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Steamwheelers Weekly Report

June 7, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release


Recap: The Quad City Steamwheelers are coming off their second straight loss. It is the first time in 23 games that the Steamwheelers have lost two straight games. The loss, a 62-61 setback to the Louisville Fire (7-2), drops the ‘Wheelers to 6-3 and a game back in the Midwest Division race. The Steamwheelers played most of the game without the services of defensive specialist Matt Forbes, who left the game in the second quarter after dislocating his finger. He did not return, but will probably play this weekend against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers. The loss of Forbes put other players in different positions and forced them to play more minutes with one less player to rotate in and out of the game. Kicker Ryan Geisler just missed a 51-yard field goal as time expired.

Next Up: The Steamwheelers have no time to sit around and think about the loss for that long, as they have to prepare for another big test with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers (7-2) coming to town this Saturday. The Pioneers handed the ‘Wheelers their first loss of the 2004 season and have been on a tear ever since. Last week the Pioneers were right behind the Steamwheelers in the latest af2 Coaches' Poll, ranked third. But with top ranked Birmingham falling and the Steamwheelers going down as well, the Pioneers could move up as high as the No. 2 slot. The game at The MARK of the Quad Cities is set to kickoff at 7:30 p.m.

Last Time: It was a long 13-hour bus ride there. It was even longer coming back. But the Steamwheelers April 24 trip to Wilkes-Barre, Pa., did not go as expected. The Pioneers dealt the Steamwheelers their first loss of the 2004 season, which dropped the Steamwheelers from the No. 1 ranking in the af2 Coaches Poll after a four-week reign at the top. The Pioneers sacked ‘Wheelers quarterback Ronnie Gordon once, forced him out of the pocket countless times which caused two interceptions. Wide receiver/linebacker J.R. Thomas caught 11 passes for 140 yards and a touchdown to lead the Pioneers.

Curse of the No. 1 Ranking Continues: It is the first season that the arenafootball2 league has had a weekly Coaches' Poll. For the first four weeks of the poll, the Steamwheelers owned the top ranking of the poll. But a loss on the road at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in Week 4 dropped the ‘Wheelers from the top spot. Since then, the top ranking has changed hands six times with Wichita holding the ranking for two of those weeks, sandwiched around Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's week atop the poll. The ‘Wheelers returned to the top for a week, but lost to San Diego. Then Wilkes-Barre returned to the top spot, but fell at Louisville on the final play of the game. This past weekend the Birmingham Steeldogs entered Saturday nights contest as the only af2 team with one loss. But with the No. 1 ranking, the Steeldogs lost 44-42 to Columbus (Ga.), dropping them to 7-2 on the season. A new team, probably Louisville, will take over the top spot yet again.

Almost Perfect: Steamwheelers quarterback Ronnie Gordon out-dueled his counterpart, former all-af2 quarterback Matt Sauk this past Saturday night at legendary Freedom Hall. Gordon was all but perfect as he completed 20-of-26 passes for 351 yards and eight touchdowns. Gordon did not throw an interception and even rushed for a score. His passing game almost accumulated to a perfect 158.33 QB Rating, but Gordon's performance fell just short of that, with a 157.85 QB Rating. Sauk completed 21-of-36 for 360 yards, seven touchdowns, but threw two interceptions.

Two for Dodge: No matter what Steamwheelers wide receiver/defensive back Tim Dodge does, he is unable to score more than two touchdowns in a game. Dodge has played in all nine games for the Steamwheelers this season and in eight of those nine, he has scored exactly two receiving touchdowns, no more, no less. He was held scoreless on May 1 against the Green Bay Blizzard with that being the only game in which Dodge has not scored.

Upcoming Steamwheelers Appearances: The Steamwheelers will be out and about twice this week, starting tonight with players appearing at a Gold Helmet Huddle Members outing at F1 Indoor Karting. The event is for Gold Helmet Huddle members and their guest and will take place from 6:30 – 8 p.m. Then on Wednesday, two Steamwheelers players will be at Shining Light Learning Center to read to the pre-schoolers from 10-11 a.m.

Practice Times: Coach Ingold has given the players Monday off, the norm when the team plays on Saturdays. They will return to practice on Tuesday and continue practice through Friday. Practice runs from 5-7 p.m. at The MARK of the Quad Cities. Practice starts at 5 p.m. with a film session that usually runs for 20-30 minutes. Practice then runs for about an hour to an hour and a half. Most players begin to arrive at practice around 4:30 p.m. and are around after practice for at least 20 minutes. Friday's session is usually shorter, lasting around an hour in length. 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 Steamwheelers will only have a short trip over the I-74 Bridge to The MARK of the Quad Cities for this weekend's home contest against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers. Kickoff for Saturday's contest is set for 7:30 p.m.

On the Air: "In the Boiler Room" has returned and after a week off due to the holiday, will return next Monday night and will continue for the rest of the season on WFXN 1230 AM at 7 p.m. "In the Boiler Room" host Jim Albracht will be joined by Steamwheelers coach Rich Ingold as well as select players.

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.

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