07/21/2006 1:35 PM - Tonight, the Spokane Shock take on the Everett Hawks in the third and final meeting between these cross-state rivals—the most anticipated match-up yet. The Shock’s victory over the Stockton Lightning upped their record to 12-2, while Everett fell to 4-10 after their loss to the Green Bay Blizzard.

The first two meetings between these rivals ended in Spokane victories: The Shock squeaked past the Hawks at home 44-41 before thumping them in Everett, 58-29.

Hawks QB Brian Baker has stepped up for the Hawks in recent weeks. After an 0-7 start, the Hawks have now won 4 of their last 7 games. Baker has passed for 1545 yards and 35 touchdowns in his seven games with the Hawks, completing 57.9% of his passes.

Baker’s favorite target all season has been Hassan Brockman, who has snared a team-high 71 catches for 701 yards and 14 touchdowns. Brockman will be joined by newcomer JR Thomas, who has caught 19 passes for 332 yards and 6 touchdowns in just 3 weeks with the Hawks. Before coming to Everett, Thomas caught 49 balls for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, including 17 touchdowns.

Thomas and Brockman will be menaced by the Shock secondary which is still rolling behind the talent of Rob Keefe and Isaiah Trufant. Keefe leads the af2 with 9 interceptions, 2 of which he returned for touchdowns. Trufant has stepped up and been a consistent leader for the Shock with 25 tackles and 3 interceptions in just 4 games with the Shock.

The Shock offense is led by QB Kyle Rowley, who has completed 86 of 116 passes for 808 yards and 19 touchdowns in his four games with the Shock. His 74.1% pass completion percentage and quarterback rating of 132.5 lead the league.