Sharks Shred Firebirds in Home Opener

In the first NAL game from the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, the Jacksonville Sharks (2-0) extinguished the Georgia Firebirds (0-2) 55-26.

The Sharks started the scoring with a three yard touchdown pass from Tommy Grady to Mo Williams for the 7-0 lead. The Firebirds responded when Percy Turner connected with Terrence Ebagua who took it in for six points to pull within one.

Jacksonville came back the ensuing possession and scored on a pass from Grady to Thyron Lewis for the 14-6 lead. Grady would find Darrell Thompson later in the game to extend the lead 21-6.

It was all Jacksonville in this game. The Sharks only gave up six points at the half, which for an arena football game, is unheard of. Jacksonville went wire-to-wire, they never trailed in the entirety of the game, winning the game in more than convincing fashion 55-26.

The Sharks have been in charge in their first two NAL games, scoring 112 points and only giving up 67 points, a 45 point differential.

The first two games have gone to plan for Jacksonville but they will get their first big test of the 2017 season a matchup of unbeatens, an April 1 matchup with the (2-0) Lehigh Valley Steelhwaks kicking off at 7 p.m. ET.

Jacksonville Sharks 2017 Season Preview

The 2017 Jacksonville Sharks find themselves in a new environment this year, deciding to leave the Arena Football League and take part in the National Arena League’s inaugural season under Commissioner John Rodgers.

The Sharks are joined by the Columbus Lions, Leigh Valley Steelhawks, High County Grizzlies, Dayton Wolfpack, Georgia Firebirds, Corpus Christi Rage, and Monterrey Steel.

Little is known about almost all of these teams, all except one. The Sharks are coming in as the most well-known and the team with the most lineage. Out of their seven years in the AFL, the Sharks made the playoffs six times, won their division five times, made two ArenaBowl appearances, and won a last-second classic ArenaBowl against the Arizona Rattlers in 2011, their second year as a franchise.

As well being the most eye-catching team, the Sharks have arguably the two best players in the entire league.

First, fullback  Derrick Ross returns to the Sharks for his third consecutive year. Ross has been in the “indoor game” since 2011, he has been named to the All-Arena First team for three consecutive seasons, and broke the league’s all-time rushing record. If Ross can translate his game over into the NAL the Sharks will have maybe the most unstoppable ground game in the league.

The quarterback is without a doubt the most game changing position on the field and the Sharks have the best one in the NAL. Tommy Grady chose to return to the Sharks after being picked first overall in the AFL dispersal draft. During his time in the AFL, Grady was named to the All-Arena First team, won Offensive Plater of the Year, and also took home the 2012 MVP award.

As of 2016, Grady has thrown for 32,000 yards and 701 touchdowns. Grady could very well be eying up his second MVP trophy.

To say the Sharks are a favorite to win the championship in the NAL’s inaugural season would be an understatement. With the reputation of success the Sharks have built at the highest level, Jacksonville should be expecting their second championship in franchise history.

Jacksonville Sharks Finalize Coaching Staff

The news broke Tuesday afternoon that Jacksonville Sharks head coach Mark Stoute has finalized his coaching staff ahead of the upcoming 2017 season.

Starting with a familiar name, Bob Landsee is returning to the team this season as the offensive consultant. Landsee has a lot of football experience, including earning All-American honors as a center at Wisconsin and getting drafted in 1986 by the Philadelphia Eagles.

Landsee has been coaching in the indoor game since 1999, and has made it to numerous playoffs, including last year. Landsee was on the Sharks’ staff last year, and filled in as interim head coach leading the Sharks to an American Conference Championship game against the Philadelphia Soul.

Joey Smith remained on the staff after being the Sharks’ Defensive Coordinator and Defensive backs in November of last year. Smith and Stoute do have a working history together, the duo worked in the Indoor Football League as coaches for the Cedar Rapids Titans. Smith boasts coaching the No. 1 ranked defense in the IFL in 2016 and his defense pitched only the third shutout in league history in 2015.

BJ Cohen is returning as well this season as the Defensive Line and Linebackers coach. Cohen is entering his fifth year of coaching dating back to 2013 when he was Offensive and Defensive line coach for the New Orleans Voodoo.

Stan Wrubluski joins the Sharks for the 2017 season as the team’s fullbacks and offensive line coach. Wrubluski has worked in almost every single indoor league during his coaching career.

In 2014, he made his coaching debut in the Arena Football League with the Iowa Barnstormers. Since then he has coached with the Orlando Predators, Jacksonville Tomcats in the af2, as well as the Eastern Kentucky Drillers.

 

Jacksonville Sharks Partner With iHeartMedia Jacksonville for Radio Streams

In the duo of media partnerships the Jacksonville Sharks announced their newest radio partner for the upcoming 2017 season.

The news broke last week that the Sharks are partnering with iHeartMedia Jacksonville to broadcast some of the Sharks’ games this year on 97.3 Planet Rock. In addition to that, the deal includes live streaming every single game on 97.3’s website and on iHeartRadio, as well.

While the games will not be broadcasted through them 93.3 The Beat and WQIK will be offering deals to listeners all season long. Also, section 108 will now be known as the “WQIK section” and section 109 is now known as “93.3 The Beat section” inside Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena 

All of iHeartMedia Jacksonville’s eight radio stations will be hosting different giveaways all throughout the year. Seth Harp from 930 AM will host the 2017 Shark Bytes, a weekly segment that will be run Monday-Friday at 4:45 PM. This includes league news, game recaps and previews, and theme nights for all upcoming home games. This segment also will feature either a player, coach, or front office personnel every week.

Jacksonville’s first game is against the Columbus Lions March 17 at the Columbus Civic Center at 7 p.m. ET.