JULY 26TH, 2022 MOLINE, IL – GAME-PREVIEW STEAMWHEELERS VS. FIGHTERS |

Underdog would have been an understatement. Friday July 22nd, the 3-seed Quad City Steamwheelers traveled cross-country to face the defending IFL Champion Massachusetts Pirates. The task? Defeat the defending champs in their house, on NESN, in an arena where they had won 13 of their previous 14 games dating back to the 2021 season.

In what might have been the IFL Game of the Year, the two Eastern Conference powerhouses went blow for blow: 0-8, 6-8, 6-15, 14-15, 20-15, 23-15, 25-22, 25-25, 32-25, 32-32, 32-38—all the way down to an overtime game-winning PAT by 42-year old veteran Kicker Kimo Naehu to earn the Steamwheelers a 39-38 victory over the defending Champions—Quad City's first postseason win since joining the IFL.

Naehu, a 2022 IFL Special Teams Player of the Year candidate, drilled a 46-yard field goal, a "deuce" through the uprights and the game-winner in OT.

He wasn't alone. 2022 IFL Defensive Rookie of the Year candidate Nate Sheets led the Steamwheelers with 9 total tackles, including a game-changing fumble forced when he and Wheelers DB Darreon Jackson collided with Pirates WR Darren Carrington.

Jackson was all over the field Friday night, including a powerful tackle delivered to former New York Jet and current Pirates WR Jail Marshall. The "Squad City" defense held the former NFL veteran to 3 receptions for 1 receiving yard.

2022 MVP candidate E.J. Hilliard Jr. continued to show why he's been the most productive scoring-machine in the IFL, putting up 192 total yards of offense and 5 total touchdowns (2 passing, 3 rushing). Including the postseason, Hilliard has now produced 61 total touchdowns in only 13 games (4.69 per-game).

The Steamwheelers will travel back to Frisco to face a 15-2 Fighters team that earned a dominant 64-39 win over the Iowa Barnstormers in Round 1 of the IFL postseason.

The last time these two teams clashed, it took 6 quarters to knock off the Steamwheelers as Quad City fell to Frisco 44-50 in OT2. Fighters' QB T.J. Edwards has been hot all season long, completing 67.1% of his passes for 1,230 yards, 21 touchdown passes and 4 interceptions.

What will happen when #sQUADCITY takes on the team with the best record in Indoor Football: E.J. vs. T.J. for the Eastern Conference Championship? Tune in Friday July 29th at 7:05 PM CT to find out.