Quad City Steamwheelers Remain in First Place in the Midwest Division
June 29, 2007 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
June 29, 2007, (Moline, Ill.) - The Quad City Steamwheelers (8-5) remained in first place in the American Conference Midwest Division thanks to a 61-33 victory over the Green Bay Blizzard (6-6) in front of 4,316 at The MARK of the Quad Cities. The Steamwheelers used a 27-point fourth quarter and nine touchdown night by quarterback J.J. Raterink to defeat the Blizzard.
With the âWheelers leading 27-20 at the half, the Blizzard started the third quarter with a seven play 45-yard drive that culminated with a two-yard Antonio Ficklin run. The Blizzard elected to go for a two-point conversion and failed leaving Quad City in the lead, 27-26. Wide Receiver Jack Walker Jr., caught his second of four touchdown passes for the âWheelers to extend the lead to 34-26 with just 2:37 remaining in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter turned into the Walker Jr., show as he tallied two touchdown receptions, forced two fumbles and recovered two fumbles. He opened the quarter with a 26-yard touchdown reception with 11:02 remaining. With the Steamwheelers leading 47-33 and seven minutes remaining in the game Walker Jr., registered a sack on Blizzard quarterback Gino Guidugli forcing a fumble that he recovered. One play later he caught a 19-yard pass from Raterink extending the âWheelers lead to 54-33. Walker Jr., sealed the game for Quad City with 27 seconds remaining after forcing and recovering his second fumble on the evening.
The Steamwheelers opened the first frame with Kris Peters registering the first two touchdowns of the night to put Quad City up, 14-0. The Blizzard cut the lead to seven with just 43 seconds remaining in the quarter when Guidugli, who finished the game with 276 yards and four touchdowns on 18 completions, hit Ficklin on a 29-yard pass. The two teams traded touchdowns in the second quarter with Walker Jr., and Tom Anthony trading strikes with Nathan Hardwick and Kellen Allen for the Blizzard.
For the âWheelers the team finished with 300 total offensive yards, while Walker Jr., went over the 1,000 yard and 100 catch plateau with 12 catches for 106 yards and four touchdowns. He is the second âWheelers this year to tally 1,000+ receiving yards. Anthony finished with 10 catches for 81 yards and one touchdown, while Peters tallied nine catches for 98 yards and four touchdowns. On defense Lavar Stepter led the way with 8.5 total tackles and two pass breakups, while Shonn Bell finished with three tackle, two tackles for a loss and three pass breakups.
Hardwick finished with a game-high 120 yards while tallying seven catches and two touchdowns. Teammates Burnoski and Allen each finished with five catches for 71 and 56 yards respectively. The defense was led by Donnie Amadi who finished with eight tackles, while his brother Ronnie and Stephen Cason which finished with seven.
• Discuss this story on the arenafootball2 message board...
arenafootball2 Stories from June 29, 2007
- Quad City Steamwheelers Raise $8,080 Through Jersey Auction - Quad City Steamwheelers
- Quad City Steamwheelers Remain in First Place in the Midwest Division - Quad City Steamwheelers
- Wings lose despite seven Carter touchdowns - Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings
- Texas Copperheads game notes - Texas Copperheads
- Manchester Wolves From The Den - Manchester Wolves
- Dance Team Appearance - Spokane Shock
- Wolves Bulk Up For Playoff Push - Manchester Wolves
- Burn Add Two Players For Saturday's Game Against Fever - Boise Burn
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.
