Shock escape Stockton
STOCKTON – It was a bit more exciting in the final minute than coach Adam Shackleford would have liked, but the Spokane Shock escaped Stockton on Saturday night with a victory.
The Lightning recovered an onside kick with 12 seconds remaining, but the Shock blocked a game-tying field-goal attempt by Alex Walls as the clock expired to get a 58-55 victory before 4,843 fans at Stockton Arena.
The Shock (3-2) spent most of the first half chasing the Stockton Lightning (1-3), then pounced on them in the second half, switching roles and never letting Stockton catch up. The deciding possession came early in the fourth quarter when the Shock turned the Lightning over on downs on their own 14-yard line and Spokane quarterback Andrico Hines quickly converted it into a 1-yard touchdown run to give the Shock a 10-point lead. The teams traded scores after that and the Shock held on. Shackleford was particularly proud of his team getting the win despite losing Andre Rector, Chico Mackey and Antwone Savage to injury or illness during the game.
“We gutted it out,” Shackleford said. “Our guys have a lot of heart and character. They were able to get the win at the end.”
Hines was solid for Spokane, completing 22 of 33 passes for 244 yards and three touchdowns. Savage was his favorite target, making eight receptions for 132 yards and two touchdowns.
“It was a sloppy win,” Hines said. “But it was a great team win. Offensively we were pretty good and the defense played well.”
Spokane’s defense had to deal with superb play of backup Stockton quarterback Evan Gray.
Gray completed 7 of 8 passes for 78 yards and three touchdowns in the second quarter as the Lightning built a 27-20 lead.
With one second remaining in the first half, Shackleford decided to go for the game-tying touchdown rather then settle for a field goal after Jason Hunt was called for a roughing-the-passer penalty on fourth down that would have ended the drive. Katon Bethay made Shackleford look good by barreling in from the 1-yard line to tie the game.
“We called a timeout and our linemen were begging for the run and we got the big push up front,” Shackleford said.
Hines said he saw that play as the turning point.
“It was huge,” Hines said. “They had the momentum the whole first half until halftime and then it carried over for us into the second half.”
The Shock scored on all five of their possessions in the second half and capitalized on Stockton’s mistakes.
“We made mistakes that cost you close games,” Murray said. “They were one play better than us and it came down to us. That was it.”
Gray finished the game 20 of 34 for 237 yards and seven touchdowns. But he bobbled the snap on Walls’ field-goal attempt, which gave the Spokane time to get the push it needed to block the kick.