'Wheelers Climb to No. 2 During Bye Week

June 2, 2004 - arenafootball2 (af2)
Quad City Steamwheelers News Release


DAVENPORT, Iowa — After suffering a 62-52 heartbreaker to formerly 1-5 San Diego two weeks ago, the Quad City Steamwheelers (6-2) got their much needed "bye" week. So, without even playing a game, somehow the Steamwheelers managed to jump one spot to No. 2 in the latest af2 Coaches' Poll, released early Wednesday.

The ‘Wheelers received one first place vote and totaled 232 points, trailing top ranked Birmingham by 41 points. The Steeldogs are the lone af2 team with only one loss. After dropping their first game of the season, the Steeldogs have won seven straight contests and are sitting atop the af2. They received 18 of the 25 first place votes and 273 points. With the Steeldogs taking over the top spot, it marks the sixth consecutive week in which a different team is atop the poll.

Tied for third were the Louisville Fire (6-2) and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Pioneers (6-2), both with 224 points and two first place votes. The Fire defeated the formerly top ranked Pioneers this past Saturday on the last play of the game when Fire quarterback Matt Sauk fired a 25-yard touchdown pass of the net to receiver Anthony Payton, who was conveniently laying flat on his back as the ball came off the net and right into his lap. That tied the game and after the extra point with no time remaining, the Fire were victorious 48-47.

That now sets up a battle of the National Conference's top two teams. The showdown of the No. 2 and No. 3 teams will be broadcast live on Mediacom in the great Quad Cities, Clinton, Dubuque, Maquoketa, Burlington, Cedar Rapids-Iowa City area, Des Moines area and western Illinois. The game at legendary Freedom Hall is set to kickoff at 6:30 p.m. CDT.

Remaining in the fifth spot were the Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz (6-2). Moving up two spots were the Wichita Stealth, who had tumbled all the way to ninth after suffering two straight losses. They were followed by Tennessee Valley, who is off to its worst start in team history at 5-3. The Vipers lost in overtime this past weekend to Birmingham 36-30 to fall to the eighth spot in the poll.

Also moving up in the poll were the Cape Fear Wildcats (11th to ninth), Tulsa Talons (12th to 11th) and Bakersfield (not ranked to 12th). Hawaii was the only other team to fall in the polls, from sixth to 10th.

Each week during the season af2 coaches' vote for the Top 12 teams in the league by ranking them one through 12 on a ballot. Teams ranked first receive 12 points with the point value decreasing by one for each place below first, meaning a team ranked 12th receives one point. Total points determine the Top 12 list. In the event of a tie in total points, the team with the greater number of first-place votes is ranked higher. The af2 Coaches' Poll is announced every Wednesday during the regular season. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own team and the poll results have no bearing on postseason qualification.



arenafootball2 Stories from June 2, 2004


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central