Berg to Face Former Team
July 10, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
DAVENPORT, Iowa â Things will be a little different this time around for Quad City Steamwheelers FB/LB Brian Berg. Prior to the midpoint of this 2003 season, Berg was a member of the San Diego Riptide.
Last season, he was in a Riptide uniform when the Steamwheelers defeated the playoff bound Riptide. In that game Berg rushed twice for seven yards and added 2.5 tackles in the Riptide's 58-41 defeat.
Berg has now migrated east, halfway across the country. And this time, Berg will be on the other side of the ball with a new team, a place that he is happy to be. So what will it be like for Berg taking on his former team?
"My word that I have been using to describe this game has been interesting," Berg said. "There's a couple of players on the team that I want to get after and prove my dominance and the rest of them are a bunch of my boys and with them I really don't want to see anyone have to lose."
Then again who wouldn't want to be on a team that has won 11-straight games and already qualified for the playoffs compared to a team that is 5-8 and is one game out of the playoffs.
San Diego is coming off a win that snapped their five game losing streak, one that included a 53-43 loss on June 7th to Green Bay, which was Green Bay's first victory of the season and a Blizzard team that the âWheelers defeated 75-29 last weekend.
For Berg, taking on former teammates is not always the easiest of tasks for him or any player in any league, but it happens more often than not.
"I will equate that to being in camp because you can be best friends and I have said it before is that the character of a man when it comes to football is what happens on the field, stays on the field," Berg said. "It's not about being friends on the field, it's about a job."
And what about facing his former head coach Cree Morris?
"Cree is a good guy," Berg said. "It should be a lot of fun (going against Morris). I get to prove to him that he made a mistake when he made his âroster moves' (changes) and released me and we'll find out who made the better decision on Saturday."
The game will feature two of the leagues top ten teams in passing offense. The Steamwheelers are at the top of the list with an average of 277.8 passing yards per game while the Riptide are sitting in tenth at 229.2 yards per game.
The Steamwheelers offense is led by QB Tony Zimmerman who is second (behind Albany's Ryan Vena) in passing yards and total offense. Zimmerman has completed 233-of-418 for 3551 yards, 73 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Zimmerman has also rushed 36 times for 66 yards, 15 of those touchdowns. Zimmerman is on pace to break the record for passing touchdowns and has a legit shot at breaking the passing yards record as well.
San Diego's pass attack comes from the arm of af2 two-time Offensive Player of the Week Kane Claunch. Claunch has completed 216-of-365 for 2,945 yards, 54 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Claunch recently won the league weekly honor after his perfect QB rating performance on June 28th against the Wichita Stealth.
Claunch went 16-of-19 for 281 yards and six touchdowns en route to the perfect 158.33 rating.
Zimmerman had a perfect QB rating last week against the Green Bay Blizzard going 17-of-20 for 278 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for two more.
However, he wasn't named the leagues Offensive Player of the Week, as he was beat out by Albany's Ryan Vena who was 20-of-30 for 342 yards, five touchdowns and rushed for three more.
This will be the second time that the two teams have met with the âWheelers holding the 1-0 edge after last seasons regular season finale victory.
The game against the Riptide this Saturday night at The MARK of the Quad Cities has some significant playoff incentives on the line for both teams.
If the Steamwheelers win, they will be assured of a first round bye and home field for at least the second round, National Conference semi-final championship and finish no worse than second in the National Conference race.
The Riptide will be looking to move into the #6 spot in the National Conference, but will need a win over the âWheelers and a Bakersfield loss to do so.
The âWheelers are already assured of at worst a first round home game and finish no worse than #3 in the conference race.
A week following the Riptide game, on Saturday, July 19th, the Steamwheelers will host the undefeated Tennessee Valley Vipers. The Vipers, who won 56-31 against Memphis on Saturday night, could bring an undefeated mark into The MARK, pending the outcome of their upcoming game against the Florida Firecats on Saturday night in Tennessee Valley.
The Steamwheelers will have a chance to defend their af2 perfect regular season record of 16-0 set by the 2000 Steamwheelers. If the âWheelers were to knock off the Vipers (pending the Vipers game this weekend), it would leave the Vipers just short of the record. The 2000 Steamwheelers team is the only team in af2 history to run the regular season table.
The 2001 Steamwheelers were just short, dropping only one close game to the Tulsa Talons on May 12th in the games final minutes 49-47 and finished the season 15-1.
Good tickets are still available for both games and can be purchased at The MARK box office or through TicketMaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 563.326.1111.
The Steamwheelers will then finish the regular season up against their "War on I-74" rival Peoria Pirates in Peoria, Ill. at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 26th. Fans looking to go to the game can purchase special discounted tickets by calling Steamwheelers Ticketing Director Brian Forth at 563.324.HUTT. There will also be a bus available for those fans that want to make the trip and not have to worry about the driving. Information on the trip can be obtained at www.steamwheelerfans.com.
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