Steamwheelers Drop Week 19 Matchup to Jacksonville Following Final-Second Touchdown
July 26, 2024 - Indoor Football League (IFL)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Steamwheelers dropped their final regular season game of the year to the Jacksonville Sharks, 43-37. This was a back-and-forth battle till the last seconds of the game.
The Sharks bit first, scoring a touchdown to get things started early in the first quarter. Quad City, however, struggled with moving down the field and containing Jacksonville's offense, all while being contained by their defense in the process.
This would continue as Jacksonville scored again, making it a 14-0 lead until Edward Vander made his presence felt by running into the endzone for a touchdown. Kyle Kaplan added the cherry on top, making it a 14-7 game for the Steamwheelers.
Later on, the Steamwheelers knotted the battle up at 14 apiece, then Jacksonville took the lead once again. After a missed extra point, the Sharks added to their total with a rogue, giving the Sharks another point to make it 21-14 late in the second quarter.
Later in the period, Mike Irwin pitched the pigskin to Edward Vander for another touchdown to tie it up at 21.
Vander would end the night with three touchdowns for the Steamwheelers.
Jacksonville didn't enjoy Vander's touchdowns one bit and for that, they decided to score another touchdown as the time expired going into halftime.
Coming out of the break, the Sharks were up 28-21 when both defenses traded interceptions. First, the Sharks picked off an Irwin pass, then Brain Hughes picked Jacksonville off the next throw. This Hughes interception led to the Steamwheelers moving down the field and Kaplan cutting the lead down to four points with a field goal.
Jacksonville had a 28-24 lead over Quad City to start the final period of the game, the Sharks then kicked a field goal that extended their lead and made it a 31-24 game and were their first points of the second half.
Judd Erickson was subbed into the game for Irwin, and he immediately found Warren Newman III over the middle for a huge gain, leading to Vander running it in for another touchdown to tie the game at 31.
The Sharks ended up taking the lead with a late touchdown, and while being up 37-31, the Judd-to-Rudd connection struck in crunchtime as Erickson found Keyvan Rudd with a deep ball dime in the endzone to knot things up at 37.
Everything came down to a field goal attempt from Kaplan as the ball went wide left and was caught by the Sharks. Tyler King returned the ball for a touchdown as the clock struck zeros, ending the game and handing the Steamwheelers a loss in their final matchup of the regular season, 43-37.
The Steamwheelers final record for the 2024 season is 8-8 overall, going .500 and securing an IFL Playoff spot. Quad City starts their playoff run next weekend.
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