Steamwheelers Unveil 2005 Schedule

Published on November 16, 2004 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release


DAVENPORT, Iowa — Just days after the Quad City Steamwheelers announced the return of seven veterans for the 2005 season, the arenafootball2 league office announced today the schedule for the 2005 season. It is the earliest that the schedule has been released in the league's six-year history.

The Steamwheelers 2005 season will open on the road at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on the second weekend of April. The Pioneers, who are the only team in the af2 to have a winning record against the Steamwheelers (2-1), are still determining the date and time of kickoff. The Steamwheelers will host the Pioneers later in the season on Saturday, May 14, at The MARK of the Quad Cities.

All Steamwheelers home games will be played on Saturday's and kickoff at 7:30 p.m. and be played at The MARK of the Quad Cities.

After opening the season on the road, the Steamwheelers will kick off the first of eight regular season home games against their new Midwest Division rival, the Bossier-Shreveport Battle Wings on April 16. The Steamwheelers will then travel to Bossier-Shreveport on Saturday, July 23. The Steamwheelers are 2-1 all-time against the Battle Wings.

The Steamwheelers will also have home-and-home tilts with other divisional rivals Oklahoma City (first ever meeting at Oklahoma City on Saturday, April 23, followed by a second meeting at The MARK on May 28), Memphis (at The MARK on April 30, and at Memphis on Saturday, June 11). The Steamwheelers are 2-0 all-time against Memphis.

New to the Midwest Division and league are the expansion Amarillo Dusters. Amarillo, Texas, is located 250 miles southwest of Oklahoma City, Okla., in the Texas Panhandle. The Steamwheelers will host the Dusters on July 16, which will be the final regular season home game of the season for the Steamwheelers. The Steamwheelers and new coach Rick Frazier, who is a Texas native, will return to his home state when the Steamwheelers take on the Dusters on May 7, in Amarillo, Texas.

Despite not being in the same division or conference anymore, the Steamwheelers will have home-and-home games against former divisional rivals, the Green Bay Blizzard and new archrival Louisville Fire. The Blizzard, who have yet to beat the Steamwheelers (0-4) will journey to The MARK on July 9 and host the Steamwheelers on Saturday, May 21.

The rematch of last season's divisional battle and playoff thriller against the Fire will come in Week 10 when the Steamwheelers welcome the Fire to The MARK on June 4. The Fire got their first ever win against the Steamwheelers on June 5, of last season and then also upset the Steamwheelers in the 2004 ArenaCup playoffs on the final play of the game on one of the most bizarre plays in Arena Football history.

And just as it happened a year ago, the Steamwheelers, 5-2 all-time against the Fire, will close out the regular season with their new rival, only this time on the road at legendary Freedom Hall in Louisville, Ky.

The other Steamwheelers home game will come on June 18, in a match-up against the Albany Conquest. The Conquest and Steamwheelers have never met before, but the former Albany Firebirds of the Arena Football League had an intense rivalry with the former AFL Iowa Barnstormers, the ‘Wheelers former sister team in Des Moines, Iowa. That connection could well kick in again between the two af2 teams. The Steamwheelers will also play on the road against the Manchester Wolves in their only Friday game. Kickoff for the Manchester game is set for 6:30 p.m. CST. Last season the two teams opened with games against each other with the Steamwheelers winning both contests.

Plans for telecasting approximately four road games are being refined now that the schedule is finalized. As they did last year with two games, Mediacom plans to air the telecasts throughout western Illinois and central and eastern Iowa. The possibility of a pre-season road game also exists. Details will be announced as soon as they can be finalized.

The full 2005 schedule is below.

The Steamwheelers are gearing up for their sixth season as a charter member of the arenafootball2 league. Season tickets and the popular "Pick 5" season ticket packages are currently on sale starting as low as $54 for a full season ticket. Single game tickets will not go on sale until March. If you are interested in watching the leagues winningest team, a 71-17 record in five seasons of play, including two ArenaCup championships, call the Steamwheelers office at 1-866-STEAMTIX.

2005 Schedule

Date Opponent Place Time
April 8 or 9 @ Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (Pa.) Wilkes-Barre, Pa. TBA
April 16 Bossier-Shreveport* HOME 7:30 p.m.
April 23 @ Oklahoma City* Oklahoma City, Okla. 7:30 p.m.
April 30 Memphis* HOME 7:30 p.m.
May 7 @ Amarillo* Amarillo, Texas 7 p.m.
May 14 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton HOME 7:30 p.m.
May 21 @ Green Bay Green Bay, Wis. 7 p.m.
May 28 Oklahoma City* HOME 7:30 p.m.
June 4 Louisville HOME 7:30 p.m.
June 11 @ Memphis* Southaven, Miss. 7 p.m.
June 18 Albany HOME 7:30 p.m.
June 24 @ Manchester Manchester, N.H. 6:30 p.m.
July 2 BYE WEEK
July 9 Green Bay HOME 7:30 p.m.
July 16 Amarillo* HOME 7:30 p.m.
July 23 @ Bossier-Shreveport* Bossier City, La. 7 p.m.
July 30 @ Louisville* Louisville, Ky. 6:30 p.m.

- All games are CST time.
* - Indicates National Conference Midwest Division game

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