Steel Pull Off Upset, Beat Sharks in Playoff Preview

In the first of two consecutive Saturday night matchups, the Monterrey Steel pulled off the biggest upset in the National Arena League’s short history, handing the Jacksonville Sharks their first loss of the season, 44-37.

Both the current and former Shark quarterbacks had terrible starts to the night, as Jason Boltus, who started the night, fumbled the first of three snaps on the night, and Bernard Morris threw an interception on the very next play. Both pivots bounced back, as Boltus finished the next drive with a touchdown pass to Devin Wilson, while Morris capped off his next drive with a long touchdown run.

The rest of the first quarter went Jacksonville’s way, as Moqut Ruffins took a screen pass and ran 25 yards for a touchdown, and Nick Belcher hit his 20th deuce of the season to extend the lead to 16-6. The Steel tried to answer with a quick drive, but Charlie Hunt snagged an interception to end the first quarter.

The second quarter started the exact same way as the first did, as Jason Boltus fumbled another snap, but the Sharks defensive line came in to collectively bat a Bernard Morris pass into the air and catch it for another interception. Boltus scored on a quarterback sneak to extend the lead to 23-6, but that’s when the tide started to turn.

Another former Shark, London Crawford, caught a 20-yard touchdown pass to get the Steel back on the board, but Morris couldn’t escape Charlie Hunt, who got the sack on the two-point conversion attempt. After another fumbled Boltus snap, Morris was sacked again for another big loss. However, Morris rebounded to find David Lewis in the end zone for another touchdown to tighten the screws on Jacksonville.

Jason Boltus, who had an off night, recovered to find Emughedi Umodu in the end zone for the first time of the night, but the lead remained 11 after a rare Belcher missed extra point. Brandon Rutherford made that miss a bit more interesting when he ended the first half with a 35-yard field goal for Monterrey.

The pace of the game slowed down tremendously in the second half, allowing the Steel to slowly come back. First, fullback Jamari Fletcher scored from the one-yard line to cut the deficit to a single point. Then, after three Boltus incompletions led to a stop, Rutherford gave the visitors the first lead of the night with a 34-yard field goal.

With the lead gone, Sharks head coach Siaha Burley made the change under center, and Darien Fleming got the call to see the game out. Fleming found little success on his first drive, and a 34-yard field goal from Nick Belcher went wide left.

While Jacksonville’s defense took Bernard Morris out of the game for a play, it didn’t stop the Steel from scoring again thanks to London Crawford, but a bad snap on the extra point left the door open. The Sharks, trailing in the second half for the first time ever, were now down by eight points and needed a score in the worst way. That score came thanks to Derrick Ross, and Emughedi Umodu caught the tying two-point conversion to give Jacksonville the life they needed.

Neither offense could generate much as the fourth quarter wore on, but Bernard Morris did have the final say, as he found London Crawford again for a late touchdown. The Sharks had time to respond in the final minute, but a Derrick Ross fumble and one final Morris run sealed Jacksonville’s fate.

Both teams now have a lot to learn and a lot of film to study for next week, as the Steel and Sharks will face off yet again in the semifinals. Jacksonville will look to Red Out Veterans Memorial Arena for their first home playoff game since 2013. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 24.

Jacksonville Sharks Stay Unbeaten, Clinch #1 Seed

The Jacksonville Sharks, as they’ve done all season, got off to a slow start against the High Country Grizzlies. But this time, it was very short lived, as Jacksonville took the penultimate step to an undefeated regular season. At the final horn, the Sharks ran out 66-18 winners.

High Country started a new quarterback, Reed Gurchiek, and Jacksonville gave him a true Shark Tank welcome, sacking him on the first play. The drive, which featured two fumbled snaps, ended with a 38-yard field goal attempt going short.

Darien Fleming, however, had early issues of his own. His first drive ended with a Dexter Jackson interception in the end zone. The Grizzlies still struggled thanks to another fumbled snap, but Gurchiek recovered to make a deep pass to Daron Clark. The touchdown eluded them, as the drive ended with a 21-yard field goal.

It would be the last time High Country would score for more than 25 minutes.

In that time, Jacksonville rattled off 34 straight points. Derrick Ross scored twice and came up short a third time, Micheaux Robinson and Charlie Hunt netted an interceptions as part of three turnovers, and three different receivers caught a touchdown pass. Emughedi Umodu, who just signed with the team mid-week, was one of the three.

When Reed Gurchiek found Daron Clark for a 30-yard touchdown pass, and Clark handled a bad snap to run in for a two-point conversion right before halftime, the game was long over at 34-11.

Again, it would be the last time High Country would score for more than 25 minutes.

Jason Boltus came in to start the second half, and he only needed the third quarter to find his rhythm. The defense also made plays in the frame, as newly-married Dale Pierson featured on the first of consecutive sacks, and Jacksonville earned the stop on the ensuing 4th-and-24.

The Grizzlies did score for the final time of the night in the fourth quarter on a Reed Gurchiek run, but after Boltus threw his first touchdown pass as a shark to Maurice Williams. As part of the Sharks scoring the final 25 points of the night, Williams scored again. Derrick Ross also had a long, 22-yard touchdown run, extending his grip on the rushing title.

To round out the offense, Devin Wilson scampered into the end zone. On defense, another debutant, Peter Tulloch, made his mark on the scoresheet with an interception. For special teams, Nick Belcher continued his assault on the kicking record books, hitting two deuces during the scoring run.

With the win, the Sharks are now one game away from starting their NAL tenure with a perfect regular season. The last opponent standing in the way of history is the Monterrey Steel, in a game that could also serve as a semifinal preview. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 17, at Veterans Memorial Arena.