Hines retains QB job

Was this all much ado about nothing?

Kind of – but the end result was exactly what Spokane Shock coach Adam Shackleford was looking for.

After a solid week in practice, Andrico Hines will remain the No. 1 quarterback for this week’s game against the Boise Burn at the Arena.

After the Shock fell 39-34 to the Fever last Saturday in Kennewick’s Toyota Center – narrowing their West Division lead to a half game – Shackleford made it clear that the starting position was wide open. Spokane (7-4 overall) is 6-2 in the division while Tri-Cities is 5-2.

Hines, the season-long starter, had a rough night in the loss, completing 8 of 33 passes for a season-low 106 yards before being replaced in the fourth quarter by backup Justin Rummell, who connected on 3 of 7 passes for 48 yards. Hines threw for three touchdowns and was sacked four times after several missed blocks from the offensive line.

But wide open, as it turns out, was a bit of a stretch.

“Part of it was to see how (Andrico) would react, and part of it was that I thought Justin might be ready to take over,” said Shackleford. “That’s not the case yet and we expect Andrico to go play well this week.”

A lot of outside factors contributed to Hines’ poor numbers in the game. The line missed key blocks and the receivers dropped passes that were right on the mark, which Hines acknowledged.

“It was a combination of a lot of small things that happened Saturday, more than anything,” he said. “It comes with the territory – when you play quarterback, you get the glory when you win and when you lose, then you get the blame.”

Shackleford said Hines has had a great week at practice and the decision came down mostly to experience.

“Justin just hasn’t been around long enough to completely understand the coverages and parts of the offense,” Shackleford said. “He’s done a real good job filling in when we’ve needed him to, but as far as the big picture and understanding defenses, he’s still behind.”

Madarieta with Burn

Former Shock FB/LB Levi Madarieta will return to Spokane this week for the first time since the 2006 ArenaCup – in a Boise Burn jersey.

The former USA Today Idaho Player of the Year will be facing some of his former teammates for the second time this season. The teams met May 19 in Boise, where the Shock won 62-44. The Burn are on a five-game losing streak.

Madarieta expects a win over the Shock to be difficult, but he’s looking forward to getting back in front of the Spokane crowd.

“The fans (in Spokane) were unbelievable to me last year,” said Madarieta.

“I am anxious to see their reaction to me playing in a different jersey.”

Notes

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach Rich Ingold took over sole possession of second place in the arenafootball2 league’s top all-time coaching victories when the Pioneers beat Alabama last week. Ingold (53 wins) is four wins away from tying former Shock coach Chris Siegfried (57). … The Pioneers, who lead the East Division, are 10-0 overall heading into today’s game at Midwest leader Quad City (7-4). Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Quad City and Spokane all play in the American Conference. … Shock receiver Raul Vijil (high ankle sprain) is once again a game-time decision. Vijil, who is from the Tri-Cities, was listed as a game-time decision last week and did not play against the Fever.