Post by alecs on Mar 22, 2024 22:14:15 GMT -8
Steamwheelers 38, Storm 32 - OT
3/22/24 --
MOLINE, IL -
On Friday night, the Vibrant Arena at The MARK hosted the 2024 season opener for the two most recent Eastern Conference Champions, with the Sioux Falls Storm visiting the Quad City Steamwheelers in an entertaining matchup. Sixty minutes was not enough to decide the winner, with the evenly matched rivals treating fans to the first overtime game of the 2024 season. In the end, the Quad City Steamwheelers would prevail with the home victory, getting the offensive score and defensive stand in the extra frame to earn the 38-32 win.
Quad City began the game with the first possession, but a sturdy effort from the Sioux Falls defense forced a quick three-and-out, and Kyle Kaplan’s lengthy field goal kick came up short. The Storm fared no better on their opening drive, with a fourth down pass to the endzone coming up empty, awarding the ball back Quad City at around midfield. Led by rookie QB Judd Erickson, the Steamwheelers moved the ball into the redzone, but had to settle for a 19-yard field goal from Kaplan to open the scoring ledger for the game. The kick would stand as the lone score of the opening frame, with the score three to nil, in favor of Quad City.
After forcing a missed field goal by the Storm, Quad City would engineer its first touchdown drive of the season, capped off by a six-yard run by former Strike Force RB Eddie Vander. The next Storm drive would again yield no points, as QB Billy Hall fumbled on a run on first down, and Jaylin Swan picked up the recovery for Quad City. On the next drive spanning nearly seven minutes of play, it would be a play on fourth down to completely shift momentum in this contest. A well-read play saw Camron Harrell jump in front of an Erickson pass, and he took the interception wire-to-wire for the Storm’s first points of the game. Hall would then find Carlos Thompson on a pass for a two-point conversion to cut the deficit down to just two points. On their final drive of the half, Quad City would come up with the response they needed, thanks to Vander’s second running score of the game (three yards). Sioux Falls would get a last-second chance at a 42-yard field goal, but Dean Sarris was off the mark with the attempt, which brough the game to halftime, with Quad City ahead 17-8.
With the chance at the first possession of the second half, Sioux Falls managed their first offensive points of the contest, with a six-yard pass from Hall to Kentrez Bell, the team’s big-name signing at receiver over the offseason. The extra point from Sarris would again bring the Storm back within a pair of points. After a 58-yard kickoff return touchdown by Jarrod Harrington was overturned by a holding call, the Steamwheelers took just two plays to get the response touchdown. Harrington would find the endzone after all, getting wide open in the endzone and hauling in a 25-yard pass from Erickson. Kaplan’s missed extra point would keep the Quad City lead within one score at 23-15. Sioux Falls would embark on another scoring drive spanning 41 yards on six plays, with the touchdown coming from a five-yard rush by Bryson Denley. And it would be another impactful play on special teams that would give Sioux Falls its first lead of the ballgame, with a successful deuce on the ensuing kickoff by Sarris. The mighty boot would put Sioux Falls ahead 24-23 after the third quarter.
The Storm defense held their ground one more time to begin the fourth quarter, causing a turnover on downs after Erickson’s fourth down pass for Ka’Ron Ashley was just overthrown in the endzone. Quad City’s defense was able to follow suit on the following drive, forcing a 35-yard field goal attempt that was missed just wide left from Sarris. The Steamwheelers would capitalize, with a third down pass from Erickson finding a sliding Harrington, who intelligently got up and ran the rest of the distance since he was never down by contact. The play went for 40 yards in total, and shifted the lead back to Quad City by six. Kaplan would then take his turn with a special teams contribution, with a deuce of his own to put his Steamwheelers ahead by eight. The Storm refused to go down quietly, with Hall taking a low snap and charging ahead for a 28-yard touchdown run. On the two-point conversion attempt, Hall tossed a pass to a wide-open Thompson to knot the game up at 32 all with just over three minutes left in regulation. Quad City would possess the ball deep into the one minute warning and worked the clock down to two seconds left, and brought on Kaplan for a 39-yard game-winning field goal. But a low snap denied any attempt at the kick, which left the game tied at 32 at the end of regulation.
Quad City took the field on offense first in the overtime frame and converted the touchdown on a two-yard keeper by Erickson. Yet another bad snap on the extra point attempt would set up Sioux Falls with their turn on offense, down six, needing a touchdown and ensuing extra point to claim victory. The Storm got to a second and goal situation on the Quad City 11-yard line, and Hall’s pass intended for Bell was intercepted by Trey Smith of the Steamwheelers to clinch the victory for the home side.
In leading the Steamwheelers to victory in his first IFL start, Judd Erickson completed 13 of 26 passes for 169 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception. He also contributed 16 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Eddie Vander led Quad City in rushing, with nine totes for 41 yards and two touchdowns to go with three receptions for 31 yards. Both of Jarrod Harrington’s receptions on the night went for touchdowns (25 and 40 yards). Keyvan Rudd added a team-leading four receptions for 30 yards. Defensively, Jaylin Swan recorded seven tackles and a fumble recovery, and Trey Smith logged the game-winning interception in overtime.
For the Storm, Billy Hall attempted 15 passes, completing eight of them for 88 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Hall also carried 14 times for 59 yards and an additional score. Bryson Denley carried four times for six yards and a touchdown, while Xavier Jackson logged 28 yards on just two rushes. Kentrez Bell came up with five receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown, while Carlos Thompson had three receptions for 26 yards. Laronji Vason-McCoy and Ken Gladney, Jr. led the Storm with seven tackles each, while Camron Harrell had the 49-yard interception returned for a touchdown which kickstarted the valiant comeback effort for Sioux Falls.
For the all-time series, Sioux Falls still leads five games to four (3-0 home, 2-4 road). Two matchups remain this season between these two clubs: May 10th at Sioux Falls and July 6th back at Moline.
The Steamwheelers will take their 1-0 record into a bye week next week, before welcoming the Green Bay Blizzard (0-1) for a home matchup on Saturday April 6th, with a 5:05 p.m. listed kickoff. Sioux Falls (0-1) will continue its season-opening road trip, travelling to the East Coast to take on the Massachusetts Pirates (1-0) on Friday March 29th, with a 4:05 p.m. listed kickoff. All times listed are Pacific time.
Both games, as well as all IFL games this season, will be streamed live on the IFL YouTube Channel and Caffeine TV IFL. SCtoC will present previews of those, and all, games this season. Those previews will be posted on the board of the home team in each game. Click for our complete IFL 2024 Schedule.
3/22/24 --
MOLINE, IL -
On Friday night, the Vibrant Arena at The MARK hosted the 2024 season opener for the two most recent Eastern Conference Champions, with the Sioux Falls Storm visiting the Quad City Steamwheelers in an entertaining matchup. Sixty minutes was not enough to decide the winner, with the evenly matched rivals treating fans to the first overtime game of the 2024 season. In the end, the Quad City Steamwheelers would prevail with the home victory, getting the offensive score and defensive stand in the extra frame to earn the 38-32 win.
Quad City began the game with the first possession, but a sturdy effort from the Sioux Falls defense forced a quick three-and-out, and Kyle Kaplan’s lengthy field goal kick came up short. The Storm fared no better on their opening drive, with a fourth down pass to the endzone coming up empty, awarding the ball back Quad City at around midfield. Led by rookie QB Judd Erickson, the Steamwheelers moved the ball into the redzone, but had to settle for a 19-yard field goal from Kaplan to open the scoring ledger for the game. The kick would stand as the lone score of the opening frame, with the score three to nil, in favor of Quad City.
After forcing a missed field goal by the Storm, Quad City would engineer its first touchdown drive of the season, capped off by a six-yard run by former Strike Force RB Eddie Vander. The next Storm drive would again yield no points, as QB Billy Hall fumbled on a run on first down, and Jaylin Swan picked up the recovery for Quad City. On the next drive spanning nearly seven minutes of play, it would be a play on fourth down to completely shift momentum in this contest. A well-read play saw Camron Harrell jump in front of an Erickson pass, and he took the interception wire-to-wire for the Storm’s first points of the game. Hall would then find Carlos Thompson on a pass for a two-point conversion to cut the deficit down to just two points. On their final drive of the half, Quad City would come up with the response they needed, thanks to Vander’s second running score of the game (three yards). Sioux Falls would get a last-second chance at a 42-yard field goal, but Dean Sarris was off the mark with the attempt, which brough the game to halftime, with Quad City ahead 17-8.
With the chance at the first possession of the second half, Sioux Falls managed their first offensive points of the contest, with a six-yard pass from Hall to Kentrez Bell, the team’s big-name signing at receiver over the offseason. The extra point from Sarris would again bring the Storm back within a pair of points. After a 58-yard kickoff return touchdown by Jarrod Harrington was overturned by a holding call, the Steamwheelers took just two plays to get the response touchdown. Harrington would find the endzone after all, getting wide open in the endzone and hauling in a 25-yard pass from Erickson. Kaplan’s missed extra point would keep the Quad City lead within one score at 23-15. Sioux Falls would embark on another scoring drive spanning 41 yards on six plays, with the touchdown coming from a five-yard rush by Bryson Denley. And it would be another impactful play on special teams that would give Sioux Falls its first lead of the ballgame, with a successful deuce on the ensuing kickoff by Sarris. The mighty boot would put Sioux Falls ahead 24-23 after the third quarter.
The Storm defense held their ground one more time to begin the fourth quarter, causing a turnover on downs after Erickson’s fourth down pass for Ka’Ron Ashley was just overthrown in the endzone. Quad City’s defense was able to follow suit on the following drive, forcing a 35-yard field goal attempt that was missed just wide left from Sarris. The Steamwheelers would capitalize, with a third down pass from Erickson finding a sliding Harrington, who intelligently got up and ran the rest of the distance since he was never down by contact. The play went for 40 yards in total, and shifted the lead back to Quad City by six. Kaplan would then take his turn with a special teams contribution, with a deuce of his own to put his Steamwheelers ahead by eight. The Storm refused to go down quietly, with Hall taking a low snap and charging ahead for a 28-yard touchdown run. On the two-point conversion attempt, Hall tossed a pass to a wide-open Thompson to knot the game up at 32 all with just over three minutes left in regulation. Quad City would possess the ball deep into the one minute warning and worked the clock down to two seconds left, and brought on Kaplan for a 39-yard game-winning field goal. But a low snap denied any attempt at the kick, which left the game tied at 32 at the end of regulation.
Quad City took the field on offense first in the overtime frame and converted the touchdown on a two-yard keeper by Erickson. Yet another bad snap on the extra point attempt would set up Sioux Falls with their turn on offense, down six, needing a touchdown and ensuing extra point to claim victory. The Storm got to a second and goal situation on the Quad City 11-yard line, and Hall’s pass intended for Bell was intercepted by Trey Smith of the Steamwheelers to clinch the victory for the home side.
In leading the Steamwheelers to victory in his first IFL start, Judd Erickson completed 13 of 26 passes for 169 yards, with two touchdowns and an interception. He also contributed 16 yards and a touchdown on six carries. Eddie Vander led Quad City in rushing, with nine totes for 41 yards and two touchdowns to go with three receptions for 31 yards. Both of Jarrod Harrington’s receptions on the night went for touchdowns (25 and 40 yards). Keyvan Rudd added a team-leading four receptions for 30 yards. Defensively, Jaylin Swan recorded seven tackles and a fumble recovery, and Trey Smith logged the game-winning interception in overtime.
For the Storm, Billy Hall attempted 15 passes, completing eight of them for 88 yards, with a touchdown and an interception. Hall also carried 14 times for 59 yards and an additional score. Bryson Denley carried four times for six yards and a touchdown, while Xavier Jackson logged 28 yards on just two rushes. Kentrez Bell came up with five receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown, while Carlos Thompson had three receptions for 26 yards. Laronji Vason-McCoy and Ken Gladney, Jr. led the Storm with seven tackles each, while Camron Harrell had the 49-yard interception returned for a touchdown which kickstarted the valiant comeback effort for Sioux Falls.
For the all-time series, Sioux Falls still leads five games to four (3-0 home, 2-4 road). Two matchups remain this season between these two clubs: May 10th at Sioux Falls and July 6th back at Moline.
The Steamwheelers will take their 1-0 record into a bye week next week, before welcoming the Green Bay Blizzard (0-1) for a home matchup on Saturday April 6th, with a 5:05 p.m. listed kickoff. Sioux Falls (0-1) will continue its season-opening road trip, travelling to the East Coast to take on the Massachusetts Pirates (1-0) on Friday March 29th, with a 4:05 p.m. listed kickoff. All times listed are Pacific time.
Both games, as well as all IFL games this season, will be streamed live on the IFL YouTube Channel and Caffeine TV IFL. SCtoC will present previews of those, and all, games this season. Those previews will be posted on the board of the home team in each game. Click for our complete IFL 2024 Schedule.
-AS
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