Quad City Steamwheelers Defeat Cincinnati Jungle Kats 83-33

Saturday July 21, 2007

July 20, 2007, (Moline, Ill.) – The Quad City Steamwheelers (9-6) clinched a playoff spot in the 2007 arenafootball2 league playoffs after defeating the Cincinnati Jungle Kats (1-14) 83-33 on Friday, July 20 in front of 3,516 at the i wireless Center in Moline, Ill.

The Steamwheelers wide receiver Tom Anthony, who was named the Schutt Offensive Player of the Game, helped the Steamwheelers trio of wide receivers make history for the second season in a row. He caught his fourth catch of the game early in the second quarter and with the Steamwheelers leading 62-33 he tallied a six yard pass to put him over 1,000 receiving yards on the season. With the catch Anthony, Kris Peters and Jack Walker Jr., became the third trio in Arena Football history to tally 100 catches and 1,000 receiving yards in the same season.

Peters, who finished the game with five touchdown receptions and 88 yards and eight catches led the offense for the Steamwheelers in the first half scoring five of the teams first six touchdowns, including a 49-yard missed field goal return to put the ‘Wheelers up 40-27 with 39 seconds remaining in the half. The two teams traded touchdowns first half with Cincinnati taking the lead once at 7-6 and tying the score on three separate occasions.

After the Peters missed field goal return the Jungle Kats answered quickly scoring on a Scott Jefferies 11-yard pass to Hassan Brockman with 17 seconds left. The Steamwheelers answered when kicker Kimo Naehu notched his first field goal of the season, on a 31-yard attempt, with 10 seconds remaining.

The Steamwheelers defense, which was led by Kevin Adams and Jordan Davis with eight and seven tackles respectively, took over in the second half shutting out the Jungle Kats, while the ‘Wheelers offense cruised to 40 second half points. While the first half was all Peters, the second half belonged to Walker Jr., who tallied three of the six Quad City scores, including a 17-yard interception return with 6:24 remaining to make it a 76-33 game.

The ‘Wheelers finished the game with 252 total offensive yards, while surrendering 279. Walker Jr., finished with 44 yards and three touchdowns on four catches, while Anthony had a team-high 10 catches for 104 yards.

For the Jungle Kats, quarterback Scott Jefferies finished the game with 208 yards and five touchdown passes on 13 completions before leaving the field on a stretcher due to an injury on a Jermaine Petty sack. He was taken to a local hospital for precautionary reasons, but should be okay. Patrick Josten, who came in to replace Jefferies, finished with 95 yards and no touchdowns on 10 completions, while throwing two picks. The leading receiver was Derin Graham, who tallied 139 yards and two touchdowns on nine catches, while Demetrius McCray and George Williams each finished with five total tackles.

The Steamwheelers conclude the regular season with a contest against the Fort Wayne Fusion on Thursday, July 26 at the i wireless Center in Moline, Ill. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and tickets for the contest are still available.

Team                                                      1st            2nd           3rd            4th            Final       Record
Cincinnati Jungle Kats                       7              26           0              0              33           1-14
Quad City Steamwheelers                13           30           12           28           83           9-6

Schutt Offensive Player of the Game: Tom Anthony (QCS)
ADT Defensive Player of the Game: Jermaine Petty (QCS)
U.S. Army Ironman of the Game: Jack Walker Jr. (QCS)
Cutter’s Catch of the Game: Tom Anthony 4th  quarter, 12:44

Attendance: 3,516