Sports stats



Steamwheelers Weekly Report

June 23, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release


Recap: The Steamwheelers are coming off a much needed bye week. After a 55-30 victory over division rival Louisville, players and coaches went home for the week with a good number of players nursing injuries. The vacation ended on Saturday when the team came together for practice on Saturday at Brady Street Stadium.

Next Up: The ‘Wheelers have all ready begun preparation for their trip to Honolulu, Hawaii to take on the National Conference West Division leading Hawaiian Islanders. The Islanders, who stand at 9-3, are coming off a 39-38 thrilling victory over the San Diego Riptide. The game will kickoff at 7:30 local time and at 12:30 a.m. (CDT) early Sunday morning.

Last Time: The last time these two teams met, the Islanders escaped The MARK of the Quad Cities with a 53-52 victory in this seasons home and season opener for the ‘Wheelers back on April 4th. K Brian Hegnauer missed a game tying PAT with :12 left in the game and the Steamwheelers failed to recover the attempted onsides kick.

Zimmerman Record Watch: With the week off, QB Tony Zimmerman did not move any closer to the af2 records for passing touchdowns and passing yards. Zimmerman currently has 63 passing touchdowns and 3,036 passing yards and is on pace to throw for 91 touchdowns and 4,416 yards. The current af2 records are 86 touchdowns thrown by Matt Sauk of the Tennessee Valley Vipers in the 2001 season and 4,417 yards thrown by Jon Nielsen of the Arkansas Twisters in 2000. Zimmerman will need to average 4.6 touchdowns and 276.2 yards per game to break the records.

All Eyes On Gooch: Ever since head coach Rich Ingold moved the af2's all-purpose yard record holder Ira Gooch from WR/LB to OS, Gooch has made his way up the all-purpose yard list. Gooch currently sits seventh in the league with an average of 173.1 all-purpose yards per game. His 1,904 yards have come by way of 1,055 receiving yards, 769 kick return yards, 75 missed field goal return yards and five rushing yards.

Upcoming Steamwheelers Appearances: This week the Steamwheelers will have the week off from appearances, as they will be leaving for Honolulu, Hawaii Thursday of this week. Steamwheelers staff members who will not be making the trip to Hawaii will be at the "Taste of the Quad Cities" Friday through Sunday outside The MARK of the Quad Cities on River Drive.

Practice Times: This week the ‘Wheelers will practice Monday through Wednesday at The MARK of the Quad Cities from 5-7 p.m. with film starting at 5 p.m. and practice starting at 5:30 p.m. The best time to talk with players and coaches will be from 4:30 –4:55 p.m. as players and coaches arrive, between 5:20 p.m. –5:30 p.m. after film ends and after practice which ends between 6:40 p.m. – 7 p.m. The ‘Wheelers will practice in Hawaii at the University of Hawaii's Astroturf football field on Friday at noon.

Travel Plans: The team will leave on Thursday, June 26th with Northwest Flight 3301 to Minneapolis departing at 8:30 a.m. They will arrive in Minneapolis at 10:10 a.m. with Northwest Flight 921 departing to Honolulu at 11:20 a.m. They will arrive in Honolulu at 2:50 p.m. local time (7:50 p.m. CDT). They will be staying at OHANA Waikiki Tower located at 200 Lewers St., Honolulu, Hawaii 96815-1955. The main hotel phone number is 808-924-8844 and the fax number is 808-922-6424. The game will take place on Saturday, June 28th at 7:30 p.m. local time (12:30 a.m. Sunday, June 29th CDT) at Neal S. Blaisdell Arena (6,600). The team will then depart for the Quad Cities on Monday evening with Northwest Flight 920 departing for Minneapolis at 5:25 p.m. (10:25 p.m. CDT). They will arrive in Minneapolis on Tuesday morning at 6:08 a.m. and Northwest Flight 2789 will depart for Moline at 9:00 a.m. They will finally return home at 10:30 a.m.

"In the Boiler Room": This week's coaches show will air from 7-8 p.m. on Fox Sports WXFN AM 1230 and can be seen "live" this week at the Veranda, located at the corner of Blackhawk Road and 34th Street in Rock Island, Ill. The "Voice of the Deuce" and Steamwheelers play-byplay man Jim Albracht will host the show with head coach Rich Ingold and select players. There will be prize giveaways and players and coaches will be available for autographs and pictures.

On the Air: This Saturday's game, as well as every other Steamwheelers game, can be heard on WOC 1420 AM with Jim Albracht making the call and Jim Foster on color. You can also listen in to Q106.5's Dwyer and Michaels every morning as they discuss the ‘Wheelers periodically on the "Mornings with Dwyer and Michaels" show that runs from 5:30 a.m. – 10:00 a.m. Also, the "Voice of the Steam" Jim Albracht also hosts "Albracht in the AM" from 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. on WOC 1420 AM. Throughout the show he discusses a variety of topics as well as the Steamwheelers.

• Discuss this story on the arenafootball2 message board...

arenafootball2 Stories from June 23, 2003


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.

Other Recent Quad City Steamwheelers Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central