Quad City Steamwheelers game notes
June 22, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
QUICK FACTS:
Quad City Steamwheelers (7-4) vs.
Arkansas Twisters (1-9)
Date: Friday, June 25, 2004
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CDT
Site: ALLTEL Arena (16,058)
National Anthem: TBA
Coin Toss: TBA
Officials: (Referee), (Umpire), (Head Linesman), (Line Judge), (Back Judge)
Radio: WFXN 1230 AM and KWPC 890 AM (Jim Albracht â Play-by-Play, Jim Foster â Color)
TV: None
Series Record: The Steamwheelers hold a 4-1 edge over the Twisters, with the Twisters getting their first win against the Steamwheelers in last season's ArenaCup quarterfinals.
Last Meeting: The Twisters handed the Steamwheelers their first ever loss at home during the playoffs and their first ever playoff loss, with a 63-61 last second victory at The MARK of the Quad Cities.
Streaks: The Steamwheelers snapped a three-game losing streak and avoided what would have been a franchise worse fourth straight loss with a 62-53 victory over the Green Bay Blizzard. The Twisters started the season with a victory and have not won since and have lost nine straight.
Coaches:
Quad City â Rich Ingold (7-4; 31-13, Third season)
Arkansas â Gary Anderson (1-9; 29-33, Third Season)
THE STAKES: The Steamwheelers are now tied with Louisville in the Midwest Division standings after the âWheelers won this weekend and the Fire lost for the second straight week to Peoria. The Twisters are looking for their second win of the season after losing nine straight.
THE SERIES: The Steamwheelers hold a commanding 4-1 series lead, but the Twisters have the last laugh, winning the last contest against these two teams.
THE IFs:
If Quad City defeats Arkansas, it would ...
· Give Quad City a 5-1 all-time series lead
· Give the Steamwheelers a 4-3 road record
· Give Rich Ingold a 32-13 record as a coach
QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS (7-4, Won 1)
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
5/15 Wichita 7:30 WIN 73-39
5/22 @San Diego 9:00 Loss 62-52
5/29 BYE
6/5 @Louisville 6:30 Loss 62-61
6/12 W-B Scranton 7:30 Loss 46-39
6/18 @Green Bay 7:30 WIN 62-53
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
6/25 @Arkansas 7:30 L-9 QC leads 4-1
7/2 Peoria 7:30 W-2 QC leads 5-2
7/10 @Tenn. Valley 7:30 W-3 QC leads 7-2
7/17 Birmingham 7:30 L-1 QC leads 2-0
7/24 BYE
7/31 Louisville 7:30 L-2 QC leads 4-1
ARKANSAS TWISTERS (1-9, Lost 9)
Date Opponent Time Result Score
4/3 San Diego 7:00 Won 38-48
4/9 Peoria 7:00 Lost 13-22
4/17 Birmingham 7:00 Lost 56-40
4/24 BYE
5/1 Bakersfield 9:00 Lost 21-49
5/8 Tennesse Valley 7:00 Lost 53/34
5/15 Memphis 7:00 Lost 35-37
5-22 Tulsa 7:00 Lost 61-53
5-29 Oklahoma City 7:30 Lost 54-75
6/5 Tennessee Valley 7:30 Lost 23-36
6/12 Albany 7:00 Lost 66-54
BYE
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
6/25 Quad City 7:30 W-1 QC leads 5-1
7/2 Bossier City 7:00 W-3 ARK leads 4-2
7/9 Laredo 7:30 L-4 1st Meeting
7/16 Memphis 7:30 W-2 ARK leads 6-1
7/24 Rio Grande Valley 7:30 L-6 1st Meeting
7/31 Bossier City 7:00 W-3 ARK leads 4-2
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 31-13 record in his two and a half seasons at the helm and has posted 11 of 12 regular season home victories.
Arkansas' Gary Anderson is in his third season under the helm of the Twisters and has guided them to a 29-33 in those three seasons. Anderson guided the 2003 Twisters to a playoff berth and two wins in the playoffs advancing them to the ArenaCup quarterfinals, where they eventually lost to the champion Tulsa Talons. One of those wins was a 63-61 defeat of the Quad City Steamwheelers. It was the first loss at home in team history for the Steamwheelers.
LAST SERIES MEETING: There is always a first time for everything and in arguably the best game at The MARK of the Quad Cities in the 2003 season, the Arkansas Twisters stormed into the Steamwheelers home turf and escaped with a 63-61 last second victory in the ArenaCup quarterfinals. Kicker Mark Norris drilled an 18-yard field goal as time expired to seal the win for the Twisters. The loss was the first in 15 games for the Steamwheelers who had won 14 straight games entering the playoffs. The Twisters lost the next week in the ArenaCup semifinals to eventual champion Tulsa Talons.
SERIES NOTABLES: The Steamwheelers have won four of the five contests. The Steamwheelers are looking to avenge last season's playoff loss to the Twisters. The Steamwheelers have won all four regular season contests by an average margin of 24.5 points.
LEAGUE TOP 10s: Players from this week's matchup who rank among af2's statistical leaders:
STEAMWHEELERS' LEADERS
Player Rank Category Stat
Jeff Hewitt 9 Scoring 150
Jeff Hewitt 10 Scoring (TD's) 25
Ryan Geisler 10 Scoring (kicking) 59-75
Ronnie Gordon 5 Pass Rating 115.0
Tim Dodge 3 Receptions 7.55
Time Dodge 1 Receive Yds/G 110.9
Jeff Hewitt 5 Receive Yds/G 98.0
Matt Forbes 6 Interceptions 5
Jeff Hewitt 6 Kickoff Return 24.4
Ronnie Gordon 5 Passing Yards 260.9
Jeff Hewitt 2 All Purpose 200.5
Ronnie Gordon 3 Total Offense 269.5
Ryan Geisler 6 PAT Kicking 59-75
Matt Forbes 7 Fumbles Forced 3
Matt Forbes 2 Passes Defended 23
Matt Forbes 3 Tackles 60.0
Brian Berg T-25 Sacks 3.0
Fred Barr T-40 Sacks 2.0
FAMILIAR FACES: A name that dots the Twisters roster for another year is that of wide receiver/linebacker Kevin Williams. In last season's playoff game against the Steamwheelers, Williams led the Twisters in receiving with 143 yards on 10 receptions. Of those 10 receptions, three went for scores. So far this season, Williams is fourth on the team in receiving with 12 receptions for 234 yards and three touchdowns. He has returned a total of eight kicks for 284 yards and a touchdown on offense, which ranks him second in scoring on the team. He has added two tackles on defense this season as well.
TALE OF THE TAPE: Here's how the Steamwheelers and Twisters stack up:
Statistical Steamwheelers Twisters
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 9 51.9 23 37.7
Scoring Defense 5 41.0 13 49.3
Total Offense 4 276.5 23 215.0
Total Defense 14 253.6 11 249.1
Pass Offense 5 260.5 23 192.2
Pass Defense 16 239.4 11 231.4
Rushing Offense 18 16.0 10 22.8
Rushing Defense 6 14.3 11 17.7
Scoring (non-kick) 8 500 22 330
Scoring (kicking) 13 65 25 45
Pass Rating 3 114.1 24 91.4
Pass Def Rating 5 97.0 13 105.4
Kickoff Returns 8 20.7 12 19.8
MFG Returns 11 19.0 12 18.1
Turnover Margin 6 .64 15 -0.10
Field Goals 23 2-11 24 4-25
PAT Kicking 7 59-75 8 33-42
Sacks BY 6 19 10 15
Sacks Against 12 11 24 26
First Downs 16 161 24 145
Opponent 1st downs 13 167 51 147
Penalties 15 105 8 90
Opponent Penalties 14 60.9 11 54.5
STEAMWHEELERS INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status
FB/LB Elly Salamo Shoulder STIR
OL/DL Pete Traynor Foot LTIR
OL/DL Brandon Williams Knee LTIR
DS Michael Lewis Knee STIR
MILESTONES: Three Steamwheelers are knocking on milestone doors â QB Ronnie Gordon, WR/DB Tim Dodge and OS Jeff Hewitt. Gordon broke the Steamwheelers single season rushing touchdown record, as he rushed for two scores, bringing his season total to 18. Dodge (1,220) and Hewitt (1,088) have both eclipsed the 1,000 receiving yards plateau.
DROPBACK: The Steamwheelers rebounded from a three-game losing skid and avoided a franchise worse four-game losing streak with a 62-53 come from behind victory over the Green Bay Blizzard. The win moved the Steamwheelers into a tie for the National Conference Midwest Division lead thanks to Peoria knocking off Louisville for the second straight weekend. Steamwheelers quarterback Ronnie Gordon finished the game 22-of-29 for 323 yards and six scores. He also rushed for two scores to break the Steamwheelers single season record.
FORWARD MOTION: The Steamwheelers will return home to defend their rights to the "Ruler of the River" trophy when the new look Peoria Pirates come to town. The "War on I-74" will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. at The MARK of the Quad Cities on Friday, July 2. Following the game, there will be a jersey auction.
TEAM NOTES/TRENDS: Steamwheelers quarterback Ronnie Gordon almost did it again. This past weekend, Gordon completed 22-of-29 passes for 323 yards and six scores. That gave him a quarterback rating of 151.29, just shy of the perfect 158.33 rating. Gordon just missed the perfect mark once just two weeks ago at Louisville. Gordon was 20-of-26 for 351 yards and eight touchdowns with no interceptions. That gave him a quarterback rating of 157.85.
KNOCKING ON HISTORY'S DOOR: In 2002, Steamwheelers offensive specialist Jeff Hewitt, then wide receiver/linebacker, watched as offensive specialist Ira Gooch and wide receiver/linebacker Chris Anthony both caught over 100 passes for over 1,000 yards and 30-plus touchdowns a piece to become the first duo in Arena Football history to do so. This season, Dodge has already gone over the 1,000 receiving yards plateau and added another touchdown this past weekend to push his total to 19. He has 83 receptions for 1,220 yards. Hewitt is not far behind and has 70 receptions for 1,078 yards and 20 touchdowns. Right now, Dodge is on pace to finish with 121 receptions for 1,775 yards and 28 scores, while Hewitt is on pace for 102 receptions for 1,568 yards and 29 touchdowns.
STREAKS STOPPED: The Green Bay Blizzard may have not beaten the Quad City Steamwheelers, but they did stop two streaks that two of the top three receivers were on pace for. First, wide receiver/defensive back Tim Dodge was stopped of his two touchdowns a game streak. In all but one game this season, Dodge had caught two touchdowns in every game. Not three or more and not just one. He was held scoreless once, against the Blizzard. This past weekend, Green Bay limited Dodge to just one score. Wide receiver/linebacker Carmelo Ocasio had caught five straight touchdown passes until he was finally held out of the endzone on both of his receptions this past weekend.
GORDON ON PACE TO BREAK ZIM'S RECORD: In the 2003 season, former Steamwheelers quarterback Tony Zimmerman rushed for 17 touchdowns, a Steamwheelers single season record. Through nine games this season, quarterback Ronnie Gordon has accounted for 50 passing touchdowns and has now broken the Steamwheelers single season record as he now has 18. He will need to average two rushing touchdowns a game to tie the af2 single season record.
THE âGOLD' TD RUSH:
Player Games Rush TD's Pace
Tony Zimmerman 16 39 17
Ronnie Gordon 11 47 18 26
PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH: QB v. Secondary
Steamwheelers' Quarterback Ronnie Gordon: The Steamwheelers seasoned quarterback is having a stellar second half of the season and has been all but perfect in two of his last three games. Last weekend, Gordon passed for his 50th touchdown of the season, and on the season he has only thrown 10 interceptions, giving him a 5:1 touchdown to interception ratio. Gordon has also been a major threat on the ground, adding 18 touchdowns. The Twisters will have to be prepared for the aerial and ground attack if they hope to stop him.
Twisters' Defensive Backs: The Twisters scoring defense is right in the middle of the pack of the af2, giving up an average of 49.3 points per game, just below the Steamwheelers offensive average of 51.9. The defense is getting no help from its offense, which is only putting up 37.7 points per game. The Twisters defense will have to have a big game in order to give their offense a chance.
KEY DATES IN TEAM/LEAGUE HISTORY: In June of 1987, the Arena Football League was officially born, with its first ever game taking place. The four-team league began with the Chicago Bruisers, Denver Dynamite, Pittsburgh Gladiators and Washington Commandos.
GETTING TO KNOW A STEAMWHEELER: This week's featured player is wide receiver/defensive back Tim Dodge. Dodge grew up in the small Iowa town known as Rockwell, Iowa, nearby Mason City, Iowa. He went to Rockwell-Swaledale High School and was a four-sport star in football, basketball, baseball and track. He then went on to have a stellar four-year career at Iowa where he starred in football and track. He is married to Hillary. He was born on Aug. 7, 1978.
af2 BABY RUTH REAL DEAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Week Team Player
12
af2 U.S. ARMY IRONMAN OF THE WEEK
Week Team Player
12
af2 ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Week Team Player
12
Trivial Pursuit
Oldest player: 39, Flint Fleming â 3/17/65
Youngest player: 23, Fred Barr â 1/5/81
Tallest Player: 6'8" â Bear Brown
Shortest Player: 5'10" â Four Players
Heaviest Player: 350 â Bear Brown
Lightest Player: 175 â Matt Forbes
Native Iowans: 3
Colleges represented: 23
Iowa Colleges: 5
Illinois Colleges: 3
Players 300+ pounds: 7
Players 6'5" or taller: 4
2004 Roster Breakdown
By College/University
California-Lutheran Purdue
California-Berkley â 2 Cal. St. â Northridge
St. Ambrose Northern Illinois
San Diego State Eastern Kentucky
Simpson North Dakota State
Grand Valley State SW Missouri State
Illinois Indiana (PA) Vanderbilt Western Illinois â 2 SUNY-Morrisville Iowa â 4 William Penn Wis. â Stevens Point Louisville Northern Iowa
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 Ronnie Gordon
11 Wilkes-Barre J.R. Thomas (WBS)
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 Bear Brown
11 Wilkes-Barre Tim Dodge
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 Jamaal Cherry
11 Wilkes-Barre Jamie Hattley (WBS)
13 Peoria
15 Birmingham
17 Louisville
Steamwheelers "When" Stats
4-1 at The MARK of the Quad Cities
3-3 on the road
4-2 vs. National Conference
3-2 vs. American Conference
2-2 vs. American Northeast
0-0 vs. American South
1-0 vs. American Mid-South
0-0 vs. National Southwest
3-1 vs. National Midwest
1-1 vs. National West
2-0 on Fridays
5-4 on Saturdays
3-1 in April
3-1 in May
1-2 in June
0-0 in July
4-1 when leading after the first quarter
2-3 when trailing after the first quarter
1-0 when tied after the first quarter
6-1 when leading at halftime
1-3 when trailing at halftime
0-0 when tied at halftime
7-1 when leading after the third quarter
0-3 when trailing after the third quarter
0-0 when tied after the third quarter
5-2 in games decided by 10+ points
1-1 in games decided by 4-9 points
1-1 in games decided by 3 points or less
1-2 when opponent scores more than 50 points
6-2 when opponent scores less than 50 points
3-2 when the âWheelers scores more than 50 points
4-2 when the âWheelers scores less than 50 points
4-2 when the âWheelers scores first
3-2 when the opponent scores first
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