Quad City Steamwheelers game notes

Published on July 6, 2004 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release


QUICK FACTS:
Quad City Steamwheelers (8-5) vs.
Tennessee Valley Vipers (8-4)
Date: Saturday, July 10, 2004
Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. CDT
Site: Von Braun Center (6,642)
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 – Play-by-Play, Jim Foster – Color)
TV: None
Series Record: The Steamwheelers hold a commanding 7-2 edge over the Vipers and are 3-1 at the Von Braun Center. Their only loss at the "Snake Pit" came last season on April 11, a 62-61 setback.
Last Meeting: This will be the second matchup of the season for these two teams, with the ‘Wheelers taking the first contest 47-29 at The MARK of the Quad Cities.
Streaks: After winning two straight games, the Steamwheelers hit a bump in the road and lost to the Peoria Pirates last weekend. The Vipers are also coming off a loss, a 54-48 loss to Memphis.
Coaches:
Quad City — Rich Ingold (8-5; 31-14, Third season)
Tennessee Valley — Kevin Guy (8-4; 35-9, Third Season)

THE STAKES: The Steamwheelers are in first place in the Midwest Division standings by a half game despite the loss last weekend. The Vipers will also be looking to turn things around and get their second win at home against the Steamwheelers.

THE SERIES: The Steamwheelers have a 7-2 edge against the Vipers in what has been called the biggest rivalry in arenafootball2. The Steamwheelers have won three of four at the Von Braun Center.

THE IFs:
If Quad City defeats Tennessee Valley, it would ...
· Give Quad City an 8-2 all-time series lead
· Inch the Steamwheelers closer to a playoff berth
· Give Rich Ingold a 33-14 record as a coach

QUAD CITY STEAMWHEELERS (8-5, Lost 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
6/25 @Arkansas 7:30 WIN 54-29
7/2 Peoria 7:30 Loss 29-13
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
7/10 @Tennessee Valley 7:30 L-1 QC leads 7-2
7/17 Birmingham 7:30 W-1 QC leads 2-0
7/24 BYE
7/31 Louisville 7:30 L-3 QC leads 4-1

TENNESSEE VALLEY VIPERS (8-5, Lost 1)
Date Opponent Time Result Score
4/3 Bakersfield 7:30 WIN 60-35
4/10 BYE
4/17 @ Quad City 7:30 Loss 47-29
4/23 @ Laredo 7:30 WIN 68-43
5/1 Memphis 7:30 WIN 43-33
5/8 @ Arkansas 7:00 WIN 53-34
5/15 Bossier City 7:30 WIN 52-14
5/22 Florida 7:30 Loss 53-30
5/29 @ Birmingham 6:30 Loss 36-30
6/5 Arkansas 7:30 WIN 36-23
6/12 @ Macon 6:30 WIN 54-38
6/19 Birmingham 7:30 WIN 67-64
6/26 @ Memphis 7:00 Loss 54-48
7/3 BYE
Date Opponent Time Streak Series
7/10 Quad City 7:30 L-1 QC leads 7-2
7/17 Macon 7:30 W-1 Tied 3-3
7/23 @ Bossier City 7:00 L-1 TV leads 4-1
7/31 @ Florida 6:30 L-2 TV leads 2-1

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 32-14 record in his two and a half seasons at the helm and has posted 11 of 13 regular season home victories.

Vipers coach Kevin Guy (35-9 regular season) is in his third season at the helm. He led the Vipers to a 14-2 record last season and a 1-1 showing in the playoffs. The Vipers had won 14 straight games to start the 2003 season, but lost to the Steamwheelers by a count of 63-34 at The MARK of the Quad Cities. Guy was named af2 Coach of the Year and he placed OL/DL Wes Stephens – the af2 Lineman of the Year - on the American Conference first team all-af2 squad. Five others were named to the American's second squad.

LAST SERIES MEETING: The third game of the season could not have gone better for the Steamwheelers, who won their third straight game to start the season, this one a 47-29 victory over the Tennessee Valley Vipers. The Steamwheelers and Vipers battled back and forth the entire first half before the Steamwheelers exploded for 20 straight points to start the second half. That 20-0 run put the Steamwheelers up 47-20, enough to put the Vipers away for good. Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Game wide receiver/defensive back Tim Dodge had eight receptions for 119 yards and two scores. He added two tackles on defense as well.

SERIES NOTABLES: The Steamwheelers not only hold a large 7-2 edge over the Vipers, they also have dominated the series at the Von Braun Center (also known as the "Snake Pit"). In 2002 both teams won at the opponents house and last season, both teams won at home. The Steamwheelers and Vipers also played for the first ArenaCup in 2000 with the ‘Wheelers winning 68-59.

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


FAMILIAR FACES: Steamwheelers coach Rich Ingold and Vipers coach Kevin Guy both entered the arenafootball2 league the same season as head coaches of the two biggest rivals in the league. Not what you would expect from a coach who signed the other. Ingold worked Guy out in 1995 and got him signed with New York. To make this scenario a little more ironic, the two are great friends today. There are about six hours out of the entire year where the two will appear otherwise, and that is the six hours that their two teams go to battle. As soon as the game is over, it's back to being friends again.


STEAMWHEELERS INJURY REPORT:
Pos. Name Injury Status
WR/LB Carmelo Ocasio Knee Probable
OL/DL Pete Traynor Foot LTIR
OL/DL Brandon Williams Knee LTIR
QB Ronnie Gordon Arm Probable
OL/DL Brandon Graves Leg STIR

MILESTONES: Three Steamwheelers are knocking on milestone doors — QB Ronnie Gordon, WR/DB Tim Dodge and OS Jeff Hewitt. Gordon broke the Steamwheelers single season rushing touchdown record and is adding to it with his season total climbing to 19. Dodge (1,341) and Hewitt (1,237) have both eclipsed the 1,000 receiving yards plateau.

DROPBACK: The Steamwheelers suffered one of their worst losses in team history last weekend, a 29-13 loss to the Peoria Pirates. The Pirates entered the game with the league's second best defense and it showed. The held the ‘Wheelers to a franchise worse 13 points, 103 yards of total offense and held them scoreless for 49 minutes, 19 seconds. Steamwheelers wide receiver/defensive back Tim Dodge caught five passes for 68 yards and a touchdown to go along with two interceptions, three pass deflections and 4.5 tackles to earn U.S. Army Ironman of the Game honors.

FORWARD MOTION: The Steamwheelers will have closed out their road trips for the regular season after tonights contest with the Vipers, leaving only two games left in the season, both of which are at home. The first will be on July 17 against the Birmingham Steeldogs, then after a week off, the Steamwheelers will close out the regular season against the Louisville Fire. Both games will kickoff at 7:30 p.m.

TEAM NOTES/TRENDS: The Steamwheelers have only lost back-to-back home games once in their five-year history as a charter member of the arenafootball2 league. That changed this past weekend when the ‘Wheelers lost for a second straight time at home. The Steamwheelers have only lost six times at The MARK of the Quad Cities. The first back-to-back losses came on June 1 and 8 against Peoria and Tennessee Valley, respectively. This season it was June 12 against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and last weekend against Peoria. The ‘Wheelers have two home games left this season.

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, both have already gone over the 1,000 receiving yards plateau. Dodge has 91 receptions for 1,341 yards and 21 touchdowns. Hewitt is not far behind and has 82 receptions for 1,237 yards and 24 touchdowns. Right now, Dodge is on pace to finish with 112 receptions for 1,650 yards and 26 scores, while Hewitt is on pace for 101 receptions for 1,522 yards and 30 touchdowns.

PERFECT 19: Last season, the Quad City Steamwheelers went through three kickers before finding the right fit. This season has been a complete and total opposite of that. Kicker Ryan Geisler has made a lasting impact this season. Geisler has been perfect in his last three-plus games. After missing his first extra point against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on June 12, Geisler has gone on to make the next 19 straight extra points. That brings his season total to 67-of 83 on extra points on the season. He has also hit 3-of-14 field goals on the season.

GORDON ON PACE TO BREAK af2 RECORD: In the 2003 season, former Steamwheelers quarterback Tony Zimmerman rushed for 17 touchdowns, a Steamwheelers single season record. Through 13 games this season, quarterback Ronnie Gordon has accounted for 57 passing touchdowns and has now broken the Steamwheelers single season record as he now has 19. He will need to average two rushing touchdowns a game to tie the af2 single season record.

THE ‘GOLD' TD RUSH:
Player Games Rush TD's Pace
Tony Zimmerman 16 39 17
Ronnie Gordon 13 54 19 23

PLAYERS/MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Defense vs. Defense
Steamwheelers' Defense: The Steamwheelers defense has been a force all season. They have limited their opponents to 39.2 points per game, including holding the Peoria Pirates to 29 points. That ranks them second in the af2 to the Pirates. The Vipers are averaging 47.5 points per game, which is 12th best in the league. The difference in this game could be who can get the better of each other, the Steamwheelers' defense, or the Vipers offense.

Vipers' Defense: The Vipers defense is not giving up a lot of yardage this season. They rank third in total defense, giving up 223.5 yards per contest. Despite only giving up a small amount of yards, the Vipers are yielding 47.5 points per game, just shy of the Steamwheelers average of 49.1. The Steamwheelers offense also has been averaging 263.3 yards per game on the season, despite being held to a season worse 103 yards of total offense last weekend.

KEY DATES IN TEAM/LEAGUE HISTORY: July 8, 2000 – On a 1-yard touchdown run by Steamwheelers quarterback Billy Dicken with 1:31 remain in a game against Tennessee Valley, the Steamwheelers set the Arena Football record for touchdowns in a single season with 119. The Steamwheelers finished the season with 152 total touchdowns, breaking the record of 118 set by the AFL's Albany Firebirds.

GETTING TO KNOW A STEAMWHEELER: This week's featured player is offensive lineman/defensive lineman Harvie Herrington. Harvie is the second oldest player on the team behind 39-year old Flint Fleming. He played at Western Illinois University and was in camp with the Indianapolis Colts. He is engaged to Tishly Goldie. His nickname is Big Harv.

af2 BABY RUTH REAL DEAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Week Team Player
14 Arkansas Kevin Williams

af2 U.S. ARMY IRONMAN OF THE WEEK
Week Team Player
14 Tulsa Michael Duncan

af2 ADT DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Week Team Player
14 Rio Grande Eddie Moten

Trivial Pursuit
Oldest player: 39, Flint Fleming – 3/17/65
Youngest player: 23, Fred Barr – 1/5/81
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: 3
Illinois Colleges: 3
Players 300+ pounds: 7
Players 6'5" or taller: 4
2004 Roster Breakdown
By College/University
California-Lutheran Purdue
California-Berkley – 2 Cal. St. – Northridge
Northern Illinois San Diego State Eastern Kentucky Simpson North Dakota State Grand Valley State SW Missouri State Illinois Indiana (PA) Vanderbilt Western Illinois – 2 SUNY-Morrisville 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 Ronnie Gordon
11 Wilkes-Barre J.R. Thomas (WBS)
13 Peoria Frank West (PEO)
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 Tim Dodge
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 Enoch Smith (PEO)
15 Birmingham
17 Louisville
Steamwheelers "When" Stats
4-2 at The MARK of the Quad Cities
4-3 on the road

4-3 vs. National Conference
4-2 vs. American Conference

2-2 vs. American Northeast
0-0 vs. American South
2-0 vs. American Mid-South
0-0 vs. National Southwest
3-2 vs. National Midwest
1-1 vs. National West

3-1 on Fridays
5-4 on Saturdays

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

4-2 when leading after the first quarter
2-3 when trailing after the first quarter
2-0 when tied after the first quarter

7-1 when leading at halftime
1-4 when trailing at halftime
0-0 when tied at halftime

8-1 when leading after the third quarter
0-4 when trailing after the third quarter
0-0 when tied after the third quarter

6-3 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
7-3 when opponent scores less than 50 points

4-2 when the ‘Wheelers scores more than 50 points
4-3 when the ‘Wheelers scores less than 50 points


4-3 when the ‘Wheelers scores first
4-2 when the opponent scores first

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