Spokane, WA - 01/02/2009 - For most people the holiday season is a time for family and food – lots and lots of food; unless, you were one of the 30 women selected for the 2009 Shock Dance Team Finals. For those women, the holiday season was not filled with the traditional feasts but endless hours of practice in anticipation of the Finals on January 7th in Downtown Spokane at the Knitting Factory, 919 West Sprague Ave.
The doors to the event will open at 6:30 PM for an all-ages show with a five dollar admission fee. Each dancer will perform a routine that was learned in the first round of the competition and a performance set to the music of their choice with their own chorography.
“It probably has not been their typical Christmas break,” Dance Team Director Maggie Cahalan said. “I know that a lot of the girls have been getting together and practicing in preparation for the finals. It’s a lot of hard work and dedication – but that is what we need from them.”
Last season, the Spokane Shock Dance Team was selected as the Best Dance Team in the af2 for the first time in franchise history.
Spokane, WA - 12/23/2008 - The Spokane Shock announced today that DL Ben McCombs, DL Richard Clebert and FB Demetrius Forney have been added to their 2009 roster. The Shock also announced the return of DL Harrison Nikolao to Spokane for the 2009 season. In yet another roster move, the Spokane Shock also traded WR Alex Watson to the Amarillo Dusters for future considerations.
Nikolao, who played collegiately at Eastern Washington University, registered 13.5 tackles - including seven sacks (second on the team) last season.
“Harrison (6-2 300) plays with a lot of energy,” Head Coach Adam Shackleford said. “Although his numbers didn’t always show it, he made the players around him better. His efforts allowed some of our other defensive lineman to add pressure to the pocket and rack up sacks.”
Shock fans will remember McCombs, 6-4 265, from his days with the Bakersfield Blitz (2006-2007) and with the Central Valley Coyotes (2008). Last season as a member of the Coyotes, McCombs played in nine games and tallied 21 tackles including a team-leading 13.5 sacks. The previous two seasons, while with the Bakersfield Blitz, McCombs played in 30 games and collected 69.5 tackles including 20.5 sacks.
“I think he is the best pass rusher we’ve faced since I’ve been here,” Shackleford said. “I made a promise to myself that if he was not at the AFL level I would do everything within my power, and within the rules, to bring him to Spokane.”
FB Forney, 5-10 300, has spent the last two seasons with the Louisville Fire, leading the team in rushing for a combined 462 rushing yards and 35 total touchdowns (30 rushing with five receptions for touchdowns). In his only appearance against the Shock during the 2007 playoffs, Forney rushed for 16 yards including two touchdowns.
“Coach Shackleford has all the tools for us to win a Championship,” Forney explained. “We’re trying to bring the Championship back to Spokane.”
DL Richard Clebert, 6-0 320, finished his collegiate career at South Florida University. As a member of the Bulls, Clebert lined up as a Nose Guard and collected 77 tackles – including 5.5 sacks – in 38 career games.
The Shock will open the 2009 season at the Spokane Arena on Spokane Tribe Field on April 3rd. Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 509 242 7462.
Spokane, WA - 12/19/2008 - The Spokane Shock announced today that DB Sergio Gilliam, WR Andy Olson and WR Patrick Bugg will return to Spokane for the 2009 season. In an additional roster move, the Shock have traded OL/DL Aryan Barto and DL Jacob Owens to the Manchester Wolves for free agent claim order, moving from the 25th spot to the 15th spot.
Gilliam was named the af2 Rookie of the Year after setting a new af2 single season record for interceptions in a season (16) and collected 50.5 tackles with 25 pass break-ups. During the post-season, Gilliam added four interceptions, five pass break-ups and 9.5 tackles. Gilliam was also named 1st Team all-af2.
“Sergio is the ultimate play-maker; his long body makes him a weapon in the secondary,” Head Coach Adam Shackleford explained. “It’s important for him to come back stay on the field and prepare himself for the 2010 season in the AFL.”
Olson put together an outstanding rookie campaign last year, setting a franchise record for receptions by a rookie (112), leading the team in that category. Olson also collected 20 TD’s (2nd on the team) and 1077 receiving yards.
“Andy is another one of those guys who we expected to move up this year – he has that kind of talent. But since the AFL isn’t an option this season, he knows that Spokane is the best place for him to take his game to the next level,” Shackleford said.
Bugg played in 13 regular-season games last season and came away with 34 receptions - including 15 touchdowns – for 475 yards. During the post-season, Bugg collected an additional 10 receptions – including four touchdowns – for 150 yards.
“There was a stretch towards the end of the season where Bugg was our best receiver,” Shackelford said. “He runs great routes, he has great hands and he is able to use his big body to get himself open.”
With the addition of Gilliam Olson and Bugg 11 players who have now re-signed with the team as they defend their National Conference Championship in 2009. The Shock will open the 2009 season at the Spokane Arena on Spokane Tribe Field on April 3rd. Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling 509 242 7462.
Chicago, IL - 11/10/2008 - arenafootball2 (af2) begins its 10th anniversary season with a special kickoff weekend that features a pair of intriguing divisional games. The League’s opening weekend gets started on Friday, March 20, with a West Division battle as the Tri-Cities Fever travel to Fresno, Calif. to take on the Central Valley Coyotes. On Saturday, March 21, the Florida Firecats host the South Georgia Wildcats in a South Division showdown.
Twenty of the remaining 21 teams in the af2, with the exception of Spokane, get their seasons started in Week 1 (March 27-29, 2009). The 2008 ArenaCup runner-up Shock begin their fourth af2 campaign on Friday, April 3 when they host Stockton.
A number of strong matchups highlight Week 1’s 12-game slate, including the return of Arena Football to Milwaukee, Wisc. The expansion Iron, led by Head Coach GARY COMPTON, open their first season in af2 by hosting the Iowa Barnstormers at the Bradley Center on Friday, March 27. Compton enjoyed a stellar playing career in the Arena Football League which spanned 13 seasons, seven of which were spent in Milwaukee as a member of the Milwaukee Mustangs (1995-2001). Another heavyweight battle that could turn into the main event of the weekend will take place on Saturday, March 28, when the defending Midwest Division Champion Green Bay Blizzard host the reigning ArenaCup Champion Tennessee Valley Vipers at the Resch Center.
“This schedule encompasses the best af2 has to offer in terms of competition, rivalry and balance,” says af2 President Jerry Kurz. “We’re excited by the addition of Milwaukee to our league family and feel that this, our 10th season, will be our most competitive and most entertaining ever.”
A few other notable matchups on the 2009 schedule include:
• The defending Central Division Champion Tulsa Talons host the Lexington Horsemen on Saturday, March 28 at 8:00 ET in the brand-new, state-of-the-art BOK Center. This will be the Talons first contest at their new home after playing their previous nine seasons at the Tulsa Convention Center.
• The Milwaukee Iron host the Green Bay Blizzard in Week 6 on Friday, May 1 at 8:05 p.m. ET at the Bradley Center. This will be the first of three meetings between the two teams in 2009. This matchup should quickly develop into quite a yearly rivalry as the new in-state and Midwest Division opponents are just over 100 miles apart.
• The defending East Division Champion Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers host their long-time division rivals, the Manchester Wolves, in Week 1 on Friday, March 27 at Wachovia Arena. This will be the first of four meetings between the two clubs in 2009. Manchester and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton have squared off 21 times over the past seven years. The Pioneers currently hold an 11-10 advantage in the all-time series. Despite losing the season series 2-1 last year, Manchester was one of only three teams to defeat Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2008.
Each team will play a total of 16 games (eight home/eight away). The alignment consists of the American and National Conference with three divisions per conference. The East, Midwest and South Divisions fall into the American Conference, while the Central, Southwest and West compose the National Conference. Thirteen (13) teams make up the American Conference and twelve (12) make up the National Conference. The full division breakdown is detailed below:
American Conference
SOUTH: Florida, Lexington, South Georgia, Tennessee Valley
MIDWEST: Green Bay, Iowa, Milwaukee, Quad City, Peoria
EAST: Albany, Mahoning Valley, Manchester, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
National Conference
CENTRAL: Amarillo, Oklahoma City, Tulsa
SOUTHWEST: Arkansas, Bossier-Shreveport, Corpus Christi, Rio Grande Valley
WEST: Boise, Central Valley, Spokane, Stockton, Tri-Cities
Optimal Planning Solutions Inc. (www.optimalplanning.com) assisted the af2 in producing the 2008 schedule. OPS is the leading provider of optimization-based professional sports-league scheduling.
The league’s 18-week, 200-game regular season schedule concludes on July 25.
About af2
With its 10th anniversary season set to begin in the spring of 2009, af2 serves as a vehicle to bring Arena Football to small-to-midsize cities and as a developmental league with an unmatched history of sending players, coaches and officials to major professional football leagues each year. af2 operates under the same Mission Statement and Fans’ Bill of Rights as the Arena Football League, which finished its 22nd season in July. Log on to www.af2.com for more information.
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The Shock will open the season at home on April 4th against the Stockton Lightning. The schedule also features out-of-Conference games against the Iowa Barnstormers, the Florida Firecats, the Oklahoma City YardDawgz, and the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Pioneers.
Home game times have been moved to a 7 PM kick-off for the upcoming season, although dates and times are subject to change.
Additionally, the 2009 schedule includes a Friday night home game – on June 26th - to avoid conflicting with Hoopfest games.
Here is the Shock’s 2009 schedule in its entirety:
April 3rd – Stockton Lightning
April 11th – Tri-Cities Fever
April 18th – at Boise Burn
April 25th – at Stockton Lightning
May 2nd – Iowa Barnstormers
May 9th – Boise Burn
May 15th – at Florida Firecats
May 23rd – Central Valley Coyotes
May 30th – at Tri-Cities Fever
June 12th – at Stockton Lightning
June 20th – Tri-Cities Fever
June 26th – Oklahoma City YardDawgz
July 4th – at Iowa Barnstormers
July 11th – Wilkes Barre/Scranton Pioneers
July 18th – at Central Valley Coyotes
July 25th – at Boise Burn