New look Wheelers take down Fighters

WOW. What a nail biter of a bout this was between the Quad City Steamwheelers and the Frisco Fighters. It was a back and forth battle that was decided within its final seconds and the Wheelers were able to hold on to secure a victory at home.

In the first quarter, the Fighters got the party started with a FG to take an early lead, 3-0. The Fighters defense then struck and picked off a throw from Mike Irwin, this led to a touchdown. that was reversed after an offsides penalty on Frisco.

The Wheelers' defense smelled blood in the water and hounded the Fighters until they turned the ball over after a missed FG attempt.

Later on in the quarter, Edward Vander put the Wheelers on the board with a rushing touchdown. Kyle Kaplan added on the extra point to give the sQUAD a 7-3 lead going into the second quarter.

Frisco came out swinging in the second quarter with a quick touchdown to take back the lead 10-7. 

Judd Erickson tagged in for Mike Iwrin at the QB position during the quarter as well, Erickson pushed the chains downfield to set up Kaplan for a FG. This FG was good and tied the game at 10.

The Wheeler defense looked like prime Dikembe Mutombo the way they were making stops on the field, forcing and recovering a fumble to grow the team's momentum that carried over to the offense.

The next drive, Erickson found Warren Newman III over the middle for first down, this led to Erickson finding Ka'Ron Ashley for an insane catch where Ashley held on as he was falling over the side wall. The payoff for this drive was beautiful, with Erickson finding Newman again, this time for a touchdown.

Kaplan's PAT was good again, breaking the tie and making it a 17-10 ballgame where the Steamwheelers led the way.

KeShaun Moore really showed up and showed out on defense, being a driving force for Frisco's turnovers and helping the sQUAD keep their momentum going throughout the game. Moore also contributed by forcing Frisco into a FG attempt after a rough drive that ended in sadness after the Fighters missed the kick, keeping it a 17-10 game going into halftime. 

The sQUAD started off the second half with a bang, Jarrod Harrington ran back a 52-yard kick return touchdown, his third of the season so far. This and another Kaplan PAT, brought the score to 24-10 until the Fighters fired back with a touchdown of their own to make it 24-16 after they missed their extra point opportunity. 

Frisco goes onto set themselves up for success by recovering their own onside kick, this led to them working down field and scoring a touchdown and a PAT to bring the Wheelers lead to only one point, 24-23.

Later in the period, the Wheelers started steaming, Erickson moved the chains then found Ashley wide open in the endzone for a touchdown. Kaplan's PAT gives the lead an appreciated boost, with it becoming a 31-23 game as a result. 

The Fighters however lived up to their name throughout the duration of this game, they fought back to score another touchdown & PAT to keep the game close, 31-30, going into the fourth quarter.

The rest of this game saw the sQUAD and the Fighters go blow for blow to see who could outlast who in the end.

The Wheelers started the quarter off with a rushing touchdown by Vander, bringing his total to two on the night and extending the lead over the Fighters to eight, 38-30.

Frisco fired right back with a quick touchdown on their next drive, bringing them to within a point once again as the sQUAD led 38-37 early in the fourth quarter.

Once the Steamwheelers held the lead from here on out, they never let go. After fighting down the field, the sQUAD got into the endzone on a tush push for a touchdown. then PAT, to make it a 45-37 game.

The Fighters kept on fighting, they fought down the field quickly and worked their way into the endzone once more for a touchdown, but a failed 2-pt conversion brought the score to 45-43 with the Wheelers still leading.

The next drive for the Steamwheelers culminated in another touchdown for Vander, his 3rd on the night. After a Kaplan PAT, the sQUAD led 52-43, with 3:10 left in the fourth.

Frisco still never gave up, later working through the Wheelers defense. and being blessed with penalty yards they scored another touchdown, bringing the Steamwheelers lead to three, 52-49 after yet another failed 2-pt conversion.

After the sQUAD was stopped in the red zone with 8 seconds left the fans in the arena started clutching their pearls as the fear of a loss set in. Frisco set up for a 51 yard FG attempt for the tie and the kick was short, it was caught by Raheem Harvey in the endzone and he took a knee to seal an upset victory for the Steamwheelers

This win lifted the sQUAD to .500 with a 5-5 record, also dropping the Fighters to 8-3 on the season so far. 

Please tune into the official IFL YouTube channel and Caffeine TV next Saturday, June 15th as the Steamwheelers take on the Iowa Barnstormers in the Battle of I-80 once again this season.