Riptide take on red-hot Steamwheelers & former teammate tomorrow night
July 11, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
San Diego Riptide News Release
Tomorrow night, the San Diego Riptide will face off against the hottest team in the National Conference when they travel to Moline, Illinois to take on the Quad City Steamwheelers, who've won eleven straight. In the contest, the Riptide will be also facing former Riptide FB/LB Brian Berg, who was re-assigned to the Steamwheelers following the Riptide's 43-24 loss to Bakersfield on May 31.
Berg scored the first points in Riptide history on April 6, 2002 when he scampered seven yards for a touchdown against Bakersfield and did the same for the beging on the 2003 campaign on a two-yard plunge.
In nine games this season with the Riptide, Berg recorded 18.0 tackles, 1.5 sacks, a 48-yard interception return for a touchdown, eight QB hurries, a blocked field goal and a fumble recovery. He still ranks third on the team in rushing yards with 43 yards on eight carries (5.4 average) and a touchdown.
In the 2002 regular season finale against Quad City, Berg rushed twice for seven yards and added 2.5 tackles in the Riptide's 58-41 defeat.
Berg has now migrated east, halfway across the country. And this time, Berg will be on the other side of the ball with a new team. So what will it be like for Berg taking on his former team?
"My word that I have been using to describe this game has been interesting," Berg said. "There's a couple of players on the team that I want to get after and prove my dominance and the rest of them are a bunch of my boys and with them I really don't want to see anyone have to lose."
Then again who wouldn't want to be on a team that has won 11-straight games and already qualified for the playoffs compared to a team that is 5-8 and is one game out of the playoffs.
San Diego is coming off a win that snapped their five game losing streak, one that included a 53-43 loss on June 7th to Green Bay, which was Green Bay's first victory of the season and a Blizzard team that Quad City defeated 75-29 last weekend.
For Berg, taking on former teammates is not always the easiest of tasks for him or any player in any league, but it happens more often than not.
"I will equate that to being in camp because you can be best friends and I have said it before is that the character of a man when it comes to football is what happens on the field, stays on the field," Berg said. "It's not about being friends on the field, it's about a job."
And what about facing his former head coach Cree Morris?
"Cree is a good guy," Berg said. "It should be a lot of fun (going against Morris). I get to prove to him that he made a mistake when he made his âroster moves' (changes) and released me and we'll find out who made the better decision on Saturday."
The game will feature two of the leagues top ten teams in passing offense.
The Steamwheelers are at the top of the list with an average of 277.8 passing yards per game while the Riptide are sitting in tenth at 229.2 yards per game.
The Steamwheelers offense is led by QB Tony Zimmerman who is second (behind Albany's Ryan Vena) in passing yards and total offense. Zimmerman has completed 233-of-418 for 3551 yards, 73 touchdowns and only six interceptions. Zimmerman has also rushed 36 times for 66 yards, 15 of those touchdowns. Zimmerman is on pace to break the record for passing touchdowns and has a legit shot at breaking the passing yards record as well.
San Diego's pass attack comes from the arm of Kane Claunch. Claunch has completed 216-of-365 for 2,945 yards, 54 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. Claunch recently won the league weekly honor after his perfect QB rating performance on June 28th against the Wichita Stealth.
Claunch went 16-of-19 for 281 yards and six touchdowns en route to the perfect 158.33 rating.
Zimmerman had a perfect QB rating last week against the Green Bay Blizzard going 17-of-20 for 278 yards and five touchdowns while rushing for two more.
However, he wasn't named the leagues Offensive Player of the Week, as he was beat out by Albany's Ryan Vena who was 20-of-30 for 342 yards, five touchdowns and rushed for three more.
This will be the second time that the two teams have met with the âWheelers holding the 1-0 edge after last seasons regular season finale victory.
The game against the Riptide this Saturday night at The MARK of the Quad Cities has some significant playoff incentives on the line for both teams.
If the Steamwheelers win, they will be assured of a first round bye and home field for at least the second round, National Conference semi-final championship and finish no worse than second in the National Conference race.
The Riptide will be looking to move into the #6 spot in the National Conference, but will need a win over the âWheelers and a Bakersfield loss to do so.
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