Wheelers fall in Eastern Conference Shootout to Green Bay

In a tightly contested Saturday night fight, the Quad City Steamwheelers fell to their rivals from up north, the Green Bay Blizzard, 58-52 at home. The combination of an early turnover from the offense and untimely injuries on the defensive side proved to be too costly for the sQUAD. 

On the opening kickoff, Green Bay kicker Andrew Mevis started the scoring early when he nailed the deuce, which gave the Blizzard an early 2-0 lead. The Wheelers looked to take the lead on the game's opening drive, but a Jarrod Ware Jr. fumble gave the Blizzard the ball back. Green Bay took advantage of the turnover when Andre Williams ran it in for a touchdown from three yards out. Quad City finally got on the board with a Kyle Kaplan field goal, largely in part to DeQuan Dudley, who took a handoff on the first play of the drive all the way to the Green Bay 17-yard line. 

However, the Green Bay offense was rolling throughout the game, and this drive did not differ from that. Blizzard quarterback Max Meylor showed why he is one of the best quarterbacks in the Indoor Football League (IFL) when he again found Williams in the end zone for a touchdown, which made it 16-3. Not to be outdone, Wheelers' quarterback Daquan Neal came back with a touchdown scramble of his own, which cut the visitors' lead to 16-10. Once again, Green Bay followed that touchdown with a touchdown of their own on a Meylor keeper that extended their lead to 13 again.

Destined to stay in the game, the Steamwheelers' offense drove down the field, and Ware Jr. finished the drive by getting into the end zone for a touchdown to make it 23-17. The Blizzard once again responded with a touchdown on a drive where a holding penalty moved them back ten yards. On the kickoff, they tried to catch the Wheelers off guard with an onside kick, but Camron Harrell was not fooled and ran the kick into the end zone for a touchdown. With time winding down in the quarter, Green Bay drove down the field, but a tipped pass was intercepted by a diving Harrell, which gave the Wheelers a huge defensive stop before halftime.

Green Bay started the second half with a touchdown drive when Meylor recorded another scoring run, and the Blizzard got another huge play on defense when they intercepted a Daquan Neal lob pass. Despite the turnover from the offense, the Wheelers' defense forced a field goal on the ensuing possession, which Andrew Mevis missed. The Quad City offense got right back to work, and the drive ended when Neal found Tamorrion Terry streaking downfield and threaded the needle for the touchdown, cutting the Green Bay lead to 37-31.

Green Bay capitalized on an offside penalty on the kickoff and scored another touchdown before Neal found Terry again for another touchdown to keep it within six points. The two teams continued to trade touchdowns, with Meylor, who found TJ Davis, and Neal, who found Deion McShane in the end zone, and with 4:30 left in the fourth quarter, the score sat at 51-45. With under a minute left, Meylor found running back Jalyn Cagle for a touchdown, and despite a Ware Jr. late touchdown, there was just not enough time left for the Wheelers, who ended up falling 58-52.

Quarterback Daquan Neal continues to build a connection with his receivers. He set a new season high for passing yards, completing 14 passes on 21 attempts for 193 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, while also rushing for 29 yards and a touchdown. Jarrod Ware Jr extended his touchdown streak to six games by rushing for 28 yards and two touchdowns, also recording five receptions for 52 yards. Receiver DeQuan Dudley caught three passes for 18 yards, but also took three handoffs for 19 yards. Tamorrion Terry had another stellar game by catching four passes for 95 yards and two scores, while Deion McShane caught two passes for 28 yards and a touchdown.

Defensively, Chris Chukwuneke was the team's leading tackler with 10 tackles, one pass breakup and one tackle for loss. Cejai Parrish recorded eight tackles, and David Cagle wreaked havoc on the Green Bay offense, tallying seven tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack for ten yards. Camron Harrell had 5.5 tackles while also nabbing an interception and a special-teams touchdown.

With the loss, the sQUAD move to 10-4 on the season and 9-4 in conference play, both of which are franchise bests in the IFL. With the help of the Jacksonville Sharks' loss to the San Antonio Gunslingers, the Wheelers still remain in first place in the Eastern Conference. Next week, the Wheelers will travel to Des Moines, Iowa, to take on the 1-13 Iowa Barnstormers at 7:05 PM on Saturday, July 19.