Steamwheelers Weekly Report

July 14, 2003 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release


Recap: The Steamwheelers won their 12th straight game last Saturday night in a 69-36 rout of the San Diego Riptide in front of 6,471 fans at The MARK. QB Tony Zimmerman had an outstanding game going 18-of-28 for 288 yards, throwing eight touchdowns and no interceptions. OS Ira Gooch accounted for five touchdowns, all in the first half, catching seven passes for 107 yards, four of those for touchdowns. Gooch also added a 57-yard kickoff return for a touchdown en route to winning Game MVP honors. Ironman Tim Dodge caught five passes for 110 yards, two touchdowns while adding a game high nine tackles, an interception returned for 22 yards and one pass deflection.

Next Up: What is being dubbed as the biggest game in the four-year history of the af2, the Steamwheelers will take on their most heated rival, undefeated Tennessee Valley at The MARK of the Quad Cities, 7:30 p.m. on Saturday. This battle will match-up the two hottest teams in the league as the ‘Wheelers have won 12 straight and Tennessee Valley has won 14 straight. The ‘Wheelers will be defending their undefeated record of 16-0 set by the 2000 team. Tennessee Valley is looking to become the second team to reach the 16-0 mark.

Last Time: The last time these two teams met, the ‘Wheelers dropped their toughest loss of the season, a 62-59 heartbreaker to the Vipers. An ill-advised left-handed pass by QB Tony Zimmerman was returned 49-yards by Vipers DS Ernest Ross for a touchdown, giving the Vipers a 48-45 lead. The teams traded scores the rest of the way before Vipers QB Matt Sauk hooked up with OS Jerrian James with :16 showing on the clock to give the Vipers the 62-59 final score. ‘Wheelers kicker Brian Hegnauer missed a game tying 47-yard field goal as time expired.

Zimmerman Record Watch: With the victory over the Riptide, Zimmerman moved closer to the passing touchdowns season record and is still slightly off the pace for passing yards in a season record. Zimmerman currently has 81 passing touchdowns, a new Steamwheelers record, and has 3,839 passing yards and is on pace to throw for 92 touchdowns and 4,387 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 three touchdowns and 290 yards per game to break the records.

Sea of Red: That is what Steamwheelers Managing Owner/Operator Jim Foster wants Tennessee Valley to see on Saturday night. Fans are encouraged to wear red to the game in order to make the Vipers see a "Sea of Red.

Upcoming Steamwheelers Appearances: The fun never stops with the Steamwheelers, as they will have a busy week ahead of them. The YMCA Football camp will be running every morning this week at the Bettendorf High School practice football field. Steamwheelers players will be on hand to instruct the students. Also today, players will be helping out at the Bettendorf Day Camp at Bettendorf Lagoon Park from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. And on July 16th, players will be at Sister Concetta Park from 10:30-11:30 a.m. to talk to kids about the pros and cons on how to achieve your goals.

Practice Times: With The MARK of the Quad Cities hosting two concerts as well as another event, the Steamwheelers will not be able to practice at The MARK until Friday when the field will be back down for Saturday nights game. On Monday, Ingold plans to look at a few options before setting sites and times of practice this week. Once he sets the times and sites, an email will be sent out to inform the media.

Travel Plans: With the team at home this week, players and coaches will be available throughout the week. Contact Steamwheelers Media Relations Manager Ryan Holtmann to set-up interviews outside of practice.

"In the Boiler Room": This week's coaches show will be held at the Captains Table, located at 4800 River Drive at Marquis Harbor in Moline, Ill. The "Voice of the Deuce" and Steamwheelers play-by-play man Jim Albracht will return, after a week off, to host head coach Rich Ingold and select players on the show. The show will air from 7-8 p.m. on Fox Sports Radio AM 1230 and can also be seen "live" at the Captains Table. Come join in the fun. 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 John Furlong on color with the pre-game show starting at 7 pm.

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.

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.

Tickets: Good tickets are still available for the Steamwheelers last home game of the season against heated rival Tennessee Valley and can be purchased at The MARK of the Quad Cities box office or through TicketMaster at www.ticketmaster.com or by calling 563.326.1111.



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