shock roster is stocked with new faces after a busy offseason and one of those has been picked to handle the most influential position in arena football. Veteran Carson Coffman has earned the starting quarterback nod over Warren Smith for Spokane’s season opener against three-time defending Arena Football League champion Arizona in Phoenix on Saturday.

The Spokane Shock have been assigned defensive back Andre Jones for the upcoming season, it was announced Wednesday. Jones has played in the AFL for the past four years. He played for the L.A. Kiss and Pittsburgh Power last season.

With music blaring and defensive linemen fighting through blockers, the Spokane Shock entered the second day of practicing with pads Tuesday as the team tries to find starters, including a new quarterback, before the season begins on March 28. The Shock, who finished 11-7 last year, enter the fourth year under coach Andy Olson and without former Eastern Washington quarterback Erik Meyer, who signed to play for San Jose along with receiver Adron Tennell.

The Spokane Shock’s 10th season formally begins today with players arriving for physicals. The Shock’s first padded practice will be Monday. They will conclude training camp with a scrimmage on March 21, before finalizing their roster. Spokane opens the season on the road against three-time Arena Football League champion Arizona on March 28.

The Arena Football League determined its division alignment for the 2015 season, but the Spokane Shock will stand pat. The four three-team divisions within two conferences – American and National – will remain the same. The South and East divisions make up the American Conference while the Pacific and West divisions make up the National Conference.

Eastern Washington and Idaho seniors shared the Big Sky Conference Player of the Week award in women’s basketball.  Melissa Williams of Eastern had double-doubles in home wins over Southern Utah and Northern Arizona, averaging 14.5 points and 10.0 rebounds while shooting 70 percent from the field. She hit 31 against NAU.

Defensive back Sergio Gilliam is returning to the Spokane Shock. Gilliam was the af2 rookie of the year and an all-af2 first-team member as he played a key role for the Shock in 2009, which ended with the af2 championship. He spent the last two seasons with the Pittsburgh Power. In 2014, Gilliam recorded 61 total tackles (52 solo, 18 assisted), three interceptions and 20 pass break-ups in 18 games. He has also played for the Kansas City, Arizona and Oklahoma City.