Wheelers spill Tulsa's oil and reclaim top spot in the Eastern Conference
Just two weeks after they lost at home to the Tulsa Oilers, the Quad City Steamwheelers stormed into Tulsa and defeated the Oilers, 31-27, in a tight Friday night conference battle. Despite both teams having high-powered offenses before this game, their offenses struggled to get going in the first half before picking up momentum in the second half. The Steamwheeler defense, in contrast to the past couple weeks, forced a couple turnovers which was a huge factor in their 6-0 start to the season.
On the first drive of the game, Tulsa drove down the field, with help from a defensive pass interference penalty on the Wheelers, and quarterback T.J. Edwards II found the endzone on a three-yard scramble to give the Oilers an early 6-0 lead. After they failed to convert a third down, Quad City kicker Kyle Kaplan nailed the 40-yard field goal on their first drive, which cut the Oiler lead in half.
The next few drives, both offenses stagnated, with two Tulsa turnovers on downs and a Steamwheelers' missed field goal, before a team finally scored again. After one of the turnovers on downs, the Wheelers drove down the field from their own four-yard line, and a Daquan Neal quarterback keeper capped off the drive from six yards out for a touchdown, which gave Quad City the 10-6 lead. With only 1:11 left in the half, Tulsa did not get anything going, and time ran out with the scoreboard showing a 10-6 Quad City lead at halftime.
The sQUAD got the ball right out of halftime and drove down the field in a possession that lasted around eight minutes, featuring a play where the Steamwheelers fumbled, Tulsa recovered, but they fumbled again, which was picked up by the Wheelers. The drive was completed when former-Oiler Jarrod Ware Jr. found the endzone from 11 yards out for the touchdown that extended the Quad City lead to 17-6. Just two plays into the Tulsa ensuing drive, Edwards II's pass was tipped at the line, and Bubba Arslanian plucked the ball out of the air for the interception.
Despite the good field position from the interception, the Steamwheeler drive ended and resulted in no score when Kaplan's field goal sailed wide. Tulsa took advantage of the missed opportunity and drove down the field for a touchdown after Edwards II found receiver Cole Blackman in the endzone, and they converted the two-point conversion to cut the Quad City lead to 17-14.
Not to be outdone, the Steamwheelers' offense, on their next drive, drove down the field with the help of Neal's legs getting them into Oilers' territory, and scored a touchdown when Neal found receiver Jordan Vesey wide open for a touchdown to extend their lead back to ten. The Wheelers got a break on the next defensive possession when Edwards II's deep ball sailed too high, and defensive back Chris Chukwuneke made a great diving catch for the interception.
However, the Wheelers' offense had trouble getting anything going with their backs against their own endzone, and Kaplan had to kick it away. Tulsa finally got back to moving the ball when they drove down the field, with the help of a roughing the passer penalty on Quad City, and Edwards II scrambled 16 yards in a video game-like run into the endzone to cut it to a 24-21 Quad City lead with 2:28 left in the game.
Running out the clock, the Steamwheelers moved slowly down to midfield, where the offense faced a fourth and five with one minute remaining. On one of the game's most crucial plays, Neal found Veteran Keyvan Rudd streaking across the field for the 25-yard catch and score that once again moved it to a ten-point game. Despite eventually scoring again on a T.J. Edwards II quarterback sneak, the Oilers drained the clock down to 15 seconds left, and when they failed to get the two-point conversion and the onside kick, their fate was sealed, and the Steamwheelers took home the gritty win.
In his first game back from injury, Daquan Neal went 10/18 and threw for 86 yards, two touchdowns and also added 48 yards and a score on the ground. In his first game back in Tulsa, Jarrod Ware Jr ran six times for 32 yards and a touchdown and 26 yards through the air. Cornerstone Keyvan Rudd was the leading receiver for the Wheelers by catching three passes for 43 yards and a touchdown, while Jordan Vesey added two catches for 15 yards and a score. On the defensive side, Bubba Arslanian led the defense with seven tackles, while snagging an interception and running it back for 17 yards. Defensive backs Camron Harrell and Malik Duncan each had 0.5 tackles for loss, and defensive lineman David Cagle had one tackle for loss and a sack.
With the win, the Steamwheelers reclaim their sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference with a 7-2 record, with all games being against conference opponents. Next week, the sQUAD will stay in the American Southwest and travel to San Antonio to take on the 3-6 Gunslingers on the road in the Wheelers' only interconference game of the season. That game will be on Saturday, June 7 at 6:05, before they return home to take on the Fishers Freight on June 14.