Steamwheelers weekly notes
June 7, 2005 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
Gatto Revisits Day to Remember: For Nick Gatto, April 30 will always be a day to remember. With the score tied 42-42, and after missing a potential game-winning extra point less than a minute earlier, Gatto drilled a 45-yard game-winning field goal, the third longest in Quad City history, to defeat the Memphis Xplorers at OS Field at The MARK of the Quad Cities. On the play before his kick, Gatto saved a near disastrous ending by recovering a bad snap in his own end zone, avoiding a would-be tackler and frantically kicking the ball away.
Since that day, Gatto has hit just two more field goals, but he has been a model of consistency on kickoffs and extra points, ranking fifth in the league in PAT conversion percentage (48-59, 84.2%) and third in PAT's made with 48.
Special Teams Comes Up Big Again: Just as special teams tilted the scales in favor of the âWheelers in the aforementioned game, the same could be said about this past Saturday's win over Louisville. Despite an inauspicious start that saw Gatto's first extra point attempt blocked, ending a string of 16 consecutive successful conversions by the Arkansas State product, the Quad City special teams units made a series of key plays to give their team a victory.
Late in the first half, Pat Hughes collected the ball at the four yard line following a Gatto miss and rumbled into the end zone to give his team a 27-14 lead from which they would never look back. Matt Forbes also recovered a Gatto miss, this one in the fourth quarter, but was stopped just short of what would have been his second touchdown of the game.
Louisville had scored on its previous drive before Forbes' near-score to cut the Quad City lead to 47-41. However, that six point advantage did not become five as John Culp burst through the Fire's kick protection to block Danny Kight's extra point and keep the score at the eventual final of 47-41.
Wheelers Riding High on Leader Boards: Travis Burns, Sam Clemons and Matt Forbes all find themselves in the af2's top five for a series of statistical categories. Burns, the Steamwheelers lone, true OS, leads the league in return yards with 832 yards on 39 returns for an average of 21.2 yards per return. He is also fifth in the league with 1,481 all purpose yards, which is more than twice the number of yards Burns' next closest competition on the team, Tim Dodge, has.
Forbes, who is sixth in the league in tackles with 53, and second in interceptions with seven, one behind the leaders, leads "The Deuce" with 142 interception return yards and three scores, including a 24-yarder last weekend against the Fire.
Rounding out the triumvirate is Clemons whose strong and steady play has seen this season has seen him rapidly climb to the top of nearly all statistics kept for quarterbacks. The Western Illinois grad is fifth in the af2 in total offense with 2,372 yards combined, tied for sixth among QB's in rushing touchdowns with five, third in completion percentage (67.3%), fourth in pass attempts (324), fourth in quarterback rating (113.7), third in passing yards (2,343) as well as being ninth in the league with 43 passing touchdowns.
Turnovers to Turn the Tide: In Saturday's win over Louisville, the âWheelers forced Fire quarterback Matt Sauk to throw a pair of interceptions, one in the first half that Matt Forbes ran back for a touchdown, and one that Jack Walker Jr. grabbed to seal the win in the final minute. Quad City will need a similar performance this weekend against Memphis in order to knock off the Midwest Division front runners.
However, that will not be an easy task as the Xplorers currently lead the af2 in turnover margin by a large margin. They have forced 32 turnovers while turning the ball over just 11 times for at +21 margin.
The Steamwheelers on the other hand find themselves in the middle of the pack with a -1 margin thanks to turning the ball over 15 times and forcing just 14 on the season.
Déjà vu for Xplorers: Memphis began the 2005 season with four consecutive victories to take control of the Midwest Division. However, their undefeated run was ended by Nick Gatto's last second field goal that gave the âWheelers a 45-42 win. Since that game, the Xplorers have played four more contests, winning each going into Saturday's game against Quad City.
Never before in franchise history, have the Steamwheelers ended multiple winning streaks of four games or longer by the same team in a given season.
NEXT GAME-
-Saturday, June 11, 2005
-Steamwheelers (4-5, 4th in the Midwest Division) at Memphis Xplorers (8-1, 1st in the Midwest Division), 7:00 p.m. (CDT) at the DeSoto Civic Center.
Radio: WFXN 1230 AM, KWPC 860 AM and steamwheelers.com with Jim Albracht and Jim Foster.
LAST GAME-
-Saturday, June 4
Quad City Steamwheelers 47
Louisville Fire 41
at OS Field at The MARK of the Quad Cities
STEAMWHEELERS INJURY REPORT (updated 06-07-05):
OUT-Andre Banks (R- Ankle) Long-Term Injured Reserve
OUT- Brandon Graves (R- Shoulder) Long-Term Injured Reserve
OUT- Alfonso Pugh Jr. (R- Ankle) Short-Term Injured Reserve*
OUT- Antonio Watson (R- Hamstring) Short-Term Injured Reserve*
OUT- Brandon Williams (R- Knee) Long-Term Injured Reserve
* Denotes that player must come off of injured reserve before Saturday's game
STEAMWHEELERS Remaining Practice Schedule for Week of June 7, 2005 (All times are CDT)
Tuesday, June 7 -4:45 p.m. Practice at OS Field at The MARK of the Quad Cities
Wednesday, June 8 -4:45 p.m. Practice at OS Field at The MARK of the Quad Cities
Thursday, June 9 -4:45 p.m. Practice at OS Field at The MARK of the Quad Cities
Friday, June 10 ***TRAVEL DAY***
-2:00 p.m. Walk Through at DeSoto Civic Center
Saturday, June 11 ***GAME at Memphis Xplorers @ 7:00 p.m. (CDT) at DeSoto Civic Center***
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