Former \'Wheelers Quarterback Gordon to AFL\'s Dragons
January 14, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
DAVENPORT, Iowa â Quad City Steamwheelers coach Rick Frazier is going to have to talk with some of these Arena Football League teams. If the AFL coaches have their way, the Steamwheelers aren't going to have many players left for the upcoming 2005 season.
Another, now former, Steamwheelers player has made the jump to the AFL. Quarterback Ronnie Gordon got the call from the New York Dragons this week, with the signing becoming official on Friday evening.
Gordon spent the past two years with the Steamwheelers after making his arenafootball2 league debut in 2002 with the Peoria Pirates. After spending the 2003 season with the Steamwheelers as the backup to 2003 af2 Offensive Player of the Year, quarterback Tony Zimmerman, Gordon had a breakout, career year in 2004 with the Steamwheelers. Gordon will be joining Steamwheelers 2002 wide receiver/linebacker Chris Anthony.
The former Vanderbilt star Gordon completed 269 of 474 passes for 4,018 yards and 67 touchdowns to only 14 interceptions. Gordon was just as effective with his ground game, rushing for a Steamwheelers record 23 touchdowns, breaking the old mark of 17 set by Zimmerman the previous year. His combined passing and rushing touchdowns of 90 led the league in scoring last season.
In 2003 behind Zimmerman, Gordon saw limited action, but completed 8 of 12 passes for 145 yards and four touchdowns. Zimmerman is now with the AFL's Philadelphia Soul.
In 2002, Gordon was a part of a Pirates team that won the ArenaCup. Gordon played in nine games for the Pirates and completed 54 of 110 passes for 725 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also rushed for three scores.
His career numbers total to 331-of-596 passes completed for 4,888 yards, 85 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. He has rushed for 218 yards and 27 touchdowns on 89 carries.
Another Steamwheelers player was also recently signed to an AFL roster. However, offensive lineman/defensive lineman Tyshaun Whitson has yet to play a game for the âWheelers. Whitson joined the âWheelers 2005 roster on Jan. 3, but will now be suiting up for the Las Vegas Gladiators in training camp.
Whitson, a veteran of the AFL, has also spent time with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League. He was a 2001 training camp cut.
A year later, he began his Arena Football career. He got his start in 2002 with the Grand Rapids Rampage and spent the season on the practice squad. The next year he played for the Steamwheelers former archrival Peoria Pirates. With the Pirates, he accounted for 17 tackles, three tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks and forced two fumbles.
The performance earned him another shot in the AFL, this time with the Colorado Crush. He started the season on the practice squad with the Crush and saw action in one game, but did not record any stats. He then joined Frazier in Grand Rapids to close out the 2004 season and played in three games for the Rampage and recorded one tackle.
The 6-foot-6, 325-pound, Whitson was a standout offensive tackle at Baylor University in 1999 and 2000. He started every game his junior and senior year and was a part of a 1999 offensive line that saw the same five players start every single game. Prior to Baylor, Whitson attended Pasadena City College, playing both the offensive and defensive lines. He was an all-conference player at defensive tackle and also a Junior College All-American.
With Gordon and Whitson both joining the ranks of the AFL that brings the total to 16 of former Steamwheelers players in the AFL. The Steamwheelers also have three players, wide receiver/defensive back Tim Dodge, defensive specialists Chazz Moore and Asa Francis, who are going to be playing in NFL Europe this spring.
The Steamwheelers are gearing up for their sixth season, as a charter member of the af2 under new coach Rick Frazier, a veteran head coach in the Arena Football League. The 2005 af2 season is set to kickoff the first weekend of April, with the Steamwheelers opening their season on the road the following weekend at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Their first home game of the 2005 season will come on Saturday, April 16, at 7:30 p.m., when they host the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings. Season tickets are now on sale and can be purchased by calling the Steamwheelers office at (563) 324-4888 or toll free at 1-866-STEAMTIX (78326849).
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