Steamwheelers Comeback Falls Short as Fire Hold On for 55-53 Victory
May 3, 2008 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
(Moline, Ill.) - With the Quad City Steamwheelers trailing 35-21 at the half, a strong second half effort came up short as the âWheelers (2-3) fell 55-53 to the Louisville Fire in front of 4,721 at the i wireless Center on Saturday, May 3.
Quarterback Matt Bassuener extended the Fire lead, 42-21, to start the third quarter on a one-yard quarterback sneak. However, the Steamwheelers battled back to score the next 21 points to pull within two points early in the fourth quarter, 42-40. Peters hauled in the 38-yard reception from quarterback J.J. Raterink as he scored his first of three touchdowns in the final frame. Ricardo Lenhart and Demetrius Forney scored the final two touchdowns of the night for the Fire to between the Peters catches to give the Fire a 55-46 lead with just 37 seconds remaining. Peters hauled in his fourth touchdown catch of the night with just nine seconds remaining in the fourth quarter to once again pull the âWheelers to within two. The Fire ran out the clock after the Steamwheelers failed on a last second on-side kick.
For the âWheelers Raterink finished with 315 yards and seven touchdown passes on 22 completions. Peters had his best game of the season catching four touchdowns and tallying 154 receiving yards on nine catches. Wide Receiver Jesse Schmidt finished with six catches for 110 yards and three touchdowns. On defense, Kevin Adams led the team in his debut with 9.5 tackles and a interceptions, while Jeremy Blocker notched nine tackles.
For the Fire, Bassuener finished with two touchdown passes and 218 yards on 22 completions. He also paced the team with 57 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns. Lenhart finished as Louisville's leading receiver as he hauled in one touchdown on 133 yards and 13 catches. Dominic Ross had a game-high 10 tackles on defense, while Tymere Zimmerman and Mat Forbes each registered a pick.
The Steamwheelers travel to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton next weekend before returning home for its first contest this season against the Peoria Pirates on Saturday, May 17.
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