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Quad City Steamwheelers game notes

May 13, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Wichita Stealth (5-0) vs.
Quad City Steamwheelers (5-1)
Date: Saturday, May 15, 2004
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m.
Site: The MARK of the Quad Cities (9,437)
National Anthem: Monique Miller
Coin Toss: Miss. Valley Regional Blood Center Winners
Officials: Tony Canella (Referee), Pat Bayers (Umpire), Donald Rager (Head Linesman), Robert Smith (Line Judge), Larry Orrico(Back Judge)
Radio: WFXN 1230 AM and KWPC 890 AM (Jim Albracht – Play-by-Play, John Furlong-Color)
TV: None
Series Record: Quad City leads the all-time series 4-1 over the Stealth.
Last Meeting: The Steamwheelers held the Stealth scoreless in the fourth quarter and most importantly on the last drive of the game. The Stealth had two opportunities from the 1-yard line, but were held out by the Steamwheelers defense to notch a 62-56 win.
Streaks: The Steamwheelers are now back on the winning track, winners of two straight. The Stealth are the last remaining team who is perfect so far this season. They have won five straight to open the season.

Coaches:
Quad City — Rich Ingold (5-1; 29-10, Third season)
Wichita — Sean Ponder (5-0; 9-5-1, Second Season)

THE SERIES: These two teams have hooked up five times and the ‘Wheelers hold a commanding 4-1 edge. Last season the ‘Wheelers defense had to stop the Stealth on the games last play to secure the victory.

THE IFs:
If Quad City defeats Wichita, it would ...
· Give Quad City a 5-1 all-time series lead
· Give the Steamwheelers 11 straight wins in The MARK during the regular season
· Give Rich Ingold a 30-10 record as a coach

QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS (5-1, Won 2)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/3 Manchester 7:30 WIN 71-32
4/10 @Manchester 7:30 WIN 45-42
4/17 Tennessee Valley 7:30 WIN 47-29
4/24 @W-B Scranton 6:00 Loss 40-27
5/1 Green Bay 7:30 WIN 47-26
5/7 @Peoria 7:00 WIN 47-20
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
5/15 Wichita 7:30 W-2 QC leads 4-1
5/22 @San Diego 9:00 L-1 QC leads 2-0
5/29 BYE
6/5 @Louisville 6:30 W-1 QC leads 4-0
6/12 W-B Scranton 7:30 L-1 QC leads 1-0
6/18 @Green Bay 7:30 W-1 QC leads 3-0
6/25 @Arkansas 7:30 L-3 QC leads 4-1
7/2 Peoria 7:30 L-1 QC leads 4-2
7/10 @Tenn. Valley 7:30 W-3 QC leads 6-2
7/17 Birmingham 7:30 W-4 QC leads 2-0
7/24 BYE
7/31 Louisville 7:30 W-1 QC leads 4-0

WICHITA STEALTH (5-0, Won 5)
Date Opponent Result Score
4/3 Peoria 7:00 WIN 33-13
4/10 Laredo 7:00 WIN 44-22
4/16 @ Peoria 7:00 WIN 47-26
4/24 Green Bay 7:00 WIN 68-53
5/1 BYE
5/8 @ Rio Grande 7:30 WIN 35-28
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
5/15 @ Quad City 7:30 W-5 QC leads 4-1
5/22 @ Oklahoma City 7:30 W-2 1st Meeting
5/29 Laredo 7:00 L-5 WIC leads 1-0
6/5 @ Tulsa 7:30 W-1 TUL leads 5-1
6/12 Oklahoma City 7:00 W-1 1st Meeting
6/19 Tulsa 7:00 W-1 TUL leads 5-1
6/26 BYE
7/3 @ Rio Grande 7:30 L-1 WIC leads 1-0
7/10 @ Tulsa 7:30 W-1 TUL leads 5-1
7/17 Oklahoma City 7:00 W-1 1st Meeting
7/24 @ Laredo 7:30 L-5 WIC leads 1-0
7/31 Rio Grande 7:00 L-1 WIC leads 1-0

HEAD COACHES: Rich Ingold is in his third season as the Steamwheelers head coach after guiding them to a 2003 National Conference Midwest Division championship. Ingold has a 29-10 record in his two-plus seasons at the helm and has posted nine straight regular season home victories.

Wichita's Sean Ponder took over the Stealth midway through last season and took the Stealth to the playoffs as the Stealth finished the season at 8-7-1. This season he has taken his team and the af2 by storm, posting a perfect 5-0 mark and has the only undefeated team left in the 2004 af2 season. Ponder came to the Stealth after spending seven years at Orange County Community College. He was the offensive coordinator for five years and the assistant quarterbacks coach.

LAST SERIES MEETING: In one of the most exciting games of the 2003 season, the Stealth and the Steamwheelers took it down to the last play of the game...twice. After stopping the Stealth once at the 1-yard line, it appeared as if the game was over. However, the Stealth called a timeout with 0:01 showing on the clock. ‘Wheelers FB/LB Josh Fourdyce stood his counterpart, Brain Goolsby, up at the goalline to secure a 62-56 win.

SERIES NOTABLES: The Stealth have only won one game, May 25, 2002, at the Kansas Coliseum. The Steamwheelers have won all other meetings.

LEAGUE TOP 10s: Players from this week's matchup who rank among af2's statistical leaders:

STEAMWHEELERS' LEADERS
Player Rank Category Stat
Jeff Hewitt 7 Scoring 78
Ryan Geisler 8 Scoring (Kick) 32
Tim Dodge 7 Receptions 6.5
Tim Dodge 2 Rec. Yds./Game 110.2
Jeff Hewitt 6 Rec. Yds./Game 92.8
Matt Forbes 2 Interceptions 4
Jeff Hewitt 5 Kickoff Ret. Avg. 24.6
Ronnie Gordon 9 Passing Yards 239.5
Jeff Hewitt 3 All-Purpose Yards 1168
Ronnie Gordon 2 Total Offense 1480
Ryan Geisler 7 PAT Kicking 29-38
Matt Forbes 1 Fumbles Forced 3
Danny Thomas T-5 Fumbles Recovered 2
Matt Forbes 2 Passes Defended 15
Matt Forbes 2 Tackles 31.0
Danny Thomas 29 Tackles 19.0
Tim Dodge 57 Tackles 13.5
Bear Brown T-15 Sacks 2.0
Brian Berg T-15 Sacks 2.0

FAMILIAR FACES: Stealth quarterback Aaron Sparrow is in his first season with the Stealth, but don't let that fool you. Sparrow is a season vet of Arena Football. He has spent time in both leagues and as recently as last season threw for 3,006 yards and 51 touchdowns on 239 of 395 passing for the Norfolk Nighthawks. He has also played for the Carolina Cobras and Buffalo Destroyers of the AFL and was named af2 Player of the Year in 2000 as he guided the Augusta Stallions.

TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the Steamwheelers and Stealth stack up:
Statistical Steamwheelers Stealth
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 14 47.3 17 45.4
Scoring Defense 2 31.5 1 28.4
Total Offense 13 259.7 12 260.0
Total Defense 3 209.0 1 192.8
Pass Offense 9 244.2 10 243.4
Pass Defense 3 190.0 1 176.8
Rushing Offense 16 15.5 14 16.6
Rushing Defense 10 19.0 9 16.0
Scoring (Non-Kick) 6 248 17 200
Scoring (Kicking) 8 32 18 27
Pass Rating 12 105.1 6 112.6
Pass Def. Rating 2 83.0 3 88.2
Kickoff Returns 6 21.6 23 16.7
MFG Returns 7 21.0 15 13.7
Turnover Margin 4 1.17 11 0.40
Field Goals 24 1-7 18 1-5
PAT Kicking 10 29-38 11 24-32
Sacks By 4 13 3 15
Sacks Against 16 6 17 7
First Downs 9 79 16 71
Opp. First Downs 17 78 1 54
Penalties 22 66.3 3 45.0
Opp. Penalties 24 68.3 2 35.2

STEAMWHEELERS INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status
OL/DL Harvie Herrington Knee Probable
OL/DL Pete Traynor Foot LTIR
OL/DL Brandon Williams Knee LTIR
FB/LB Fred Barr Knee Probable
DS Danny Thomas Leg Probable

MILESTONES: Steamwheelers head coach Rich Ingold is closing in on victory number 30. In his two-plus years at the helm of the ‘Wheelers, Ingold has guided them to a 29-10 record and to the playoffs last season. With the victory tonight, it would make him one of only seven coaches who have eclipsed the 30-win plateau in the arenafootball2 league history.

DROPBACK: The Steamwheelers have now won two straight games after last weekends 47-20 victory over the Peoria Pirates to retain the rights to the "Ruler of the River" trophy. The win was the second straight for the ‘Wheelers The Steamwheelers jumped out to an early 27-0 lead with just over five minutes to go in the second quarter. The Pirates added two scores to close out the half and scored on their first possession of the second half to cut the lead to 27-20, but that would be all that their offense could muster. From there the Steamwheelers pulled away, scoring the games final 20 points en route to the win.

FORWARD MOTION: The Steamwheelers will hit the road and travel to sunny California to take on the San Diego Riptide. This will be the first trip to San Diego for the Steamwheelers. The game is set to kickoff at 9:00 p.m. (CDT).

TEAM NOTES/TRENDS: The Steamwheelers are looking to push their home game regular season winning streak to 11 with a win. Another note, head coach Rich Ingold is knocking on the 30-win door. He needs just one more wins to hit that mark.

DEFENSE: When Jim Foster invented the game of Arena Football, the last thing he thought he would see is a lot of defense. Well the Steamwheelers Managing Owner/Operator may very well see exactly that when his team hooks up with the Stealth. The Stealth are currently ranked tops in af2 with the best scoring defense as they are only allowing 28.4 points per game. The Steamwheelers are not too far behind the Stealth when it comes to defense. The Steamwheelers are only giving up an average of 31.5 points per game, which ranks them second right behind the Stealth in the af2. As for the two teams scoring...the ‘Wheelers have been putting up 47.3 points per game and the Stealth are averaging 45.4 points per game.

ANYWAY, ANYHOW, JUST GET IT DONE: Steamwheelers offensive specialist Jeff Hewitt has been living up to his job description so far this season. He has been definitely been producing the offense, and doing so in every fashion. Hewitt has scored touchdowns in three different fashions, receiving rushing and returns. Hewitt has caught 32 passes for 582 yards and 10 touchdowns, while rushing four times for eight yards and a score, and has 26 kick returns for 611 yards and three touchdowns. Hewitt is also averaging 200.2 all-purpose yards per game, which is third in the league. His 84 points scoring ranks fourth in the league. He is fifth in receiving yards per game and kickoff return average.

GORDON ON PACE TO BREAK ZIM'S RECORD: In the 2003 season, former Steamwheelers quarterback Tony Zimmerman rushed for 17 touchdowns. The 17 touchdowns is a Steamwheelers single season record. Through five games this season, quarterback Ronnie Gordon has accounted for 22 passing touchdowns and nine rushing touchdowns. If Gordon continues at this pace, he will crush Zimmerman's rushing touchdown total and finish with 24, four shy of the af2 single season record.



THE ‘GOLD' TD RUSH:
Player Games Rush TD's Pace
Tony Zimmerman 16 39 17
Ronnie Gordon 6 27 9 24

PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Stealth Quarterback Aaron Sparrow v. Steamwheelers Defense
‘Stealth QB Aaron Sparrow: So far this season, Sparrow has led the Stealth to a 5-0 start. On the season he has accounted for 25 touchdowns and 1,253 yards on 108 of 168 passing. He has only thrown four interceptions. He has also rushed for a touchdown as well.

Steamwheelers Defense: The job of stopping Aaron Sparrow will be in the hands of three defensive specialists and two defensive backs. Specialists Matt Forbes, Danny Thomas and Chazz Moore along with backs Tim Dodge and Billy Cook will be a major factor in stopping Sparrow. The five have accounted for 10 interceptions so far this season. The defensive line, who have 11 sacks on the season, will also be a force in trying to shut down Sparrow.

KEY DATES IN TEAM/LEAGUE HISTORY: May 16, 2003, the Steamwheelers notched their fifth consecutive victory, with a 64-55 win over the visiting Green Bay Blizzard. The win was the fifth of 14 straight for the Steamwheelers en route to finishing the regular season with the arenafootball2 leagues best record. The win also marked the third of ten straight home regular season victories for the Steamwheelers, a streak that is still going.

GETTING TO KNOW A NEW STEAMWHEELER: This week's featured player is kicker Ryan Geisler. The former San Diego Riptide kicker joined the Steamwheelers this past offseason. His middle name is Dean and he is married to Courtney. He attended California-Lutheran University and received his B.A. in Social Science. He was all-conference for three seasons and a two-time NCAA Division III All-American. At Adolfo Camarillo High School he was a three sport star in football, baseball and soccer.

af2 BABY RUTH REAL DEAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Week Team Player
6 Bossier City Bo Smith

af2 U.S. ARMY IRONMAN OF THE WEEK
Week Team Player
6 Louisville Takuya Furutani

af2 ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Week Team Player
6 Birmingham Anthony Jordan

Trivial Pursuit
Oldest player: 32, Harvie Herrington – 2/4/72
Youngest player: 23, Brian Eyerman – 3/25/81
Tallest Player: 6'8" – Bear Brown
Shortest Player: 5'10" – Four Players
Heaviest Player: 350 – Bear Brown
Lightest Player: 175 – Matt Forbes
Native Iowans: 3
Colleges represented: 23
Iowa Colleges: 4
Illinois Colleges: 3
Players 300+ pounds: 3
Players 6'5" or taller: 1
2004 Roster Breakdown
By College/University
California-Lutheran Purdue
California-Berkley Cal. St. – Northridge
St. Ambrose Duquesne
San Diego State Eastern Kentucky
Simpson Southern Illinois
Grand Valley State SW Missouri State
Illinois Tenn. – Chattanooga
Indiana (PA) –2 Vanderbilt
Indianapolis Western Illinois – 2
Iowa – 4 William Penn
Wis. – Stevens Point Louisville

QC Home Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game (selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 Manchester Jeff Hewitt
3 Tenn. Valley Tim Dodge
5 Green Bay Jeff Hewitt
7 Wichita
11 Wilkes-Barre
13 Peoria
15 Birmingham
17 Louisville

QC Home GAME U.S. Army IRONMAN AWARD (selected by media)
Week Opp. Player
1 Manchester Harvie Herrington
3 Tenn. Valley Bear Brown
5 Green Bay Brian Berg
7 Wichita
11 Wilkes-Barre
13 Peoria
15 Birmingham
17 Louisville

QC Home GAME ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER AWARD
Week Opp. Player
1 Manchester Danny Thomas
3 Tenn. Valley Matt Forbes
5 Green Bay Danny Thomas
7 Wichita
11 Wilkes-Barre
13 Peoria
15 Birmingham
17 Louisville
Steamwheelers "When" Stats
3-0 at The MARK of the Quad Cities
2-1 on the road

2-0 vs. National Conference
3-1 vs. American Conference

2-1 vs. American Northeast
0-0 vs. American South
1-0 vs. American Mid-South
0-0 vs. National Southwest
2-0 vs. National Midwest
0-0 vs. National West

1-0 on Fridays
4-1 on Saturdays

3-1 in April
2-0 in May
0-0 in June
0-0 in July

4-0 when leading after the first quarter
0-1 when trailing after the first quarter
1-0 when tied after the first quarter

5-0 when leading at halftime
0-1 when trailing at halftime
0-0 when tied at halftime

5-0 when leading after the third quarter
0-1 when trailing after the third quarter
0-0 when tied after the third quarter

4-1 in games decided by 10+ points
0-0 in games decided by 4-9 points
1-0 in games decided by 3 points or less

0-0 when opponent scores more than 50 points
5-1 when opponent scores less than 50 points

1-0 when the ‘Wheelers scores more than 50 points
4-1 when the ‘Wheelers scores less than 50 points


3-0 when the ‘Wheelers scores first
2-1 when the opponent scores first

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