Quad City Steamwheelers Keep Division Championship Hopes Alive
July 26, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
July 26, 2007, (Moline, Ill.) - The Quad City Steamwheelers (10-6) started the weekend early at the i wireless Center in front of 3,758 with an exciting 56-55 victory over the Fort Wayne Fusion (5-11) on Thursday, July 26. With the victory the Steamwheelers can still win the Midwest Division if the Green Bay Blizzard falls at Mahoning Valley on Saturday, July 28.
The contest was a back and forth affair that saw the Fusion tie the game at 49 with just over three minutes remaining thanks to an eight-yard pass from quarterback Blayne Baggett to Cesare Manning, who had a game-high 181-yards, for his fourth touchdown of the night. The Steamwheelers orchestrated a five play, 46-yard drive that culminated with a Jeff Macrea eight-yard run with 52 seconds remaining to give Quad City a seven point lead. The Fusion scored with only seven seconds remaining on a 14-yard run by Baggett and decided to go for the win, however, the two-point conversion failed. Fort Wayne recovered the on-side kick, but the ball did not travel 10 yards and the Steamwheelers were able to run down the clock to hang on for the 56-55 victory.
Wide Receiver Kris Peters dominated the first half for the âWheelers scoring three of the five touchdowns including back-to-back touchdowns in the second quarter to help the Quad City jump out to a 34-21 lead. The Fusion scored twice in a roll, thanks to an on-side kick recovery to close the quarter and thake a 35-34 lead into the locker room.
This was only the second time this season Quad City has trailed at home at the half and they had struggled at points in the season during the third quarter. However, the team dominated the third frame scoring on a J.J. Raterink one-yard run and a 27-yard Kimo Naehu field goal. The defense allowed Fort Wayne to tally only one first down and 22 total yards to give Quad City a 43-35 lead heading into the final 15 minutes.
Raterink threw for a season-high 334 yards while registering six touchdowns on 34 completions. His favorite target was Jack Walker Jr., who also had a season-high 145 yards in addition to earning the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game award. Both players broke their previous season-highs which had been set on June 8 at Fort Wayne. Peters finished with four touchdowns and 119 yards on 11 catches. Sidney Lewis led the team with 7.5 tackles, seven of which were solo, while Lavar Stepter and Andy Endemann each recovered a fumble.
For the Fusion, Baggett threw 292 yards and four touchdowns on 21 completions, while rushing for two. Manning led the receiving corps with 181 yards and four touchdowns on 10 catches, while Derek Brown rushed for two touchdowns. On defense Derrick Simmons and Morris Virgil each had a game-high eight solo tackles.
• Discuss this story on the arenafootball2 message board...
arenafootball2 Stories from July 26, 2007
- Quad City Steamwheelers Keep Division Championship Hopes Alive - Quad City Steamwheelers
- Former Dorados in ArenaBowl - Rio Grande Valley Dorados
- Friday Night matchup - af2
- Sharks Weekly - Corpus Christi Sharks
- af2 Quick Hitters - af2
- Simpson is Co-Defensive Player of the Week - Arkansas Diamonds
- Twisters Game Notes - Arkansas Diamonds
- Giddens Honored By af2 - Manchester Wolves
- Playoff Tickets Go On Sale Monday - Arkansas Diamonds
- af2 Weekly Awards - af2
- Jungle Kats Close-Out Regular Season in Alabama Saturday Night - Cincinnati Jungle Kats
- Steeldogs Come Home With Playoffs On The Line - Alabama Steeldogs
- Steeldogs' Tanney Named af2 Offensive Player of the Week - Alabama Steeldogs
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.
