Shockers Lose Poeltl and Game 24-20

May 17, 2008 Fort Lewis, WA 

The Shockers top rusher Rory Lee went down on his first carry from scrimmage with an apparent knee injury and a few moments later, the Shockers top All-Purpose player in Bobby Poeltl was also down. Lee would return, Poeltl would not and the Shockers could not dig themselves out of a 21-6 defecit on the field turf at Cowan Stadium.

Three long pass plays, the same plays that have doomed the Shockers in 2 previous losses accounted for 2 Ram TD's and the other set up a quick toss over the middle to a tight end for the 3rd and the Shockers found themselves down 21-6 at halftime. More disturbing than that was seeing Poeltl loaded into the back of a military ambulance with a major leg injury. The injury occured on a personal foul unnecessary roughness penalty when Bobby was thrown to the ground well out of bounds after his first and only catch of the day. Poeltl braced awkwardly and was later to be diagnosed with a leg fracture and torn thigh muscle in the back of his knee. The injury ends Poeltl's second year with the Shockers after posting 2,000 yards in 2007 and earning Minor League Football News player of the Year honors.

The Shocker defense made adjustments and held the Rams scoreless with the exception of a 4th Quarter field goal, but without Poeltl and Lee on offense, the Shockers had trouble making consistent gains and moving the chains. A TD pass from Jacob Hicks to Fort Lewis soldier Ryan Reis was taken off the board to an infraction called on the play. Another Fort Lewis soldier, David Minnis, took the load from Rory Lee rushing for over 100 yards and first quarter TD, while fellow soldier Byron Arnold had a break-out game playing both sides of the ball. Arnold stepped in at corner where the Rams had burned the Shockers deep and held the Rams at bay the remainder of the game. Late in the 4th quarter Byron shifted over to offense and Jacob Hicks hit him deep for a touchdown pass, the ensuing onside kick was unsuccessful.

Facing 4th down inside Shocker territory, the Rams looked to tack on more points in an effort to bolster their playoff position, but Rory Lee, returning to the game on the defensive side of the ball fired through and blocked the attempt. Safety Randy Alderman scooped up the loose ball and raced some 60 yards for the Shocker TD putting the game at 24-20 with 2 seconds to play. The 2-point conversion was no good, and the ensuing onside kick narrowly slipped away from reserve QB Mark Meadows as time expired. The Shockers travel to Oak Harbor for the EFL regular season finale against the Skagit Valley Lightning.

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