EVERETT – Two games. Two promising leads. Two disappointing losses.
The Everett Hawks (0-2) went back to work this week still seeking their first arenafootball2 victory after last Saturday’s 41-36 loss at Birmingham, Ala.
It does not appear things will get easier anytime soon. Everett must prepare to go on the road again with a Saturday game against the unbeaten Spokane Shock (2-0).
Surprising Spokane, an af2 expansion team, has been Everett’s polar opposite in the first two weeks of the long season.
While the Shock have pulled off two consecutive come-from-behind victories, the Hawks have been unable to put opponents away despite building two-touchdown leads in the first half against both Bakersfield and Birmingham.
The Shock opened their season at home – attracting 9,367 fans bent on shaking off cabin fever to the Spokane Arena – with a 41-40 victory over Stockton.
Spokane followed that up with an impressive 49-45 victory at Bakersfield, Calif., last Sunday. The Shock scored two touchdowns in the final minute to overcome the Blitz.
Everett, meanwhile, lost 60-54 at home to Bakersfield, after leading 33-20 late in the first half. Then, the Hawks broke out to a 13-0 lead at Birmingham, before falling when the Steeldogs scored the go-ahead TD on a controversial play in the waning minutes.
Birmingham’s Lawrence Story, a 6-foot-5 rookie from Jackson State, caught a 20-yard touchdown pass with 4:25 remaining to put the Steeldogs ahead to stay.
Or did he?
Everett defensive back Jamley Austin claimed he knocked the ball down and Story caught it on the bounce off of the turf.
“It’s just one of those things,” Austin said, taking the apparently tough break in stride.
The diminutive, hard-hitting, Austin, who had four unassisted tackles and five assists in the game, was proud of limiting the towering Story to five catches for 52 yards.
“I gave away 10 inches to the guy. It was like looking up at one of those redwoods in Northwest California,” Austin said. “He even made D.J. (Humphries, Everett’s 6-foot-4 wide receiver) look small, but I contained him.”
Coyotes, Shock climb in af2 poll: In the pre-season poll of coaches no west division squad was rated among the top 14 in the 23-team league. After two weeks, the defending champion Memphis Xplorers retained their No. 1 ranking.
The Central Valley (Fresno, Calif.) Coyotes (2-0) and Spokane – Everett’s next two opponents – have climbed to the No. 4 and No. 6 spots.
Expansion plans brewing for af2: League president Jerry Kurz said af2 may add several teams in 2007. The list of possible cities includes Anchorage, Boise and Portland. “We’ll cap at 30 for next year,” said Kurz who is on the road taking in as many as four games a week during the season. “It’s strategic growth that we can still support as a league. If we go much more than 30 in the short run, we can’t give them the league services we need to in order to be who we are.”
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