Steamwheelers Weekly Report

Published on June 30, 2003 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release


Recap: The Steamwheelers are coming off a much-needed victory, knocking off conference foe Hawaii. The 54-36 victory propelled the ‘Wheelers into first place in the conference and clinched the division, assuring them a playoff spot. DS Asa Francis had 7.5 tackles; five for a loss of 53 yards, four sacks and two forced fumbles.

Next Up: The ‘Wheelers will take on divisional rival Green Bay this Saturday night at the Resch Center in Green Bay, Wis. The game between the Steamwheelers will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. The Blizzard are coming off their second victory of the season with a 68-34 win over the Louisville Fire.

Last Time: The last time these two teams met, the ‘Wheelers won a close game, as the Blizzard hung with the Steamwheelers for the majority of the game, but could not pull off the upset as the ‘Wheelers won 64-55 en route to their fifth consecutive victory.

Zimmerman Record Watch: With the victory over the Islanders, Zimmerman moved closer to the passing touchdowns season record and fell slightly off the passing yards for a season record. Zimmerman currently has 68 passing touchdowns and 3,273 passing yards and is on pace to throw for 91 touchdowns and 4,364 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 4.5 touchdowns and 286.0 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 eighth in the league with an average of 173.4 all-purpose yards per game. His 2,081 yards have come by way of 1,075 receiving yards, 907 kick return yards, 94 missed field goal return yards and five rushing yards.

Upcoming Steamwheelers Appearances: This week the Steamwheelers will have the week off from appearances, but Steamwheelers Willie and the DeckMates will be on hand this Friday night in Bettendorf, Iowa for the Bettendorf Fireworks show. Festivities start at 9 p.m.

Practice Times: With the ‘Wheelers not returning home until Tuesday morning from Hawaii, the team will have a light workout in Hawaii on Monday before boarding a plane back to the Quad Cities. On Tuesday, head coach Rich Ingold plans to get the players together in the early evening for some conditioning. A time for the conditioning has not been set. The team will then return to normal practice hours on Wednesday and Thursday practicing from 5-7 p.m. They will have film from 5-5:30 p.m. with practice going from 5:30-6:45 p.m. They will then depart for Green Bay, Wis. on Friday. The best time to reach players and coaches will be between 4:45-5 p.m., 5:20-5:30 p.m. and at the conclusion of practice.

Travel Plans: The team will leave on Friday, July 4th at 10:00 a.m. and travel by bus to Green Bay, Wis. Their ETA in Green Bay is 4:00 p.m. They will have a walkthrough at the Resch Center at a time to be determined that evening. The team will be staying at the Days Inn located at 1978 Holmgren Way, Green Bay, Wis. 54304. The hotel phone number is 920-498-8088.

"In the Boiler Room": This week's coaches show has been cancelled due to the teams flight for the Quad Cities not leaving until late Monday night. The "Voice of the Deuce" and Steamwheelers play-byplay man Jim Albracht will still be in Hawaii when the show would normally air. The show will return next week when Albracht, head coach Rich Ingold and select players will be on hand at Dalton's in Davenport, Iowa located on the corner of Harrison and Third Streets. The show will air from 7-8 p.m. and can be seen "live" at Daltons. Come join in the fun as there will be prize giveaways as well as players and coaches 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. Also, every Sunday night on the NBC affiliate KWQC-TV6 following the 10:00 p.m. news, sports director Thom Cornelis hosts "Wheeler Watch" which features highlights of the previous weekends game and a discussion with head coach Rich Ingold.

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