Steamwheelers Weekly Report

May 24, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release


Recap: The Quad City Steamwheelers return to the No. 1 ranking in the latest af2 Coaches' Poll was short lived as they fell to the San Diego Riptide 62-52 on Saturday night. The return trip back home to California did not fare well for ‘Wheelers starting fullback/linebacker Brian Berg. On the game 's second play, Berg suffered a sprained knee and will more than likely miss the next 4-6 weeks. That left the ‘Wheelers will only one, true fullback/linebacker in the form of Jesse Beckom. The Riptide led start to finish as the ‘Wheelers could never mount enough of a comeback to pull out the victory.

Next Up: With eight games in the book and at the exact midpoint of the season, the ‘Wheelers have their much needed "bye" week. With numerous injuries to key players and having played eight straight weeks without a break, the ‘Wheelers will be taking the whole week off from football and will not return to town until Saturday for the first practice of this week. After the week off, the ‘Wheelers will return to action on Sat., June 5, when they finish out a two-game road trip at Louisville. The game will be broadcast live in the greater Quad Cities area on Mediacom.

Last Time: Last season's "bye" week came much later in the season for the Steamwheelers and came at the right time. After the one week break, the Steamwheelers rattled off five straight wins to finish out the regular season en route to winning the National Conference Midwest Division and the af2's best regular season record of 14-2, which earned them a first-round playoff bye and home field advantage throughout the playoffs.

Curse of the No. 1 Ranking: It is the first season that the arenafootball2 league has had a weekly Coaches' Poll. For the first four weeks of the poll, it seemed as if the Steamwheelers would be hanging onto the top ranking for a while. But a loss on the road at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in Week 4 dropped the ‘Wheelers from the top ranking. Since then, the top ranking has changed hands four times with Wichita holding the ranking for two of those weeks, sandwiched around Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's week atop the poll. The ‘Wheelers held the top spot entering this past weekend, but the loss to the San Diego Riptide will almost assuredly drop them from the top spot. With No. 3 Tennessee Valley and No. 4 Wichita both losing this weekend and No. 2 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton barely winning, this week's poll will be interesting to say the least.

Battling Injuries: Injuries are the worst things in sports and you don't have to tell Steamwheelers coach Rich Ingold that. He is looking at a roster right now which features four players on the long-term injured reserve list, two on the short-term and others who are on the active roster who are nicked up. The latest player who will go on the long-term list this week is fullback/linebacker Brian Berg, who was injured in this past weekend's game. He will be joining offensive/defensive linemen Bear Brown, Brandon Williams and Pete Traynor. On the short-term list are quarterback Brian Eyerman and wide receiver/defensive back Billy Cook. Fullback/linebacker Fred Barr is still battling a knee injury and should return to action for the Louisville game.

Take It To The House: Offensive specialist Jeff Hewitt started out the season returning kickoffs for touchdowns just as easy as he was catching them. He then hit a speed bump and went on a five game drought after returning three to start the season. Last weekend, Hewitt changed that, and kicked the five-game skid when he returned a third quarter kickoff 55 yards for a score. That cut the Riptide lead to 35-34, but that would be as close as the Steamwheelers would get the rest of the game.

Upcoming Steamwheelers Appearances: With the "bye" week this week, many of the players have returned home for the short vacation, but there are a few players who will be in town this week and will be out and about in the Quad Cities area. On Monday night, players and DeckMates will be at both Fox's Den Pizza locations in Davenport and Moline from 5-7 p.m. for an open house. On Tuesday, a player will be on hand at an alternative school in Davenport to speak to the children.

Practice Times: Coach Ingold has given the players the week off and will not have a practice until Saturday. The light workout will run from 5-7 p.m. at The MARK of the Quad Cities. It has yet to be determined if the team will practice on Sunday. Most players begin to arrive at practice around 4:30 p.m. and are around after practice for at least 20 minutes. Interviews are best to be conducted before or after practice. If there are any problems, contact Steamwheelers Media Relations Manager Ryan Holtmann.

Travel Plans: The only traveling that will be done this week by the Steamwheelers will be by each individual player retuning home. With the week off, it allows for the ‘Wheelers to return to their hometowns and "get away from football" for a few days.

On the Air: "In the Boiler Room" has returned and is airing every Monday night on WFXN 1230 AM at 7 p.m. "In the Boiler Room" host Jim Albracht will be joined by Steamwheelers offensive specialist Jeff Hewitt, wide receiver/defensive back Tim Dodge and Associate Head Coach and Line Coach Jon Roehlk.

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 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 NBC affiliate KWQC-TV6, following the 10 p.m. news, sports director Thom Cornelis hosts ‘Wheeler Watch" which features highlights of the previous weekend's game and a discussion with head coach Rich Ingold.

Media Requests: Any member of the accredited media that wishes to set up an interview with a Steamwheelers player, coach or staff member may contact Steamwheelers Media Relations Manager Ryan Holtmann at 563-324-4888 (office) or 563-570-0930 (cell phone). Most players are available throughout the day, pending their other profession.



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