Louisville Fire beats the Quad City Steamwheelers in a classic, af2 barn-burner.

July 15, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release


With Saturday's 67-60 loss to the Louisville Fire, the Quad City Steamwheelers' chances for a spot in the af2's American Conference playoffs just got a lot more difficult. The ‘Wheelers, now 6-8, must win their two remaining games and see some other conference foes fall in the coming weeks in order to secure a spot in the af2's second season. The Fire, on the other hand, managed to position themselves as the team to beat in the American's Eastern Division going into week 17.

"I liked the way our guys were flying around out there," said Head Coach Rick Frazier in an interview on the Steamwheeler's post-game radio show. "We took a hit here tonight, but we're not out of it yet."

The Steamwheeler defensive unit, a group that yielded only 21 points last week to Tennessee Valley, managed to hold the red-hot Louisville Fire to just three touchdowns in the first thirty minutes of the game. But after the half, the Fire managed to use a combination of onside kicks, adroit clock management and the highly accurate passing of QB Brett Dietz (24-33-1) to get into position to win. A fourth quarter interception of a Tim Hicks (17-28-1) pass served as the spark that ignited the Fire's second half comeback that wasn't completely secure until the final sixteen seconds of the game.

As a re-match of the two teams' overtime battle earlier this season, this game lived up to all the hype.

The game started in typical af2 fashion, with both teams scoring on their first two possessions. Then, with 12:24 left to go in the first half, Louisville executed the first of a series of onside kicks. Their first onside kick resulted in a Louisville recovery on their own 14-yard line. Smelling a momentum shift, Dietz started to work his unit down the field by completing a 4-yard pass to WR/DB Nate Green and then giving the ball to former ‘Wheeler FB/LB Scott Power. Dietz's next pass, however, was picked off by Steamwheeler WR/DB Troy Graham who ran the ball back 41 yards for a touchdown.

A missed extra point by Fire Kicker, Dave Hedrix, later in the quarter helped the Quad City team build their advantage to eight after a 14-yard Hicks pass to OS Kris Peters was followed by a successful PAT by Kicker Kimo Naehu.

The Steamwheeler's momentum continued to build through the second quarter when FB/LB Kika Kaululaau blocked an attempted field goal, giving the Quad City offense the ball on the Louisville 20. Five plays later, Hicks ran the ball in from one yard out to build up a 35-20 lead going into the half.

"We felt really good going into the half," said Frazier. The Quad City coaching staff's game plan was coming together nicely. Even with the lost onside kick, Graham's pick had managed to create a 14-point swing that served as the majority of the team's lead after the first thirty minutes.

The second half, however, turned out to be a different story.

Louisville scored on their first possession after the half, closing the differential to just eight points. Then, for the second time that night, the Fire attempted another onside kick. In a mad scramble for the ball, Quad City DS Sid Lewis managed to come up with the ball. Hicks made the Fire pay by throwing a nine-yard dart to WR/DB Tim Dodge. The ‘Wheelers fumbled the PAT snap, however, making the score 41-27.

Dietz responded on the next possession by executing on a seven-play drive that culminated in a twelve-yard pass to af2 MVP candidate OS Rob Mager. Hendrix's extra point was good, bringing the Fire back within seven points of the Steamwheelers.

The visitors from the Quad Cities came back on the next series, on a sixteen-yard pass from Hicks to WR/LB Jack Walker, Jr. The touchdown and extra point served as the last points scored of the third quarter - 48-34 in favor of the ‘Wheelers.

The Fire scored very quickly in the fourth quarter and then promptly kicked their third onside kick. Louisville's recovery of their onside effort gave them the ball and another chance to narrow the point differential. Four plays later Dietz did just that, throwing a pass from mid-field to WR/LB Dennis Fryzel for a touchdown. Another unsuccessful PAT by Hendrix, however, resulted in a very slim, one-point lead for the ‘Wheelers.

With a little more than eleven minutes to go in the game, the Fire lined up for their fourth onside kick. Their attempt was thwarted, however, giving the ‘Wheelers the ball on the Louisville 16 yard line. To this point, the Quad City offense had scored on every possession. But this time, on third and goal from the Louisville four yard line, Hicks scrambled right and then threw his thirteenth interception of the season to the Fire's Fryzel.

With the pick, Fryzel did more than steal the ball, he took the ‘Wheeler's momentum. Louisville's scoring drive traversed the 28 yards left of the field in relative ease, putting Quad City behind for the first time that night with only 7-1/2 minutes remaining in the contest.

Hicks, Peters and Walker managed to string together a series of passes and catches on the next series of downs to put the Steamwheelers back on top, 54-53. But the attempted two-point conversion following Walker's touchdown catch was no good, leaving the margin at one.

Then it was Quad City's turn to attempt an onside kick. The kick was too high, though, making it relatively easy for Fryzel to make the catch and cover, giving Dietz and company the ball on the Steamwheeler 9. Two plays later, the Fire had scored again but, like the ‘Wheelers, they failed on their two-point conversion, keeping Quad City within striking distance.

The Fire's kickoff was their fifth onside attempt. The Steamwheeler's Jack Walker, Jr. managed to recover the squib, giving the offense the ball on the Louisville 6 yard line. Hicks handed the ball to Kaululaau on the next two plays. Kaululaau, who had not been able to practice all week due to a sore foot, managed to bull his way into the end zone. Again, the Steamwheeler's attempted two-point conversion failed.

With just 44 seconds to play, the Quad Cities held a one-point lead (60-59) and had to kick off to Louisville. A stop or turn-over would win the game and move the ‘Wheelers to the head of the pack of teams vying for the sixth playoff spot in the American Conference. Unfortunately for the Steamwheelers, though, Dietz and the Fire offense proved to be more than capable at moving the ball the required 43 yards to the other end zone.

Dietz's five-yard, bootleg run for a touchdown was followed by a successful two-point toss to Mager, giving the Fire the lead for good at 67-60. The Steamwheeler defense that had made such an impressive showing last week and through the first half gave up 47 points in a wild second half that saw a total of five onside kicks and five attempted two-point conversions.

"There's no one to blame," explained Frazier after the game. "We're not going to point fingers. We win as a team and when we lose, we lose as a team."

The ‘Wheelers have a long bus ride back to the Quad Cities where they'll start preparing for a re-match with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Pioneers and former Steamwheeler coach Rich Ingold. The Pioneers are battling a four-game losing streak and barely won their last meeting with the Steamwheelers earlier this year by a score of 55-52.



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