Post by David on Jun 26, 2015 14:45:05 GMT -8
Spokane Shock History
2007 Season: Shackleford takes the Helm
Year Two
Regular Season Record: 12-4 (West Division Champions)
Playoff Record: 0-1
Coaches: Adam Shackleford (Head Coach/Offensive Coordinator), Troy Biladeau (Defensive Coordinator), Doug Biddle, Alex Sirianni
The 2007 Spokane Shock season was the team’s quest to defend their ArenaCup title, but there’d be more teams to fight for a right to the big dance. The af2 expanded from 23 teams in 2006 to 30 teams in 2007, with two franchises (Macon Knghts, Memphis Xplorers) folding in the process.
The Shock played in the West Division of the American Conference, which consisted of the Central Valley Coyotes, Stockton Lightning, Everett Hawks, and the Bakersfield Blitz. There were two new faces to the West Division: the expansion Boise Burn and the Tri-Cities Fever, who previously played in the NIFL. It’s also worth pointing out that the entire West Division was shifted to the American Conference in 2007, but there was no explanation given for this move.
Logos, Colors, and Uniforms
The tweaked 2007 jerseys (left) and the 2006 style (right) in the same game (image courtesy of Spokane Shock)
For the most part, the Shock’s logos and uniforms remained relatively unchanged in 2007. However, there were subtle tweaks in the Shock uniforms in 2007 due to a different uniform manufacturer. According to the uniform manager at the time, the quality of the jerseys weren’t as well made as the 2006 jerseys. There were some games where Shock players remaining from the 2006 squad wore their old jerseys in the same game.
Season Summary
QB Andrico Hines (left) and HC Adam Shackleford (right) were tasked with defending the 2006 ArenaCup title. (image courtesy of the Spokesman-Review)
The Shock’s second season as a franchise in 2007 would bolster changes not only to the roster, but to the head coach position after Chris Siegfried accepted a position with the AFL’s Kansas City Brigade. In September of 2006, the Shock would announce former Louisville Fire offensive coordinator Adam Shackleford as head coach.
In front of a sold out crowd of 10,653 at Spokane Arena on March 31, 2007, the defending ArenaCup Champions took the field against the Stockton Lighting. On the first play from scrimmage, the Lighting would fumble the opening kickoff, resulting in a Shock fumble recovery and touchdown which propelled Spokane to a 51-35 victory.
The Shock would go on to lose their next three out of five games before visiting the Boise Burn in Week 8 where they would rattle off the first 20 points of the game on their way to handing the Burn their first home loss of the year in a 62-44 Shock victory. A Week 12 loss to division rival Tri-Cities would be the only other loss during the final ten weeks of the regular season.
A Week 14 Shock win against the Central Valley Coyotes in Fresno, CA was highlighted by the quarterback to receiver combination of Andrico Hines and Antoine Savage. In the 76-57 Shock victory Savage tied the af2 record and set a new franchise record for touchdown receptions in a single game with eight while Andrico Hines would throw for nine touchdowns on the night, a new franchise record.
The Shock would go on to post a 12-4 overall record during the regular season and clinch their second consecutive West Division title. The Shock would go on to face the Louisville Fire in the first round of the af2 playoffs and fall by a final score of 35-62 to end their 2007 trophy chase.
2007 REGULAR SEASON RESULTS
The 2007 af2 schedule was set up so that all 30 teams played 16 games in 18 weeks with each team possessing two Bye weeks.
The following is the results of Spokane's 2007 schedule (bold blue denotes home games).
MARCH:
Week 1 -- Sat., March 31st - Stockton Lightning (W 51-35)
APRIL:
Week 2 -- Sat., April 7th – Quad City Steamwheelers (L 39-60)
Week 3 -- Sat., April 15th – at Fort Wayne Fusion (L 56-63)
Week 4 -- Sat., April 21st –Lubbock Renegades (W 63-26)
Week 5 -- Sat., April 28th – at Stockton Lightning (W 58-55)
MAY:
Week 6 -- BYE
Week 7 -- Sat., May 12th – Bakersfield Blitz (L 28-44)
Week 8 -- Sat., May 29th – at Boise Burn (W 62-44)
Week 9 -- Sat., May 26th – Central Valley Coyotes (W 66-63)
JUNE:
Week 10 -- Sat., June 2nd – Everett Hawks (W 52-47)
Week 11 -- Sat., June 9th – at Bakersfield Blitz (W 40-21)
Week 12 -- Sat., June 16th – at Tri-Cities Fever (L 34-39)
Week 13 -- Sat., June 23rd – Boise Burn (W 60-28)
Week 14 -- Sat., June 30th – at Central Valley Coyotes (W 76-57)
JULY:
Week 15 -- BYE
Week 16 -- Sat., July 14th – Tri-Cities Fever (W 56-36)
Week 17 -- Sat., July 21nd – at Amarillo Dusters (W 55-19)
Week 18 -- Sat., July 28th – at Everett Hawks (W 65-38)
PLAYOFFS
AUGUST:
Round 1 -- Sat., August 1st – Louisville Fire (L 35-62)
AWAY VENUES
Amarillo Dusters - Amarillo Civic Center; Amarillo, Texas
Bakersfield Blitz - Rabobank Arena; Bakersfield, California
Boise Burn - Qwest Arena; Boise, Idaho
Central Valley Coyotes - Selland Arena; Fresno, California
Everett Hawks - Everett Events Center; Everett, Washington
Fort Wayne Fusion - Allen County War Memorial Coliseum; Fort Wayne, Indiana
Stockton Lightning - Stockton Arena; Stockton, California
Tri-Cities Fever - Toyota Center; Kennewick, Washington
Individual Statistic Leaders
Passing
Andrico Hines – 275/428, 2,806 yards, 62 TD, 8 INT
Justin Rummel – 45/65, 629 yards, 13 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
Ben Brown – 44 attempts, 152 yards, 12 TD
Katon Bethay – 42 attempts, 139 yards, 10 TD
Chico Mackey – 18 attempts, 85 yards, 8 TD
Receiving
Antwone Savage – 110 receptions, 1,482 yards, 40 TD
Raul Vijil – 57 receptions, 616 yards, 15 TD
Kelvin Dickens – 57 receptions, 578 yards, 11 TD
Chico Mackey – 19 receptions, 329 yards, 5 TD
Andre Rector – 32 receptions, 262 yards, 3 TD
Anthony Brown – 22 receptions, 235 yards, 3 TD
Kick Returns
Statistics Not Available
Kicking
Jon Koker – 3/10 FG, 87/118 XP, 96 points
Defensive
Statistics Not Available
Honors and Awards
First Team All-af2: Antwone Savage (WR), Rob Keefe (DB)
Second Team All-af2: Rico Ochoa (OL), Devon Parks (DL)
Season Summary provided by the Spokane Shock in the Season Ticket Holder 2015 Pre-Season program.