The Battle of the Biggest Rivals in the af2, A Look Back
Published on July 14, 2003 under arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release
DAVENPORT, Iowa â There are many miles that separate these two teams. It is nothing like the rivalries of the Cubs/Cardinals, Bears/Packers or Duke/North Carolina where the opposing teams are geographically close to each other. 672 miles separate the Tennessee Valley Vipers and the Quad City Steamwheelers, yet the rivalry is just as intense as the ones listed above.
The rivalry will continue this weekend when the Vipers will make the 672-mile trip to the Quad Cities to take on the Steamwheelers for the eighth time in the af2's four year history this Saturday night at The MARK of the Quad Cities. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
How did two teams become such bitter rivals despite being so far apart? It all started in 2000 and has grown ever since.
The two teams first met on June 24, 2000 at The MARK. The game featured two of the leagues top rated quarterbacks in the likes of Vipers QB Bryan Snyder and âWheelers QB Billy Dicken. The game also featured two of the best teams in the af2 with Tennessee Valley sporting a 9-2 record and the Steamwheelers a perfect 10-0 record.
Dicken and the Steamwheelers got the best of the Vipers 51-37, winning Round 1 in front of a sold-out crowd of 9,201. Dicken finished the game 20-of-34 for 252 yards, three touchdowns, while rushing for two more.
The Vipers did not go quietly into the night, as they started out the game with a 14-7 lead after the first quarter and only trailed by four points after three quarters of play. But the Steamwheelers used two costly Vipers turnovers to propel them to victory.
Snyder finished the game with good numbers, he was 22-of-37 for 302 yards, two touchdowns, but one costly interception with :50 left in the first half. Snyder was also sacked three times on the night.
The leagues top offense came through and a solid defensive effort helped the Steamwheelers win their 11th straight game and remained unbeaten at 11-0. It would only be two weeks later when the teams would clash again. The game was billed as "Showdown #2" and was a possible playoff preview. Despite 6,870 strong packing the "Snake Pit," the Vipers could not overcome five turnovers that the Steamwheelers capitalized on, scoring 17 unanswered points en route to a 62-36 bashing of the Vipers.
Dicken proved why he was named to the all-af2's Second Team 2000, connecting on 21-of-37 passes for 237 yards and four touchdowns. Dicken out-threw Snyder, as Snyder was 25-of-39 for 231 yards, four touchdowns, but threw two interception.
OS Shon King caught ten passes for 118 yards, one for a touchdown as well as adding a missed filed goal return for 48 yards. Little did the Vipers know what King would do to them down the road.
After the end of the regular season came and went, it was playoff time. Both Tennessee Valley and Quad City tore through the playoffs and ended up in the same spot in the end, ArenaCup 2000.
The Vipers qualified for the ArenaCup with a 47-40 defeat over the Augusta Stallions. The Steamwheelers defeated the Norfolk Nighthawks 75-27 en route to the championship game.
The stage was set at The MARK of the Quad Cities for August 10th. TNN was on hand to televise the first ever ArenaCup. TNN, its viewers and all 9,201 in attendance got to see the best game of the season.
The game started off with King returning the opening kickoff for a touchdown, much to the delight of the crowd as their thunderous roars almost shook the roof off. The excitement level would not drop until the final horn sounded. Then things really got nuts.
Despite the âWheelers leading the majority of the game, they did trail the Vipers after an interception by Ronald Bonner intercepted a Billy Dicken pass that set up the Vipers go ahead score. On the ensuing kickoff, Bonner would fall on a bobbled football in the endzone that would turn into an 11-point Vipers lead.
The Vipers had the lead going into the final frame 59-55, but would fail to score in the fourth quarter. The Steamwheelers however did not have any trouble scoring as they rattled off 13 points en route to a 68-59 victory and an ArenaCup championship.
In 2001, the teams only clashed once and for Tennessee Valley, it was probably good that they did. The Steamwheelers were coming off their first loss in franchise history and had to travel the 672 miles to Huntsville, Ala. to take on their most bitter rival.
The âWheelers took out their previous week's aggression on the Vipers en route to a 77-47 victory in the "Snake Pit." It was a big second half effort by the Steamwheelers that gave the Vipers their first loss of the 2001 season. Steamwheelers QB Jay McDonagh set a new team record, throwing for nine touchdowns and won af2 Player of the Week honors.
In 2002, it was the Vipers who would return the favor. The Vipers handed the Steamwheelers only their second loss at The MARK of the Quad Cities in franchise history. In their first visit to The MARK since the 2000 ArenaCup game, the Tennessee Valley Vipers used steady quarterback play, a strong defense and mistake-free football to dominate the Steamwheelers 60-40.
Not too long after the 2002 season, the 2003 schedule was released and the Tennessee Valley Vipers and the Quad City Steamwheelers circled two dates, April 11th and July 19th. Those were the dates that the two teams would square off again.
Once April 11th hit, the teams hit in another epic battle. In one of the better match-ups between the two teams, the Tennessee Valley Vipers won for the first time at home vs. the Steamwheelers. A 62-59 victory propelled the Vipers to 2-0 and dropped the Steamwheelers to 0-2.
It was QB Tony Zimmerman who was having another outstanding game, until he made what Ingold called a "classic of all time" mistake. With the Steamwheelers leading by four in the fourth quarter and on the Vipers' one-yard line facing a first and goal, Ingold made the call for Zimmerman to follow FB Josh Fourdyce to the weak side and run in for the score.
The play did not go as scripted. Zimmerman rolled out to the left and was swarmed by a sea of green jerseys and rather than taking a sack for a loss, he tried to throw it away with his left hand (Zimmerman is a right handed throwing QB). The pass was intercepted by Vipers DS Ernst Ross and returned 49-yards for the touchdown, giving the Vipers a three point lead.
Zimmerman finished the game completing 22 of his 38 passes for 370 yards, throwing eight touchdowns and one costly interception.
The teams traded scores for the remainder of the game with Tennessee Valley taking the lead with :16 left on a QB Matt Sauk to OS Jerrian James seven-yard hook-up.
The Steamwheelers had a chance to tie it up when Steamwheelers K Brian Hegnauer missed a 47-yard game tying field goal as time expired.
Now the stage is set for Round #8. This time it will be right here in the Quad Cities at The MARK, a place that the Vipers have only won once at.
The Battle of the Biggest Rivals in the af2, A Look Ahead will follow up later this week as well as numerous other releases pertaining to this weekend's match-up.
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