Vijil remains vigilant in title drive

One year later, the bitter taste of defeat motivates Raul Vijil.

The three-year veteran Shock receiver savored the sweet experience of capturing an arenafootball2 championship when Spokane won the ArenaCup as an expansion team in 2006. Last year Vijil saw the sour side of postseason play when the Shock were upset by the Louisville Fire in the first round of the playoffs.

Now Vijil – who is second in the league in scoring (18 points a game) and fourth in all-purpose yards (181.8 yards a game) and touchdown receptions (35) – is hoping to play for another league title. The first step the top-seeded Shock (15-1) will have to take is beating the visiting Austin Wranglers on Saturday night at the Arena.

“I’m definitely letting (my teammates) know what the playoff experience is like,” Vijil said. “Home games here are like a playoff experience anyway, so that will help us a lot. I’ve experienced a championship and I’ve experienced a first-round loss and I have that bad taste in my mouth right now.

“We’ve had some close games – we know when teams come in to Spokane that they want to win.”

That’s also why the Shock aren’t putting much stock in this season’s 62-42 victory over the expansion Wranglers on May 24.

This is the time of year, as Vijil has seen first hand, anything can happen.

“We’ve got a target on our backs being the only one-loss team, the No. 1 seed in the country,” said Vijil. “Every team is going to step up and give us their best game.

“(Austin) is pretty much the same team (we saw earlier in the year). They’re up and down. When they play a good team they play well, and when they play a bad team they kind of play down to their level, so that’s why they are sitting as an eighth seed right now.

“But we definitely know they have the ability to play a tough football game, so we’re focused.”

Bethay won’t play

First the bad news – Shock fullback Katon Bethay, one of Spokane’s trio of three-year veterans, will not be available for this weekend’s game.

The good news is Bethay, who originally thought his season could be over after reinjuring his right knee in last Saturday’s game against Boise, could be ready to play by next week.

“Looks like we’re going to have him back if we play well enough and are fortunate enough to win this game – possibly even by next week,” Shock coach Adam Shackleford said.

The other good news is that the Shock’s roster is deep enough that the loss of Bethay doesn’t mean the dream of a deep playoff run is broken.

“We’ve won games without Katon,” Shackleford said. “We understand how important he is in what we’re trying to accomplish, but we’ve got guys who can fill in.”

Harrison Nikolao, predominantly a two-way lineman for the Shock this season, will fill in for Bethay on Saturday.

“He’s shown great progress at fullback,” Shackleford said.

Extra points

Several Spokane players (in addition to Vijil) finished the regular season among the league’s top producers. Quarterback Nick Davila finished third in pass efficiency (119.2), fourth in pass completion percentage (67), ninth in total offensive yards averaged per play (7.2) and 10th in total offense TDs (66 passing, eight rushing – 74 total). Shock kicker Brian Jackson finished fourth in the league in scoring among kickers. Jackson made 106 of 119 PAT kicks and 6 of 13 field goals (7.8 points a game). Jackson finished second in PAT kicks made, sixth in PAT kicking percentage (89.1). Defensive back Sergio Gilliam topped the league in interceptions (16 – an af2 record, breaking Kelly Snell’s record of 15 set in 2002). Shock lineman Devon Parks’ 15.5 sacks were good for fourth in the league. … Austin quarterback Andy Hall finished second in the league in total offense, averaging 281.1 yards a game, just behind Arkansas QB Kyle Rowley, who played for Spokane in its 2006 run to the ArenaCup.