Steamwheelers game notes
July 15, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
THE STAKES: The Steamwheelers are looking improve upon their sixth spot in the National Conference and move closer to clinching a playoff berth. They are also looking to avoid the season sweep at the hands of the Dusters and extend their winning streak to a season-best four games.
THE SERIES: This is the second ever meeting between the Steamwheelers and Dusters, and the first in the Quad Cities. With their 58-48 win on May 7, the Dusters became the first and only team in af2 history to defeat the Steamwheelers in their first-ever game against them.
THE IFs: If Quad City defeats Amarillo, it would ... ⢠Give it an 8-6 record on the season. ⢠Give the Steamwheelers a win over every team they have ever played. ⢠Give Rick Frazier a 16-14 record as an af2 head coach. ⢠Allow the Steamwheelers to avoid setting a team record for losses in the regular season with seven. ⢠Guarantee the Steamwheelers at least a .500 record this season.
LAST GAME vs. AMARILLO Quad City Steamwheelers at Amarillo Dusters May 7, 2005 Cal Farley Coliseum Dusters 58, Steamwheelers 48
AMARILLO, Texas. - The Quad City Steamwheelers saw their three-game winning streak was snapped in exasperating fashion with a 58-48 loss to the Amarillo Dusters at the Amarillo Civic Center. For the second straight week, the game was tied in the final minute, but this time the âWheelers would not have luck on their side.
Amarillo quarterback Julian Reese, who entered the game with an af2-best 12 rushing touchdowns, added three rushing scores to that total and threw for three more to pace the Dusters who improved to 4-1 with the win. But despite Reese's play, it was Jeremy Hershey's 29-yard field goal with eight seconds left that provided the difference between the two teams.
Nick Gatto, whose last-second field goal won the game for Quad City a week ago, had a chance to send the game to overtime, but his 45-yard attempt on the game's final play was wide, giving the Dusters the victory. With the result no longer in question, Kendrick Walker took the ball off the net and ran it back for the score to give the game its final scoreline of 58-48.
The loss takes much of the luster off of what had been a great game by quarterback Sam Clemons. The former Western Illinois signal caller passed for 209 yards and five touchdowns, and added his first running score of the season to put the Steamwheelers in a position to win the game. However, on a crucial third down play in the game's final minute, Clemons had a pass batted up into the air by an Amarillo defensive lineman. Clemons caught the deflection and took off running for a first down before being hit from behind. The ball came loose as Clemons hit the turf, but the referees ruled that the Steamwheelers' quarterback was not down before the ball came out, giving the ball to the Dusters, and setting the stage for Hershey's game-winning kick.
That was the second controversial play of the final two minutes, and the second to go against the âWheelers. Quad City was leading 48-41 as the Dusters were driving for the game-tying touchdown. On a first-and-ten from the 14 yard line, Reese tried to rifle a pass to wide receiver Jarrod Rouanzion in the back of the end zone. The pass hit Rouanzoin's hands and bounced up off of the catch net before coming back down. Matt Forbes appeared to intercept the ball before it hit the turf, but the officials ruled that the ball hit the back boards before Forbes had control, thus giving the Dusters another chance to tie the score. Six plays later they would take advantage of that chance as Reese tallied his third score of the night on a fourth and goal run from the two-yard line, leveling the score at 48-48 and setting the stage for the game's wild finish.
Looking at the Playoff Picture: The National Conference's muddled playoff picture can take another step toward clarity this weekend as the Steamwheelers play their penultimate divisional game against Amarillo on Saturday night at OS Field at the MARK of the Quad Cities. With a win by 10 points or more over the Dusters, Quad City will leap frog them into third place in the Midwest Division and fifth in the conference. Those rankings could move to second and fourth respectively if Louisville is able to knock off Oklahoma City at the Ford Center in Oklahoma City on Saturday night.
If that happens, the Steamwheelers would have put themselves in a position to host a first round playoff game for the third straight year and the fifth time in the last six years.
Four Off the Floor: In their 40-37 win over Green Bay, the Steamwheelers forced a season-high five turnovers, redeeming themselves after turning the ball over five time in Green Bay on May 21. Coming up with two of those turnovers was WR/LB Jack Walker Jr. who, in addition to forcing a fumble, recovered a pair as well. With the two fumble recoveries on Saturday, Walker Jr. is now tied atop the league leaders with four fumble recoveries on the season, leaving him tied with defensive specialist Kabote Siykala of Louisville.
Walker Jr., who is likely to be a finalist for the league-wide Ironman of the Year thanks to his 19 tackles two interceptions, and four fumble recoveries on defense, and his 75 catches for 711 yards and 13 scores, is ranked sixth in team history for fumble recoveries in a single season. In 2001, Cornelius Coe set the franchise record by recovering six fumbles, meaning that Walker Jr. would need to average one fumble recovery per game to surpass him.
Dodge Doubles Up: After tallying a game-high 10 catches for 78 yards, a touchdown and intercepting his first two passes of the season, Tim Dodge was primed to take home a hat full of postgame awards. And while he did not sweep the balloting, the former Iowa star was named the Offensive Player of the Game and the U.S. Army Ironman of the Game. It was the fifth Ironman of the Game award for last year's af2 Ironman of the Year and the first Offensive Player of the Game honor for the third year âWheeler WR/DB.
With his 78 receiving yards against the Blizzard, Dodge is now on the verge of eclipsing the 1,000 yard plateau for the third straight year. He currently leads the Steamwheelers with 86 catches and 968 yards. He also has 12 touchdowns to put him in fourth place on the club, two behind Travis Burns, and one behind Jeff Hewitt and Jack Walker Jr.
Defensively, Dodge is second on the team in tackles with 42.5 and is also now tied along with three others for second in interceptions with two. Receiver Streak Comes to an End: Despite the win that saw the âWheelers extend their winning streak to three games, tying a season-high, they did see one streak grind to a halt as Torey Morris did not record a reception, snapping the âWheelers streak of 12 straight games in which all five receivers had at least one reception. Of the five receivers in the Steamwheelers rotation this year, Morris ranks fifth in catches (26), yards (321) and touchdowns (8), but had scored in four of his last seven games before being shutout by Green Bay.
Reese is on the Run: If the Steamwheelers are going to stretch their winning streak to a season-long four games tonight, they will need to find a way to stop Amarillo quarterback Julian Reese from beating them with his legs. The former Indiana State star is on pace to break the af2 record for single season rushing scores, a record currently held by Wilmont Perry who tallied 28 rushing scores in 2003 with Cape Fear. With three games left, Reese, who is sixth in the league in rushing yards with 154 yards on a league-high 75 attempts, has 25 touchdowns, putting him on pace for 30 on the season.
In the Dusters first meeting with Quad City on May 7, Reese ran the ball eight times for 14 yards and three two-yard scores.
• Discuss this story on the arenafootball2 message board...
arenafootball2 Stories from July 15, 2005
- Week 16 af2 Saturday night matchups - af2
- Yard Dawgz look to put out the Fire - Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz
- Top-ranked Wolves look to clinch East Division crown Saturday - Manchester Wolves
- Steamwheelers game notes - Quad City Steamwheelers
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.
