Steamwheelers update
March 10, 2006 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
Local Boy: Maurice Harris, a Davenport native, attended the open try-out camp that the Steamwheelers hosted on Saturday, October 29. His workout caught the attention of the Steamwheeler coaching staff and Harris has been invited back for an opportunity to make the team when training camp opens on Monday. Harris played for Davenport Central before attending Iowa Central Community College, where he played on the junior varsity squad. Open try-out camps have produced players for the Steamwheelers in the past including Alfonso Pugh Jr., Mikey Novak, Andre Banks and DeOnté Taylor.
The Deep Ball is Back: One of the most noticeable changes fans will notice this year will be the offensive scheme of the Steamwheelers. This past off-season, Sean Ponder was added to the staff as the assistant head coach/offensive coordinator. Ponder is best known for his offensive philosophy. While with the Wichita Stealth of the af2, his team averaged seven touchdowns a game. While offensive coordinator for Orange Coast College (Costa Mesa, Calif.), Ponder's offense set 21 school records.
Beating the Odds: Last year's FB/LB A.J. Novak suffered a season ending injury to his knee in the 61-54 overtime loss to the Memphis Xplorers on June 11. Doctors and team trainer Craig Wainwright thought Novak would never be able to play again. Novak has rehabbed in the offseason, and much to everyone's surprise, has come back healthy and ready to play football.
Pizza Bowl Redux: Last year's Happy Joe's Pizza bowl against the Green Bay Blizzard was so successful we thought we'd try it again. The event raises money for the Happy Joe's Special Needs Children Foundation and will be played on Orthopaedic Specialists Field at The MARK of the Quad Cities on Thursday, March 23 at 7:15 p.m. All proceeds from tickets sold at area Happy Joe's and from donations made at the game will go directly to the Happy Joe's Special Needs Children Foundation. Last season the game was decided in the closing seconds and the Blizzard escaped with the Pizza Bowl trophy.
Recent Steamwheeler Transactions: 3-9-06 OL/DL Eddie Robinson placed on recallable re-assignment; 3-7-06 FB/LB A.J. Novak assigned to Steamwheelers; 3-3-06 OL/DL Jason Cedeno international status approved; 3-2-06 FB/LB Eric Hadley placed on Exempt list.
Time Change: Please note that the Quad City Steamwheelers have changed the start time of their regular season home games to 7:15 p.m.
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