Quad City Steamwheelers Drop First Home Game of the Season, 62-55, to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton
June 22, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
(Moline, Ill.) - The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers remain undefeated in the arenafootball2 league after defeating the Quad City Steamwheelers, 62-55, in front of 4,120 at The MARK of the Quad Cities on Friday night. With three seconds remaining in the game quarterback Ryan Vena hit Buchie Ibeh on a nine-yard pass to seal the victory.
With the Steamwheelers trailing 41-40 to start the fourth quarter, the Quad City defense appeared to force a turnover on downs when Vena's pass to Larry Kendrick soared over his head, however, Malik Jackson was called for illegal defense giving the Pioneers a fresh set of downs. On the next play, Vena hit Jim Jones for a 21-yard pass and a 48-40 led.
The Steamwheelers tied the game after a three-play 39 yard drive culminated with a Tom Anthony five-yard run and a two-point conversion catch by Jack Walker Jr with 9:17 remaining.
A 36-yard pass by Vena, who was named the Schutt Offensive Player of Game for his 342 yards and nine touchdown passes, to Marcus Furman put the Pioneers back on top 55-48 with just 6:53 remaining in the contest.
The 'Wheelers ate 5:19 off the clock on their next drive that concluded with a 13-yard pass to Kris Peters to tie the game at 55 apiece.
With 1:13 remaining in the contest the Pioneers orchestrated a perfect drive that concluded with a nine-yard pass to Ibeh with only three seconds remaining in the contest to hand Quad City its first loss at home thiseason.
The Steamwheelers opened the game with a five-yard Raterink to Peters touchdown pass and the fake extra point attempt failed just shy of the goal line, giving Wilkes-Barre/Scranton the chance to take the lead on the next possession, which they did. The first quarter ended with the Steamwheelers up 12-7 and after surrendering two touchdowns on the first two possessions of the second quarter 'Wheelers closed the gap to one point, 27-26 at the half.
Raterink finished the game with 258 passing yards and five touchdowns on 26 completions. Peters led the receiving corps with nine catches for 129 yards and three touchdowns, while Jack Walker Jr., finished with seven catches for 63 yards and two touchdowns. On defense Kevin Adams finished with a game-high 12 total tackles and two breakups.
For the Pioneers, Jim Jones finished with 10 catches for 133 yards and four touchdowns, while Ibeh had 11 catches for 94 yards and three TD's. Chris Royal led the defense with 10 total tackles, while former 'Wheeler DeOnte Taylor finished with 6.5 tackles.
Quad City (7-5) remains at home next weekend when they face division rival the Green Bay Blizzard on Friday, June 29. It is Hero's Night and all military, police, fire, EMT's and their families can get a special $6.00 ticket with a valid ID. Game time is at 7:30 p.m. and tickets are available at The MARK box office, Ticket Master outlets or on-line at www.ticketmaster.com.
• Discuss this story on the arenafootball2 message board...
arenafootball2 Stories from June 22, 2007
- Blizzard Moves One Step Closer to Midwest Division Lead With Blowout Victory - Green Bay Blizzard
- Quad City Steamwheelers Drop First Home Game of the Season, 62-55, to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - Quad City Steamwheelers
- af2 Week Thirteen: Saturday Night Matchups - af2
- Yard Dawgz Irresistible Force Meets Dorados Immovable Object - Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz
- Blizzard Look To Improve Playoff Position - Green Bay Blizzard
- af2 Alumni To Impact AFL Matchup - af2
- Coyotes Look for Pay Back Against Fever - Central Valley Coyotes
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
