Spokane Empire, Colorado Crush use similar strategies

Spokane and Colorado aren’t sharing game plans but the two Indoor Football League teams have the same objectives for Friday’s game at the Budweiser Events Center in Loveland, Colorado.

“We have to get into a situation where we need to force them to throw the football,” Empire coach Adam Shackleford said. “The combination of (quarterback Damien) Fleming and (running back Breon) Allen is as good as we’ve seen all year.”

The book on slowing Spokane’s offense is similar: Contain running back Trevor Kennedy and force quarterback Charles Dowdell to make plays in the passing game.

Asked if he expects that to be the Crush’s defensive priority, Shackleford said, “It is.”

Colorado (2-10) didn’t stick to the plan in the first meeting. Kennedy had four rushing touchdowns and Spokane gained 114 ground yards in a 97-72 win, setting a franchise record for single-game points. Dowdell tossed eight touchdown passes and rushed for 53 yards.

Shackleford is trying to keep bodies fresh in the midst of the team’s stretch of 13 games in 13 weeks. Players had Saturday and Sunday off, a pool workout Monday and practiced just twice before departing Thursday for Colorado. The coach has emphasized staying sharp mentally with more meetings and video sessions.

“Our Tuesday practice was the best of the season,” he said. “I had this whole talk ready after practice about not overlooking this team and I couldn’t use it because they practiced so well.”

The Crush scored 93 points in a win over Iowa earlier this month. Darius Washington leads all IFL receivers in catches (67), yards (1,002) and touchdowns (21). Fleming has 35 touchdown passes and just six interceptions but ranks seventh with a 104.2 passer rating.

Spokane (9-2), which is 3 1/2 games ahead of second-place Billings in the Intense Conference, is chasing home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Sioux Falls (11-1) has the inside track but it faces the Empire on June 18 in Spokane.

– Spokane hopes its season-long kicking issues have been solved with the signing of Pat Clarke. He was supposed to have the job from the outset but suffered an injury prior to the season.

Clarke made 88 percent of his PATs last season in the Professional Indoor Football League. He was 7 of 10 in one game with AFL Philadelphia earlier this season.