Fired-up Frederick shines
Spokane Shock receiver/linebacker Charles Frederick wasn’t supposed to be at Saturday’s game, and right about now the Quad City Steamwheelers are probably wishing he didn’t show up.
Frederick came up with a pair of fumble returns for touchdowns and added a 39-yard TD reception to fuel a stunning 7-minute, 27-second blitz that saw Spokane score 40 points en route to a 68-63 arenafootball2 victory in front of an announced crowd of 10,158 at the Arena.
For good measure, Frederick shagged an on-side kick and ran it in for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Not a bad night’s work for Frederick, who flew to Miami on Wednesday for a tryout with the Dolphins. However, the Dolphins pushed the tryout back, probably to the second week of June.
“It kind of upset me because I was fired up about it,” Frederick said. “Coach (Chris Siegfried) called me and said, ‘Do you want to come back? What if I get you a flight for the next morning?’ I said, ‘I’m on it.’ “
The third-ranked Shock improved to 7-1 and could very well move up to the top spot in next week’s coaches poll. No. 1 Oklahoma City lost to previously winless Bossier-Shreveport, and No. 2 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton fell to Manchester.
For a while, it looked as if Spokane might be an upset victim, too. In a ragged, penalty-filled first half, Spokane ran just 13 offensive plays – not counting several Steamwheelers’ penalties – while Quad City had 29. The Shock trailed 17-6 before going on their scoring binge.
Spokane took the lead when Frederick picked up a bungled center-quarterback exchange and raced 49 yards for a touchdown with 30 seconds left in the second quarter. Jon Koker, who sprained his ankle in last week’s win over Central Valley, missed his third consecutive PAT and the Shock led 18-17.
“I saw the ball on the ground, I grabbed it and (teammate Anthony) Griffin grabbed my face mask and pulled me off the ground,” Frederick said. “It was like, ‘C’mon, follow me,’ so I started running right behind him.”
Spokane’s lead didn’t last long as Quad City (2-6) quickly drove into Shock territory and capitalized with Kimo Naehu’s second field goal of the half, a 23-yarder that gave the Steamwheelers a 20-18 halftime lead.
That, too, didn’t last long. Spokane needed only two plays to score as Levi Madarieta’s 8-yard sweep put the Shock up 25-20. The points came in pinball fashion from there. On the ensuing play, Rob Keefe stepped in front of Tim Hicks’ pass in the flat for an easy interception and return for a touchdown.
Two plays later, Quad City messed up another center-quarterback exchange and Frederick was on his way to a 24-yard scoring return. On the Steamwheelers’ next play from scrimmage, Keefe picked off an ill-advised Hicks pass, giving the Shock the ball at the Quad City 3. Griffin slashed up the middle for a touchdown and Spokane had a comfortable 46-20 lead – and had scored 40 points in roughly half a quarter.
At that point, Spokane had run 16 offensive plays and scored 46 points.
“That was crazy,” Siegfried said. “The third quarter was absolutely unbelievable.”
Hicks, who came into the game on pace to break the af2 single-season yardage record, was benched in favor of Matt Pike, who helped Quad City put together a 36-point fourth quarter before suffering a leg injury. Hicks returned and continued a comeback that had the Shock squirming in the final minute.
It wasn’t over until Griffin batted an on-side kick out of bounds in the closing seconds.
“I’m very disappointed by how we played in the fourth quarter,” Siegfried said. “We had a chance to bury a team.”
Keefe, who had two interceptions, left the game early in the fourth quarter after a high-speed collision with the dasherboards.
“I hit between the pads,” Keefe said. “It’s above the knee; I think it’s a bruise. I’ll have X-rays (today) but I think it’s going to be OK.”
The Shock entertain West Division rival Central Valley next Saturday at 7.