Spokane Shock loses power, game against Massachusetts in double OT

The Massachusetts Pirates sailed into Spokane Arena and looted the Shock for three-quarters before stormy seas set in and affected the game.

After a 3-hour and 50-minute battle, the Pirates defeated the sub-manned Shock 63-57 in double overtime on Saturday evening.

A gathering storm outside the arena resulted in the blue-orange field being shrouded in complete darkness in the third quarter 1:11.

The blackout delayed the game by 22 minutes as the arena went completely black as fans started cheering and turning on their cell phone flashlights.

A weakened shock (6: 4) started Marcus McDade – their third quarterback of the season – and running back Davonte Sapp-Lynch also had to pause with an unknown injury.

After the two teams exchanged field goals early on, the Pirates (8-3) fumbled back for a touchdown and returned to Spokane’s 7-yard line with an interception.

Massachusetts scored a goal on that drive and took a 17-3 lead.

At the beginning of the fourth drive of the Shock, McDade was benched for a series and replaced by Cedric Poole – a defensive back from Trade. But this experiment didn’t last long as Poole couldn’t keep the drive going.

McDade orchestrated Spokane’s first touchdown on the next drive when Troy Evans caught a McDade pass over the middle, broke a tackle, and galloped into the end zone for an 18 yard score.

On the next drive from Massachusetts, a mistake in the Pirates snap sailed the ball over the head of quarterback Alejandro Bennifield. He climbed towards his own end zone, collected the ball, and heaved it 40 yards into the field, where a Shock defender broke and caught the ball, bringing it back to the Pirates’ 5.

Spokane could only make three points out of this and were crammed with three straight games.

The Pirates responded with a touchdown on a back corner fade from 25 yards and extended the lead to 31-13.

Spokane was trying to break into some momentum when the offensive line opened a massive hole on the left and McDade plunged to a 17-yard score just before the one-minute warning.

But Massachusetts challenged the call on the field and the run was changed to a 15 yard win, down on the 2nd.

Two games later, the shock scored on a playing field.

Massachusetts drove down the field and with 5.3 seconds to go, Bennifield scrambled to the left and threw over his body for another Pirates touchdown for a 38-20 lead in the half.

The Pirates received the ball first after the break and scored a field goal.

On Spokane’s next drive, McDade scrambled to perfection, first backwards towards his end zone, then to the left, before stepping and firing a 14-yard punch at Troy Evans in fourth.

Edgar Allen Poe, one of the Shock’s new faces, stepped in as quarterback and led a scoring drive that ended with a pass touchdown to Evans – his third of the game.

Spokane’s next drive was led by McDade, who went back under the middle and sent Keyvan Rudd to his left for a touchdown less than a minute before the start of the game.

The quarterback followed up with a 2 point conversion to pull the shock within eight, 50-42.

The subsequent onside kick had to be performed twice as Spokane earned a penalty on the first. They grabbed the resulting onside kick for a chance to level the score.

Spokane drove the field with 58 seconds to go to draw within two when McDade took the read option to his right and into the end zone.

On the 2-point attempt, McDade struck behind Rudd and the loose ball turned into a botched conversion.

But at kick-off, Sawyer Petre shot a two to send the game into overtime.

Massachusetts scored a TD on their first possession in overtime before Spokane responded with a TD of their own when McDade threw a touchdown against Evans.

In the second overtime, McDade lost a fumble on a snap. The Pirates crowned the victory with a Bennifield touchdown run.

Next week the Shock are back on their way to Frisco, Texas to play the Fighters. Spokane lost 36:33 to Frisco in the first game of the season.