Ian Herbst
Associate Communications Director, Virginia Beach Sharks
herbstip@dukes.jmu.edu
Game Recaps
The Sacramento Sasquatches managed to unseat the Virginia Beach Sharks from their No. 1 spot this week, outscoring the Sharks narrowly 117.46-113.08. In his first game action since the start of the season, the Sasquatches’ leading rusher, Le’Veon Bell (144 Rush Yards, 34 Reception Yards), proved to be a force that the Sharks’ porous defense had no answer for. The Sasquatches’ defense also stood up to the test of defending against one of the most prolific passers in recent NFL history, Eli Manning, limiting the 2-time Super Bowl MVP to just 13.44 points during the contest. QB Andy Dalton, on the other hand, had a strong showing for the Sharks, completing 22-31 passes (70.97%) with 1 TD and no interceptions. The Sharks’ running backs, C.J. Anderson and Jeremy Hill, both posted pedestrian numbers against the Sasquatches. Hill rushed for 71 yards and no scores, while the Shark’s lead back, Anderson, rushed for only 49 yards and one TD on 19 carries.
Matchup Preview
After winning their first two games of the season by a combined 105.82 points, the Sharks’ offense has since sputtered, causing them to lose their next two games by a combined 16.32 points
In place of the Virginia Beach Sharks, The Honolulu Medallions have claimed ownership of the No. 1 spot in the league heading into Week 5
The Virginia Beach Shark’s now have a 2-game losing streak, while the Honolulu Sasquatches possess a 3-game winning streak
The Honolulu Megalodons are 3.88-point favorites this week against the Virginia Beach Sharks
Honolulu’s WR Michael Crabtree had 7 receptions for 88 yards and 3 TD’s in Week 4
Honolulu’s RB Orleans Darkwa, despite being largely an unknown name, has tallied a combined 24 points over the last two weeks, and is proving to be a valuable commodity to Honolulu on a weekly basis
Harrisonburg Valley Bees Season Notes
Sharks TE Charles Clay sat out practice Wednesday for undisclosed reasons other than “routine maintenance”.
Tourism has taken a dip in the Virginia Beach area as the threat of Hurricane Matthew is becoming more and more realistic. On top of affecting tourism, public schools have also been forced to reschedule football games as a result of Matthew’s impending presence.
Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) recently announced that extending Light Rail from Norfolk to the Virginia Beach area might be $84-million dollars cheaper than originally thought. Extending the rail system would greatly improve transit conditions in the Virginia Beach area, but taxpayers fear even this price reduction won’t justify the project’s newly estimated bottomline cost of $243-million.