Fighters Fall in Close Battle at Quad City
June 10, 2024 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Frisco Fighters News Release
MOLINE, Ill. - A one-two combo put Frisco behind.
Try as they might, the Fighters weren't able to pull back ahead in a 52-49 Saturday night road loss to the Quad City Steamwheelers.
Level at 10 apiece, the hosts' Judd Erickson and Warren Newman III combined for a six-yard passing score with 19 seconds left in the second quarter. Jarrod Harrington returned the opening kickoff of the latter half for another touchdown to make it 24-10 in Quad City's favor.
TJ Edwards sailed a 28-yard air strike to Cole Blackman 1:36 later and Bryce Crawford recovered his own onside kick. That allowed for an eight-play, 39-yard march that was punctuated by Martez Carter's hurdle over Kevin Moore. The five-yard ground score made it a one-point game.
With a 13-yard connection between Erickson and a wide-open Ka'Ron Ashley, the Steamwheelers (5-5) re-opened the gap with 4:10 remaining in the third. Frisco (8-3) cozied up to Quad City on the scoreboard three more times - at 31-30, 38-37, and 45-43. Each time, either Edward Vander or Erickson provided some breathing room by powering in.
Along with two rushing scores, Edwards finished the contest with four air strikes, a pair of which were caught by Blackman and the others by Richard Turner and Lionell McConnell. McConnell's receiving score pulled the Fighters within three with 35 seconds to play.
Raheem Harvey gobbled up the ensuing onside kick, but the Fighters forced a turnover on downs on its own one-yard line with eight ticks left. Edwards completed an 11-yard pass to McConnell, then Crawford's 51-yard field goal try fell just short of the crossbar as time expired.
Crawford's 44-yard field goal provided the only points on either side in the opening frame. Ethan Caselberry jumped in front of a Mike Irwin pass on the next series, but Frisco was unable to capitalize, missing a field goal on the other end of the field. Crawford pushed another try wide as the first half came to a close.
Vander's four-yard surge polished off an 11-play, 45-yard Steamwheelers march that bridged the first and second quarters. Edwards replied to that score by tip-toeing in untouched from a yard out 2:39 later and the hosts' Kyle Kaplan leveled matters at 10 apiece with an 18-yard field goal with 4:27 to go before the halfway point.
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Indoor Football League Stories from June 10, 2024
- Fighters Fall in Close Battle at Quad City - Frisco Fighters
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