Late-season catch

There it was – the honest answer to a question that could have so easily been sidestepped. What’s Etu Molden doing in the arenafootball2 league, anyway? That’s not a question meant to knock on the athletes. It’s a developmental league, and chances are a lot of the players on the current Spokane Shock roster – rookies and veterans alike –

have a legitimate shot at graduating to the AFL next year. But Molden’s already been there.

The 28-year-old spent four years in the AFL. The two-way player made the league’s all-Ironman team in 2005 in addition to being named team MVP and Ironman of the Year for the Chicago Rush. He led the Rush in receptions, despite missing four games with an injury, on their 2006 run to the ArenaBowl championship. After being released by Chicago and picked up by the Las Vegas Gladiators last season, he got the call to play again this season.

But he wasn’t ready. Those “personal issues” – predominantly the nasty divorce he’s still going through with the mother of his 3-year-old son – weighed heavily on him.

He wasn’t sure he would be ready again.

“I just was kind of mentally out of it,” Molden said. “I was kind of on the brink of retirement and football isn’t a game you want to go play with your mind on other things, especially when it’s important stuff like that, when you’re talking about kids and wife-and-husband type stuff. People get hurt, and I didn’t want to put myself in that position, because then I’m not doing any good for anybody.

“I’m still in the process of the divorce, but it’s been going on long enough that I’m sort of numb to it. I got myself back together.”

The former University of Montana star, who finished his collegiate career with more than 3,000 receiving yards, got the itch to play football again. He received a call from his friend and former Montana teammate Vernon Smith, with whom Molden won the NCAA I-AA national championship as a senior in 2001.

“He said, ‘I know you’ve been going through some really hard stuff, so why don’t you come play and get your mind off it?’ ”

So he did. Playing in the af2 was a step down from what he had done before. That made the perfect chance for Molden to see if he still had love for the game – a passion for football.

The Sacramento, Calif., native was able to stay close to home and sign on with the nearby Stockton Lightning (Smith was playing there, too), but it didn’t fit. When Molden got there, his apartment wasn’t ready, and they fired coach Doug Murray the week after – the same week the Lightning were preparing to come to Spokane and take on the Shock.

Molden quickly asked for his release and called Shock coach Adam Shackleford, who told him to come to Spokane. He took his first train ride a couple of days later. From the time he arrived a couple of weeks ago, Shackleford has made it clear that the receiver was quite a catch for the Shock.

Molden made his Shock debut last weekend, coincidentally in Stockton, and had nine catches for 106 yards. He scored twice in the game – once on a 21-yard pass play and again on a 35-yard kick return.

“It’s rare a player like Etu is available at this point in the season,” Shackleford said. “So far, he’s been great.”

As Shackleford has said, the issue wasn’t if his talent would be a good fit – that was certain. The question was whether a player with Molden’s credentials would have an unfavorable ego to match. Luckily, that hasn’t been the case at all.

“If you didn’t know, talking to him, that he had the resume that he does, you would never know,” Shackleford said. “He just doesn’t walk around here bragging or with a big head – he’s fit right in with everyone here.”

“I’m having a blast,” Molden said. “It’s still the same game and there are a lot of talented guys in this league. The numbers these guys are putting up are remarkable. We’ve got (defensive back Sergio Gilliam) with 16 picks now. I mean, that’s unheard of.

“I’ve never been arrogant. I’m just one of them – I just go out there and play and do my job and everybody has their different roles on every team. This day and age, a lot of guys are about self promotion, I’m not about that. I want to see how I can make my teammates better and how they can make me better. That’s what separates the teams.”

A large part of what separates the AFL from the af2, unfortunately, is the paychecks. Salaries in the AFL range from $40,000 to $200,000, Molden estimated, for six months of work. In the af2, it’s a flat $200 a game, with a $50 bonus for a win.

“Other than (the money), I love playing here,” Molden said. “It’s a good chance to get some film, try and win another championship and get myself to the next level. The money thing – it’s a struggle, especially when I still have legal stuff going on, child support, spousal support – it just isn’t going to get done until I get back up to the next level … this is a means for me to get back into that position.

“Sometimes it’s tough to look at – I look at my check and it’s got some zeros missing.”

Hey – he’s just being honest.