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| (photo credit: Jacksonville Sharks/Twitter) |
The game got off to an inauspicious start, as the two teams traded touchdowns on their first drive. However, the Sharks did catch their first break thanks to a missed extra point, giving them an early 7-6 lead. While not every pass was clean and crisp in the early going, it didn't take long for the flood gates to open, as Tommy Grady found Joe "Superman" Hills on a 24-yard bomb to convert a 3rd-and-6 into a score.
Jacksonville played aggressively on all sides of the ball in the first quarter, and turned up the aggression with an onside kick. Portland recovered, but between a near LaRoche Jackson interception and a David Hyland pass breakup on 4th-and-7, the Steel could do nothing with the advantage.
Derrick Ross, needing only eight yards to surpass 3,000 in his illustrious career, crossed the threshold in style on a 23-yard run to extend the lead to 14-6 towards the end of the first quarter.
To the Steel's credit, they matched the Sharks score for score throughout most of the first half. But, between the dynamic duo of Superman and Tiger Jones, and the return of London Crawford from IR, Portland needed every ounce of talent they had to keep pace.
Tom Gilson and Jabin Sambrano were up to the task, but Sambrano was injured a play after a penalty nullified a touchdown return. His replacement, Christian Wise, was also injured trying to haul in a touchdown catch several minutes later when he landed head-first into the corner boards. Both Sambrano and Wise were able to get up and walk off the field on their own power, but neither returned to the game, leaving Portland with only two legitimate wide receivers the rest of the night.
While this was going on, and Crawford and Jones weren't scoring, the Jacksonville defense hit and hit hard. Shane Austin, recently activated by Portland, took a couple big hits on the night, his first leading to a LaRoche Jackson interception. The pick quickly led to a London Crawford score and a 33-20 lead with just under five minutes left in the first half, and the Steel couldn't get any closer than six points after that. The half finally ended with Jackson's second interception of the night off the rebound net.
Already with a 40-27 lead coming out of the locker room, the Sharks turned it up to remind the league that this was still a team to fear. Joe Hills completed a hat trick to start the third quarter to push it to a three-score game. When Greg Reid intercepted Shane Austin after another big hit, the game was essentially over. Reid returned the ball to the one-yard line, and Derrick Ross took over from there to extend the lead to 52-27 after he was stopped on the following two-point conversion halfway through the third quarter.
Both defenses added a little fire to the rest of the game, as the Sharks kept Shane Austin running for his life and the receivers looking over their shoulders, while the Steel did something that's only happened once before this season: get to Tommy Grady. Yes, Steel DL Brandon Sesay became only the second person to sack Grady this season, the only blemish on what was a near perfect night. Jacksonville paid Portland back with a big hit on WR Tom Gilson, but Gilson did return and eventually finished the game.
The rest of the third quarter was mere icing on the cake, as Superman found the end zone twice more to complete a four-score night, and Greg Reid sealed the game officially with his second interception just outside of the one-minute warning.
Just two weeks after blowing a 19-point lead, the Jacksonville Sharks scored on 10 of their 12 total receptions, with the other two ending each half. Tommy Grady had a night worthy of consideration for the Under Armour Offensive Player of the Week award, as he completed 22 of his 27 passes for 288 yards, eight touchdowns, and no interceptions. His backup, Sean Brackett, completed only one of his four passes for 10 yards in relief.
Shane Austin got a rude welcome back to the league, as he only completed 23 of 43 passes for 233 yards, three touchdowns, and four interceptions. He did score on two quarterback sneaks, and finished with four carries for 11 yards.
Derrick Ross had a typical night on the ground, making history in the process. He carried the ball five times for 40 yards and two scores, ending the night with 3,014 yards and 187 touchdowns in his career. One milestone down, one to go.
Joe Hills also made some history, as he became the seventh active player to catch 500 passes, and continued his touchdown streak to 59 regular-season games. He finished with eight catches for a team-high 114 yards and four scores. Tiger Jones, needing nine catches to pass Hall of Fame receiver Barry Wagner for fifth all-time in league history and 17 to reach 1,000, fell short of both goals. However, he celebrated his 34th birthday with five catches for 69 yards and two touchdowns, still bringing him closer to his own spot in the record books.
London Crawford, seeing his first action in six weeks, finished with a team-high nine catches for 102 yards and two scores of his own.
Portland did have some big nights at receiver, as Tom Gilson finished with game-highs in catches (13) and yards (135) to go along with a touchdown. Jabin Sambrano caught 3 passes for 49 yards and two scores before his injury.
On defense, the three big names were Greg Reid, LaRoche Jackson, and David Hyland. Hyland had a pick-six called back by penalty, and Reid had a 30-yard return of his own. Jackson, not to be outdone, grabbed two passes. Reid and Jackson tied for the game-high at 7.5 tackles.
Now, the Sharks have a short week as players and fans alike pack their respective buses to head to the Jungle to face the Orlando Predators on Friday, May 27.
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