Wheelers fall on the road to lose four straight

By Timothy Wallis

In a rematch against a familiar Eastern Conference rival, the Quad City Steamwheelers were unable to keep pace with the Green Bay Blizzard on the road, falling 65-40 in a back-and-forth offensive contest Saturday night.

The game got off to a rough start for Quad City before the offense could even touch the field, as Green Bay kicker Andrew Mevis opened the game with a deuce on the opening kickoff to give the Blizzard an early 2-0 lead. After the Steamwheelers failed to capitalize on their opening drive, Green Bay wasted little time finding the end zone when quarterback Liam Thompson connected with Trevon Alexander for a 21-yard touchdown, extending the Blizzard lead to 9-0.

Quad City had another promising drive into Green Bay territory, highlighted by a 13-yard completion from Daquan Neal to Jalal Dean, but the drive stalled after Neal was intercepted in the end zone by Franky West Jr. Green Bay capitalized again late in the first quarter after Jarrod Ware lost a fumble deep in Quad City territory, leading to a one-yard touchdown reception by Demilon Brown with 11 seconds remaining in the quarter. After the extra point, Green Bay led 16-0 heading into the second.

The Steamwheelers finally got on the board early in the second quarter after Neal led a seven-play drive and found Keyvan Rudd for an eight-yard touchdown pass on fourth down. Jan Bogdan converted the extra point, cutting the deficit to 16-7. Quad City's defense then came up with a much-needed stop when Nicholas Harris intercepted Thompson near the goal line, giving the offense another chance.

Neal and the offense responded quickly. After several completions to Rudd and a key scramble, Neal punched it in himself from two yards out to make it 16-13. Bogdan later added a deuce on the ensuing kickoff, bringing Quad City within one at 16-15.

Just as momentum appeared to shift, Green Bay answered before halftime. Demilon Brown rushed in from six yards out to extend the lead, and after a mishandled kickoff by Quad City gave the Blizzard another possession deep in Wheelers territory, Thompson found Terrell Carey for a seven-yard touchdown with 20 seconds left in the half. Bogdan salvaged points for Quad City with a 20-yard field goal as time expired, but the Steamwheelers still trailed 30-18 at halftime.

Green Bay continued its offensive momentum to start the second half, scoring on a quick four-play drive capped off by a Trevon Alexander rushing touchdown to push the lead to 36-18. Quad City answered with Neal once again doing the work on the ground, capping a six-play drive with his second rushing touchdown of the night to cut the deficit to 37-24.

The Blizzard immediately countered with another explosive play when Thompson connected with Carey for a 45-yard touchdown strike, pushing the lead back to 44-24. Quad City stayed aggressive, marching down the field late in the third quarter before Neal found Ware for a four-yard touchdown pass on fourth down. After a failed two-point attempt and another Bogdan deuce, the Steamwheelers entered the fourth quarter trailing 44-32.

Any hopes of a comeback faded in the final quarter after a costly Neal fumble deep in Quad City territory set Green Bay up for another short touchdown run by Thompson. Moments later, another Steamwheelers turnover gave the Blizzard excellent field position, which they turned into a 34-yard touchdown pass from Thompson to Draysean Hudson.

Quad City managed one final score late in the game when Neal connected with Ware again for a six-yard touchdown, followed by a successful two-point conversion to make it 58-40. Green Bay added one final rushing touchdown by Brown in the closing seconds to seal the 65-40 victory.

Daquan Neal completed 21 of his 32 pass attempts for 194 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception, while also carrying the ball 11 times for 46 yards and two touchdowns. Keyvan Rudd caught seven passes for 78 yards and one touchdown, while Jarrod Ware caught seven passes for 46 yards and two touchdowns. 

On defense, Alex Herriott recorded seven tackles, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble. Nicholas Harris also tallied six tackles and a tackle for loss, as well as an interception. Kevin Ransom Jr also joined in on the turnover party and snagged an interception to go with his three tackles, and Charles Rosser tallied three tackles, two sacks and two tackles for loss.

With the loss, the Wheelers now drop to 2-6 overall, a devastating blow to their playoff chances and to a team that was trying to capitalize on last season, when they were the No. 1 seed in the East. Next week, the team will return home to face off against the Tucson Sugar Skulls on Friday, May 15, at The Wheelhouse at 7 pm.