The Wheelers fall to a 6-7 record after losing a hard-fought battle against the Massachusetts Pirates. Stay locked in to read how the sQUAD gave their best efforts on the road.
Kyle Kaplan puts the first points on the board for either team with a short FG, giving the Wheelers a 3-0 lead to start the contest.
Mass said "Not so fast," and ran the ball into the endzone for a touchdown, however their special teams struggles continued in the form of two back-to-back false start penalties. This brought them back 10 yards and caused them to miss their PAT attempt, keeping the game at 6-3 with Mass leading.
Penalties kept coming for the Pirates with them picking up a pass interference flag that gave the Steamwheelers a first down. The sQUAD capitalized on the free yards as Judd Erickson found Ka'Ron Ashley in the endzone for a touchdown, taking back the lead 10-6 after a good Kaplan PAT.
The Pirates bounced right back, scoring another touchdown and once again gaining the lead. It became a 13-10 game with the Wheelers down going into the second quarter.
Mass got things jumping with a rushing touchdown to extend their lead to 10, after a good PAT made it 20-10 early in the period.
Jarrod Harrington took exception to that and came back with a 56 yard kick return touchdown, his fourth of the season. This along with a Kaplan PAT, cut the lead down to three with the sQUAD trailing 20-17.
The Pirates once again extend their lead over the Wheelers to 10 with another touchdown & PAT. The Pirates issue with flags showed up again with a holding call giving the Wheelers a 1st down, this led Kaplan kicking a FG through the uprights to make it a one touchdown game.
With the score being 27-20 Pirates, Darreon Jackson didn't like the fact that the sQUAD was losing and did his best to give them momentum with a huge interception before the second quarter ended.
But instead of the Wheelers gaining momentum the matchup started to swing the Pirates way going into halftime and continued the rest of the contest.
Mass started off the third quarter with a touchdown to add onto their lead, making it 35-20 early in the period.
The Wheeler defense showed flashes of greatness throughout the contest, with Jayln Swan picking up a massive sack, as a result the Pirates missed their FG attempt by about a mile.
The Streamwheelers offense saw an opportunity for a score and took it, Edward Vander ran a 30 yard handoff to the house to chop the lead down to nine. Vander also scored on the 2-pt conversion, he brought in all eight points on the drive and made it 35-28 late in the third.
The Pirates didn't want the SQUAD to even sniff a comeback, thus causing them to score again to extend the lead to 42-28 going into the fourth quarter.
The sQUAD started off the final quarter in the most interesting way possible. A completed pass from Erickson to Keyvan Rudd was fumbled, then recovered by Warren Newman III, and they picked up the first down in the process!
It was such a wild play that led to Erickson finding Newman III as he was diving in the endzone for Newman's third touchdown of the season and his third in four games.
Kaplan's good PAT brought the score to 42-35, showing there was still fight in the Wheelers and they weren't going away easy.
Mass took over and slowly sucked the momentum out of the sQUAD, scoring another touchdown that made it 49-35, and lastly a FG to extend the lead to 52-35, which would be the final score.
The last stand for the Wheelers ended when they turned the ball over on downs, Rudd made a catch just about a yard short of a first down that ended up handing the Pirates back the ball to end the bout.
The sQUAD put up a good fight but couldn't bring home a win, the Pirates move to 8-6 and clinch a playoff spot. The Wheelers are still in the playoff picture but must finish the season strong to secure their spot.
Steamwheeler fans please come and support your sQUAD in their next battle at home, against the Sioux Falls Storm on July 6th, at the Vibrant Arena at the MARK, kickoff will be at 7:05 pm.
