Shock look to bounce back from loss with road game today

After last week’s 60-45 loss to the then third-ranked Quad City Steamwheelers, the Spokane Shock had a major issue and a few minor issues to address.

The major issue – the quarterback situation.

The Shock (1-1), who dropped from No. 2 to No. 8 in the coaches’ af2 poll this week, will meet the expansion Fort Wayne (Ind.) Fusion in their first road game of the season at 7 p.m. today and have the opportunity to address a few of those issues.

After rookie quarterback Andrico Hines threw four interceptions in the Shock’s first loss since June 10, 2006, Shock coach Adam Shackleford said the race for the starting position was wide-open.

Hines was pulled in the fourth quarter of the April 7 game after completing 72 percent of his passes with three touchdowns and four picks. Backup quarterback Matt Gutierrez entered and threw for 133 yards and three TDs.

But after a week of equal reps in practices, Hines will again start for the Shock.

“(Andrico) had a great week,” Shackleford said. “They (Matt and Andrico) both did, and we are moving forward from last week.

“We watched a lot film and talked about what we did wrong as an offense and a defense. Our quarterback, obviously, wasn’t the only person making mistakes out there.”

Another hurdle the Shock face after the first two weeks is injuries.

Chico Mackey, a promising receiver new to the team this year, will not travel with the team. He is still recovering from an ankle injury he suffered in the Shock’s season-opening victory over the Stockton Lightning.

Everyone else is healthy and ready to go, Shackleford said.

That includes 6-foot-3, 241-pound lineman Kelvin Morris, who was also injured against Stockton.

Defensive specialist Rob Keefe and lineman Jermaine Harris, who left late in last week’s game against the Steamwheelers, will also play.

The most important thing for the Shock, Shackleford said, is going out and doing what he knows his team the team is capable of doing.

“I’ve always said, looking back at films, we’re a tough team to beat,” Shackleford said. “I feel like we beat ourselves last week. We need to limit our mistakes, obviously, and not beat ourselves. We are not going to win against quality football teams making those kinds of mistakes.

“We had our work cut out for us, but we’re not going to look at that anymore. Last week is now behind us and we’re going to look ahead, like we always do, and worry about beating Fort Wayne on the road (today).”