Steamwheelers Receivers To Be First Teammates to 1,000 Yards This Season
June 11, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
DAVENPORT, Iowa â The Quad City Steamwheelers have a storied history when it comes to stand out wide receivers, especially under coach Rich Ingold. Since Ingold took over the reigns in 2002, each season his receivers have performed a feat that no other set of teammates have ever accomplished in all of Arena Football.
In 2002, offensive specialist Ira Gooch and wide receiver/linebacker Chris Anthony were the first ever duo in Arena Football to record at least 100 receptions (Anthony 125, Gooch 100), 1,000 receiving yards (Anthony 1,613, Gooch 1,533) and 30 touchdowns (both with 32) in the same season.
Both have moved up to the Arena Football League, with Anthony starring for the New York Dragons, who just missed the playoffs this season, and Gooch, who joined the expansion New Orleans VooDoo for their inaugural 2004 season (after time with the New Orleans Saints of the NFL last August) and helped guide the VooDoo to a playoff berth.
In 2003, the Steamwheelers receivers accomplished another Arena Football feat. This time it was a trio of Quad City receivers who made the record books. Along with Gooch, rookie wide receiver/defensive back and former Iowa Hawkeye standout Tim Dodge and wide receiver/linebacker Jeff Hewitt all three had over 1,000 receiving yards apiece.
Gooch headed the list with 1,465 yards, followed by Hewitt (1,268) and Dodge (1,229). No trio of teammates had ever eclipsed the 1,000 receiving yards plateau until these three âWheelers did so.
This season, Dodge and Hewitt are all but on pace to mimic the feat that Gooch and Anthony accomplished in 2002. And they will accomplish another arenafootball2 feat before that.
Both of the road roommates are all but assured to go over the 1,000 receiving yards mark this weekend when the Steamwheelers take on the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Pioneers, this Saturday at The MARK of the Quad Cities, the first two teammates to do so this season.
Dodge is just 36 yards away from the feat, while Hewitt has a slight bit of more work to do, as he is 84 yards away from the century mark. On the season, Dodge has caught 65 passes for 964 yards (107.1/game) and 16 scores and Hewitt has 57 receptions for 916 yards (101.8/game) and 15 touchdowns.
The two are on pace to finish with very close to the 2002 record. Dodge is on pace to finish with 115 receptions, 1,713 yards and 28 touchdowns, while Hewitt is on pace for 101 receptions, 1,628 and 27 touchdowns.
With the yardage and receptions on pace, the touchdown pace could be deceiving. Steamwheelers quarterback Ronnie Gordon started the season off slow and has been on a tear as of late. After starting the season only throwing no more than four touchdowns a game for the first six games, Gordon threw for six against Wichita, then threw for five at San Diego and then a season high eight touchdowns last weekend at Louisville.
Not to mention Gordon doing some of the scoring himself, as he has done some of the damage on the ground. On the season, Gordon has rushed for 14 touchdowns; three shy of the Steamwheelers single season record set by quarterback Tony Zimmerman in 2003. Gordon has rushed for a score in every game this season and rushed for two scores in five of the Steamwheelers nine games.
Gordon will most likely break the Steamwheelers record, but would fall just short of the af2 single season record. The current record is 28, which was set last season by Cape Fear's Wilmont Perry, who finished the 2003 season with 28 rushing scores. Gordon is on pace for 25 rushing scores.
The Steamwheelers are also going for win number 40 at home (playoffs included) at The MARK. They will also be looking for their 12th straight regular season home victory. To date, the Steamwheelers have the best home record in all of af2 with a record of 39-4. The Tulsa Talons are not far behind at 37-6 and archrival Tennessee Valley sits at 34-9.
The Steamwheelers also hold the best overall record, playoffs included, at 67-13, just ahead of Tulsa and Tennessee Valley, who both have 61-22 records through four and a half seasons of play.
Dodge, Hewitt and Gordon will be looking to add another chapter in the record books, or move closer to those marks, starting this weekend when they and the rest of the Steamwheelers host the Pioneers. The Steamwheelers first loss of the season came at the hands of the Pioneers on April 24 in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. The Steamwheelers will try to give the Pioneers a little payback this Saturday night at The MARK.
Ticket sales for the awaited home rematch against the Pioneers have picked up the last several days and are now brisk. The team anticipates one of its largest group ticket sales efforts for the Saturday night contest in four and a half seasons of play. With almost 1,300 group tickets already paid for and more last minute orders coming in, the final tally could be close to the 1,450 record sold for the 2000 home game against the Arkansas Twisters, who forced the âWheelers into overtime in a road game in Little Rock, Ark., in the inaugural season of play. The Steamwheelers, who went 19-0 in 2000, came back to beat the Twisters 47-20.
"I see a lot of excitement building for this rematch with the Pioneers now that the game is close at hand, both with the late group commitments and single week of game sales," Director of Ticket Sales Brian Forth said. "This may be one of the biggest crowds this year and they're going to see a real war on Saturday night."
Good seats are still available and can be purchased at The MARK box office or through TicketMaster by calling 563.326.1111 or by visiting www.ticketmaster.com. Also, it's not too late to pick up the 4-pack half season tickets. The 4-pack ticket holders will have great seats for the final four home games as well as first rights at playoff tickets and first rights to the same seats for the full 2005 season. The 4-pack tickets starts as low as $28 and can be purchased by contacting Steamwheelers Director of Ticket Sales Brian Forth at 1.866.STEAMTIX.
The game can also be heard on the Steamwheelers Radio Network, with flagship WFXN AM 1230 and Muscatine's KWPC 860 AM carrying the game. You may also tune into the game on the Steamwheelers official website, www.steamwheelers.com and clicking on game broadcasts.
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