Quad City Steamwheelers game notes
June 3, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
QUICK FACTS:
Quad City Steamwheelers (3-5)
vs. Louisville Fire (5-3)
Date: Saturday, June 4, 2005
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CDT
Site: OS Field at The MARK of the Quad Cities (9,437)
National Anthem: Miss Iowa Carolyn Nicholas
Coin Toss: Larry Rosmilso
Officials: Pat Miles (Referee), Fred Bryan (Umpire), Rick Kruger (Head Linesman), Matt Kukar (Line Judge), Tom Wohlleber (Back Judge)
Radio: WFXN 1230 AM (Jim Albracht and John Furlong)
Webcast: www.steamwheelers.com
Series Record: 5-2 Quad City
Last Meeting: Louisville 53, Quad City 48 on 8/7/04
Streaks: The Steamwheelers won the first four games of the series against Louisville but have dropped two of the last three, including last years playoff game.
Coaches: Rick Frazier (11-13; 0-0 playoffs, Second Season)*
Tommy Johnson (19-21; 1-1 playoffs, First Season)*
*Signifies career marks in af2 only.
THE STAKES: The Steamwheelers are attempting to get back in the win column and snap their four-game losing streak. They are also looking for payback against the Fire who ended the Wheelers season a year ago with a thrilling last second playoff victory.
THE SERIES: This is the eighth all-time meeting between the two sides, and the fifth at The MARK. The Wheelers have averaged to win their five contests by 23.2 points per game while the margin of victory for Louisville in their two wins has been three points. The Fire has never won a regular season game in the Quad Cities.
THE IFs:
If Quad City defeats Louisville, it would
· Give it a 4-5 record on the season.
· Give the Steamwheelers their first win against a non-conference opponent.
· Give Rick Frazier a 12-13 record as an af2 head coach.
· Allow it to avoid losing three regular season home games in a single season for the first time ever.
· Allow the Steamwheelers to avoid the first five-game losing streak in franchise history.
Quad City Steamwheelers (3-5, L4)
(All Times Central)
Date Opponent Time Score Res. Record
4/10 @ WB/Scranton 3:00 64-28 L 0-1
4/16 BOSSIER CITY 7:30 36-29 W 1-1
4/23 @ Oklahoma City 7:30 61-43 W 2-1
4/30 MEMPHIS 7:30 45-42 W 3-1
5/7 @ Amarillo 7:00 58-48 L 3-2
5/14 WB/Scranton 7:30 63-55 L 3-3
5/21 @ Green Bay 7:00 56-49 L 3-4
5/28 OKLAHOMA CITY 7:30 56-49 L 3-5
6/4 LOUISVILLE 7:30
6/11 @ Memphis 7:00
6/18 ALBANY 7:30
6/24 @ Manchester 6:30
7/9 GREEN BAY 7:30
7/16 AMARILLO 7:30
7/23 @ Bossier City 7:00
7/30 @ Louisville 6:30
Quad City Steamwheelers Injury Report
Out- Andre Banks- (R-Ankle) - Long Term I.R.
Out- Brandon Graves- (R- Shoulder) - Long Term I.R.
Out- Alfonso Pugh Jr. (R- Ankle) Short-Term I.R.
Out- Antonio Watson- (R- Hamstring) Short Term I.R.
Out- Brandon Williams- (R- Knee) - Long Term I.R.
Steamwheelers vs. Louisville All-Time Results
4/12/2002 Quad City 36 at Louisville 27 (10,122) W
7/13/2002 Quad City 69 vs. Louisville 26 (6,179) W
5/24/2003 Quad City 42 at Louisville 31 (8,655) W
6/14/2003 Quad City 55 vs. Louisville 30 (6,298) W
6/05/2004 Quad City 61 at Louisville 62 (7,347) L
7/31/2004 Quad City 66 vs. Louisville 38 (7,284) W
8/07/2004 Quad City 48 vs. Louisville 53 (5,952) L
LAST GAME vs. LOUISVILLE
Louisville Fire @ Quad City Steamwheelers
August 7, 2004
The MARK of the Quad Cities
Fire 53, Steamwheelers 48
MOLINE, Ill. After beating the Louisville Fire the previous week to clinch the division title the Steamwheelers found themselves facing off against the Fire in the first round of the ArenaCup playoffs. This time, however, the outcome would be different with the Fire coming out on top 53-48 in a last second heart-breaking loss.
With just seconds remaining Louisville attempted a 53-yard game winning field goal off the foot of Danny Kight. However, he missed it off the left upright. The Wheelers Jeff Hewitt was unable to control the bounce. Demetrius Forney setup a key block allowing Derrick Shepard to fall on the football and give the Fire the victory 53-48 with no time remaining.
Quad City got on the board first with a 34-yard field goal by Marc Samuel with 12:54 left in the first quarter. Louisville responded just a minute and 31 seconds later on a 46-yard touchdown pass. Jeff Hewitt caught his first of three touchdown passes to put the Wheelers back on top 10-7 with 10:07 left to go in the first quarter. Forney caught a one yard Matt Sauk pass with 1:58 remaining in the opening frame to give the Fire a 13-10 lead.
The Wheelers defense would hold the Fire to just one touchdown drive midway through the second quarter. A 25 yard Samuel field goal and a 4 minute 52 second Wheeler drive closed out on a 1 yard Ronnie Gordon run would give Quad City a 20-19 edge at the half.
The Steamwheelers took their momentum from the first half and looked to be building on it as they scored on a 47-yard pass from Gordon two plays into the second half giving Quad City a 27-19 lead. Forney answered for Louisville on a five-yard run to pull the Fire to within one. Gordon would complete his third of four touchdown passes with 3:33 seconds left in the third to put an eight point spread between the two teams. With no time remaining on the clock Sauk connected with Anthony Payton for a 27 yard pass and a Danny Kight PAT once again pulled the Fire to within one.
To start the fourth and final quarter both teams traded rushing touchdowns and Tony Stallings completed the two-point conversion for Louisville to tie the game at 41. With 5:04 left in the game, Hewitt caught his third touchdown pass of the game and the Samuel PAT gave the Wheelers a 48-41 lead. Louisville was able to drive the length of the field and score on a three-yard pass to Stallings. However, Kight missed the PAT and the Wheelers found themselves hanging onto a 1 point lead with just over a minute to go. Louisville found a way to get the ball back and for the second quarter in a roll scored with no ticks left on the clock.
Team 1 2 3 4 Score
Louisville Fire 13 6 14 20 53 Record: (10-7)
Q.C. Steamwheelers 10 10 14 14 48 Record: (10-7)
Scoring Summary:
First Quarter
12:54 QCS SAMUEL, Marc 34 yd field goal, 4-0 2:06, LOU 0 QCS 3
11:23 LOU PAYTON, Anthony 46 yd pass from SAUK, Matt (FRYZEL, Dennis rush failed), 1-46 1:31, LOU 6 QCS 3
10:07 QCS HEWITT, Jeff 18 yd pass from GORDON, Ronnie (SAMUEL, Marc kick), 1-18 1:16, LOU 6 QCS 10
01:58 LOU FORNEY, Demetruis 1 yd pass from SAUK, Matt (KIGHT, Danny kick), 9-42 8:09, LOU 13 QCS 10
Second Quarter
14:17 QCS SAMUEL, Marc 25 yd field goal, 4-2 2:41, LOU 13 QCS 13
07:58 LOU STALLINGS, Tony 6 yd pass from SAUK, Matt (KIGHT, Danny kick failed), 7-38 6:19, LOU 19 QCS 13
03:06 QCS GORDON, Ronnie 1 yf run (SAMUEL, Marc kick), 6-22 4:52, LOU 19 QCS 20
Third Quarter
10:19 QCS COOK, Billy 47 yd pass from GORDON, Ronnie (SAMUEL, Marc kick), 2-45 2:11, LOU 19 QCS 27
06:50 LOU FORNEY, Demetruis 5 yd run (KIGHT, Danny kick), 4-15 3:29, LOU 26 QCS 27
03:33 QCS HEWITT, Jeff 13 yd pass from GORDON, Ronnie (SAMUEL, Marc kick), 3-18 3:17, LOU 26 QCS 34
00:00 LOU PAYTON, Anthony 27 yd pass from SAUK, Matt (KIGHT, Danny kick), 4-43 3:33, LOU 33 QCS 34
Fourth Quarter
10:37 QCS DOTSY, Terrance 2 yd run (SAMUEL, Marc kick), 5-14 4:03, LOU 33 QCS 41
07:52 LOU STALLINGS, Tony 9 yd run (STALLINGS, Tony rush), 2-14 2:45, LOU 41 QCS 41
05:04 QCS HEWITT, Jeff 15 yd pass from GORDON, Ronnie (SAMUEL, Marc kick), 3-41 2:48, LOU 41 QCS 48
01:18 LOU STALLINGS, Tony 3 yd pass from SAUK, Matt (KIGHT, Danny kick failed), 3-37 3:46, LOU 47 QCS 48
00:00 LOU SHEPARD, Derrick 10 yd net recovery, LOU 53 QCS 48
LAST GAME RESET
Oklahoma Yard Dawgz vs. Quad City Steamwheelers
May 28, 2005
OS Field at The MARK of the Quad Cities
Yard Dawgz 56, Steamwheelers 49
MOLINE, Ill The Quad City Steamwheelers fell in yet another heartbreaker on Saturday night, suffering a disappointing 56-49 loss to the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz in front of 5,244 fans at OS Field at The MARK of the Quad Cities. For the fifth straight game, everything was decided in the final minute, but for the fourth consecutive time, the Wheelers were unable to come out on top in the end.
Sam Clemons threw for 289 yards and five scores, all to different receivers, but it was not enough to knock off the Yard Dawgz (4-4) and quarterback Craig Strickland who threw for 317 yards and six scores, including a game-winning 35-yard strike to Al Hunt with 28 seconds left to give his team the lead for good.
Jack Walker Jr. led all receivers with 12 catches while his 115 yards was a team-high. He was on the receiving end of a 24-yard strike from Clemons with 49 seconds left that, following Nick Gattos extra point, tied the game at 49-49 before Hunt scored the game-winner for the visitors.
Quad City had a 24-19 halftime lead but quickly saw that disintegrate as Oklahoma City scored the first 10 points of the third quarter on a Brandon Daniels touchdown reception and a Jason Ball field goal to take a 29-24 advantage. Gatto answered with a field goal of his own to make the score 29-27 heading into the fourth.
With the defenses dominating the proceedings in the first three quarters, it was time for the offenses to take over.
Eric Butler and Travis Burns traded scores early in the fourth before Strickland hit Jarrail Jackson for the second time on the night, making the score 42-34 with 5:21 left. However, Balls extra point was wide left, keeping the lead at eight and giving the Wheelers a chance to tie the game.
They would do just that on the very next play as Clemons hit Tim Dodge with 41-yard strike down the sideline, making the score 42-40. The same duo hooked up again on the two-point conversion to tie the score and set the stage for the dramatic final two minutes.
Team 1 2 3 4 Score
Oklahoma Yard Dawgz 6 13 10 27 - 56 Record: (4-4)
Quad Steamwheelers 14 10 3 22 - 49 Record: (3-5)
Scoring Summary:
First Quarter
12:01 QCS - HEWITT, Jeff 5 yd pass from CLEMONS, Sam (GATTO, Nick kick), 3-45 2:59, OKC 0 - QCS 7
06:48 OKC - BUTLER, Eric 1 yd run (BALL, Jason rush failed), 7-47 5:13, OKC 6 - QCS 7
02:54 QCS - MORRIS, Torey 8 yd pass from CLEMONS, Sam (GATTO, Nick kick), 4-25 3:54, OKC 6 - QCS 14
Second Quarter
14:04 OKC - DANIELS, Brando 7 yd pass from STRICKLAND, Cra (STRICKLAND, Craig pass failed), 5-45 3:50, OKC 12 - QCS 14
08:11 QCS - CLEMONS, Sam 1 yd run (GATTO, Nick kick), 6-30 5:53, OKC 12 - QCS 21
05:46 OKC - JACKSON, Jarrail 27 yd pass from STRICKLAND, Craig (BALL, Jason kick), 3-35 2:25, OKC 19 - QCS 21
00:00 QCS - GATTO, Nick 24 yd field goal, 7-36 0:43, OKC 19 - QCS 24
Third Quarter
12:57 OKC - DANIELS, Brandon 34 yd pass from STRICKLAND, Craig (BALL, Jason kick), 2-34 2:03, OKC 26 - QCS 24
07:27 OKC - BALL, Jason 28 yd field goal, 4--1 2:03, OKC 29 - QCS 24
03:21 QCS - GATTO, Nick 30 yd field goal, 6-12 4:06, OKC 29 - QCS 27
Fourth Quarter
14:11 OKC - BUTLER, Eric 1 yd run (BALL, Jason kick), 5-23 4:10, OKC 36 - QCS 27
10:57 QCS - BURNS, Travis 25 yd pass from CLEMONS, Sam (GATTO, Nick kick), 4-36 3:14, OKC 36 - QCS 34
05:21 OKC - JACKSON, Jarrail 11 yd pass from STRICKLAND, Craig (BALL, Jason kick failed), 7-45 5:36, OKC 42 - QCS 34
04:09 QCS - DODGE, Tim 41 yd pass from CLEMONS, Sam (DODGE, Tim pass from CLEMONS, Sam), 1-41 1:12, OKC 42 - QCS 42
02:09 OKC - DANIELS, Brandon 32 yd pass from STRICKLAND, Craig (BALL, Jason kick), 2-46 2:00, OKC 49 - QCS 42
00:49 QCS - WALKER JR, Jack 24 yd pass from CLEMONS, Sam (GATTO, Nick kick), 3-32 1:20, OKC 49 - QCS 49
00:28 OKC - HUNT, Al 35 yd pass from STRICKLAND, Craig (BALL, Jason kick), 3-45 0:21, OKC 56 - QCS 49
MISCALLANEOUS TEAM NOTES
Will Twice Be Just As Nice?: For just the second time in team history, the Steamwheelers are two-games below .500, standing at 3-5. The only other time the Wheelers were more than one game under the .500 mark was at the start of the 2003 campaign when they were 0-2 after a pair of one-point losses to Hawaii and Louisville to start the season. Those losses were followed up by 14 consecutive wins that led Quad City to its third division title in four years.
In order to win the Midwest title this season, Quad City would need to surpass Oklahoma City, Amarillo and Memphis who stand one, two and four games ahead of it at the midway point of the season.
Beasts in the East: If the playoffs were to begin today, a 3-5 team, the Macon Knights, would qualify for the playoffs in the American Conference. But despite that fact, the Wheelers have had an uncharacteristically difficult time with the teams of the American Conference (specifically the East Division) so far this season. With a series sweep at the hands of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, as well as a road defeat in Green Bay, Quad City is 0-3 in games outside of their conference with games against Louisville (6/4), Albany (6/18) and Manchester (6/24) coming up in the next four weeks.
Those numbers are vastly out of character for a Steamwheelers team that did not lose a single non-conference game in its first four years of existence, going 7-0. Last year the Wheelers went 5-2 out of the National Conference, losing twice to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, to give them a 12-2 non-conference record coming into this season.
Clemons Keeps Climbing the Charts: In his first season with the Steamwheelers, quarterback Sam Clemons has done much in order to get his name recognized alongside the franchises past star signal callers. In his first eight games for the club, Clemons has tallied 196 completions on 289 attempts, good for a 67.8 completion percentage, and just six interceptions, while throwing for 2,146 yards and 40 touchdowns. The af2 rookie finds himself near the top of the league in nearly every statistical category: 2nd in pass completion percentage (67.8), 2nd in pass completions (196), 2nd in pass rating (110.7), 3rd in total offense (2,170), 4th in passing average per game (268.2), 4th in passing yards (2,146), 5th in pass attempts (289), 5th in passing yards per attempt (7.4), and 7th in touchdown passes (40). The California native is currently on pace to throw for 4,292 yards, just 62 yards shy of the Steamwheeler record set by Tony Zimmerman in 2003 and also throw for 80 touchdowns just 13 shy of the Zimmermans team record, also set in 03.
Deja Vu All Over Again: For the second straight week in a row with time winding down the Steamwheelers allowed the opponent to score. Both times the Wheelers had an opportunity to drive the length of the field and orchestrate a comeback, but both times they fell short by the same score of 56-49. This was the first time in Quad City history that consecutive games ended with the exact same score. Interestingly enough the same thing almost happened in 2004 and Green Bay was involved, but the Wheelers finished on top in both games. On May 1st the Steamwheelers defeated Green Bay 47-26. One week later they traveled to Peoria and won 47-20, leaving a six point differential in the scores.
Fabulous Forney: Louisville RB/LB Demetrius Forney was named the af2s U.S. Army Ironman of the Week following his five tackles/five touchdown performance against Albany on Friday night. Forney, who entered the game with just three carries for two yards on the season, gained 31 yards rushing on nine carries and found the endzone on five of those, including a 21-yard scamper in overtime to put his team in front. The five rushing scores tied an af2 record that was last matched in 2003.
Forney was equally impressive on defense, tallying five tackles, three unassisted, while also recording a sack and forcing a fumble on the games final play, ensuring the Fire of a 62-55 home win over the Conquest at Freedom Hall.
So Long Sheppard: Last year Derrick Shepard broke the hearts of Quad City fans when he recovered a missed field goal and ended the Steamwheelers season with no time left in the first round of the ArenaCup Playoffs. There will be joy in the hearts of QC fans this time knowing they wont have to see Shepard this weekend as he was placed on recallable reassignment on Tuesday. Through four games this year the OL/DL had recorded three tackles including one for a loss, along with one blocked kick.
TALE OF THE TAPE: The Steamwheelers remained in 12th in the latest Weekly Coaches poll with 36 points while the Fire improved to No. 5 with 139 points. Here is a complete look at the statistical breakdown of the two teams. (All stats as of 5/26/05)
STATISTICAL STEAMWHEELERS FIRE
CATEGORY RANK STAT RANK STAT
Scoring Offense 13th 46.4 6th 50.1
Scoring Defense 14th 51.4 12th 49.6
Total Offense 3rd 285.6 4th 280.8
Total Defense 17th 281 16th 278.9
Pass Offense 2nd 272.5 3rd 267.1
Pass Defense 18th 266.4 15th 253.9
Rushing Offense 15th 13.1 14th 13.6
Rushing Defense 4th 14.6 16th 25
Pass Rating 3rd 110.0 2nd 110.8
Pass Def. Rating 15th 105.9 6th 101.2
Kickoff Returns 10th 19.7 15th 17.3
MFG Returns 13th 14.7 17th 8.2
Turnover Margin 15th -0.50 5th 0.62
Field Goals T-10th .250 7th .400
PAT Kicking 1st .843 12th .788
Sacks By T-9th 10 T-18th 5
Sacks Against T-13th 12 T-2nd 4
First Downs 4th 161 1st 175
Opp. First Downs 15th 149 T-18th 159
Penalty Yards 5th 51 6th 51.8
Opp. Penalty Yards 8th 59.4 14th 54.8
Quad City Steamwheelers Recent Transactions
4/08/2005 Assigned WR/DB Tim Dodge
4/08/2005 Assigned K Nick Gatto
4/08/2005 Moved OL/DL Brandon Williams from Short-Term Injured Reserve to Long-Term Injured Reserve and placed WR/DB Danny Thomas on Short-Term Injured Reserve
4/13/2005 Traded OL/DL Antonio Dingle to the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz for OL/DL Will Goodloe and Future Considerations. Goodloe was then placed on the Refused to Report list.
4/15/2005 Activated WR/LB Alfonso Pugh Jr. from Short-Term Injured Reserve and placed OL/DL Ryan Bell on Waivers.
4/22/2005 Activated WR/DB DeOnte Taylor and WR/DB Danny Thomas from Short-Term Injured Reserve. Placed FB/LB Scott Power and WR/LB Alfonso Pugh, Jr. on Short-Term Injured Reserve.
4/28/2005 Activated OL/DL Mikey Novak from Long-Term Injured Reserve. Placed WR/DB DeOnte Taylor on Recallable-Reassignment.
4/29/2005 Recalled WR/DB DeOnte Taylor and placed WR/DB Danny Thomas on Team Suspension.
5/06/2005 Activated FB/LB Scott Power and WR/LB Alfonso Pugh, Jr. from Short-Term Injured Reserve. Placed WR/DB DeOnte Taylor and OL/DL Mikey Novak on Short-Term Injured Reserve.
5/10/2005 Activated WR/DB Danny Thomas from Team Suspension and placed him on recallable reassignment.
5/19/2005 Activated OL/DL Mikey Novak and WR/DB DeOnte Taylor from Short-Term Injured Reserve. Placed WR/DB Alfonso Pugh Jr. and DS Antonio Watson on Short-Term Injured Reserve.
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