Shock’s Sigler off to hot start

Kurt Sigler’s career with the Spokane Shock was only a couple of days old when he fulfilled a lifetime dream.

Sigler, who was an offensive lineman at Coeur d’Alene High and Eastern Washington University, was stationed at tight end when he slipped out for a throw-back screen against Bakersfield on Sunday. It was the ideal play call to counter a talented Blitz defensive end.

Sigler hauled in the pass and rumbled 18 yards to the end zone in the Shock’s 49-45 road win. He couldn’t recall scoring a touchdown, even dating back to his days of peewee football.

“I didn’t know what to do with the ball after I scored,” Sigler said. “So I saw a ref and just tossed it to him.”

In arena football, the tight end lines up next to the center. The tight end becomes an eligible receiver if he raises his arm as he approaches the line of scrimmage.

“I’m not used to that at all,” Sigler said. “A couple of times the refs got on me about that.”

Sigler joined the Shock late last week. He moved between guard and tight end on the offensive front and also played on the defensive line against Bakersfield. He hadn’t lined up in an official game since participating in an all-star contest shortly after his EWU career ended in November 2003.

Sigler was released by the Buffalo Bills in 2004, joined Winnipeg’s practice squad and was briefly with San Jose prior to the 2005 Arena Football League season. He made plans recently to join a pro team in Austria, going so far as to put his belongings into storage, but the trip fell through about a month ago.

“I was reluctant (to join the Shock earlier) because I had some other things lined up,” said Sigler, who is about 20 pounds lighter than his playing days at Eastern. “Somebody made the comment that I thought I was taking a step down, but that wasn’t the case at all. The team I was going to play on in the European league wasn’t at a high level of football. I was just going for the experience.”

Instead, he experienced the thrill of a scoring a touchdown in an arenafootball2 game.

“A couple of the guys were giving me a lot of crap for scoring a touchdown after being with the team for just a day and a half,” said Sigler, who has earned his degree and MBA from EWU. “It’s one of those things every lineman dreams of.”