Steamwheelers Feeling The Loss
Gary Stibolt
Monday April 26, 2004
Following the Steamwheelers is exciting, and it is heart-wrenching too! Yes, it is thrilling to watch a good football game but when that ‘pit feeling’ is there, you are filled with another set of emotions that try to cloud your head as you cheer and will your team to victory.
Saturday night in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, it was a tremendous night for both teams.
It was tremendous for the Pioneers as they showed they are going to be a contender for the Arena Cup this year. Not because of beating the Steamwheelers but because of how they play football. The arena game has always been thought to be designed to favor offensive powerhouses. The Pioneers challenged that ideology and squelched the Steamwheelers so-called offensive powerhouse with a very physical and dominating defense.
The Pioneers won the toss and deferred to the second half so the Steamwheelers went on offense first. As if it wasn’t bad enough to have that ‘pit feeling” already there, it was knotted when the Steamwheelers turned the ball over on their first possession of the game. The Pioneers wasted no time converting that to points.
Then the Steamwheelers drive on their second possession and get it down into the red zone and they could not get it punched in. The Pioneers came up with a huge defensive stop and they took over on downs on their own six-yard line. Pioneers quarterback, Tim Hicks fumbles the ball and Carmello Ocasio recovers for the Steamwheelers on the Pioneers five-yard line. Finally a glimpse of hope and with each failed play, reality started to set in. After turning the ball over on downs again, that ‘pit feeling’ was becoming internalized.
The game unfolded and it never got any better for the Steamwheelers. You would regain hope on a Tim Dodge 48-yard touchdown reception but it would not last. Too many mistakes, no momentum, and a lack of intensity kept that ‘pit feeling’ alive as the Steamwheelers played catch-up all night long. That is something they have never done in franchise history. Then an interception in the far endzone was returned 53-yards for a score by Ameer Riley. It was the “kick ‘em while they’re down” play and ultimately sealed the win for Wilkes-Barre.
You could see the intensity on behalf of the Pioneers, but I was still looking for it with the Steamwheelers throughout the whole game. It never showed up.
“They came out wanting it more than we did,” said Danny Thomas, Steamwheeler WR/DB following the game. “We didn’t have the intensity tonight and they did. We need to get back to the basics.”
The game was tremendous for the Steamwheelers because they never played so terrible in their five-year history.
“We need to make some corrections on offense,” said Tim Dodge prior to boarding the team bus. “I don’t know what those are going to be, but coach will know and he’ll tell us Tuesday.”
The Steamwheelers have been sputtering on offense all season long. They opened the season well against Manchester at home but on the road the following week, they let a 35-9 third quarter lead get away from them. Last week against Tennessee Valley, the Steamwheelers offense sputtered again. According to ‘Wheeler quarterback, Ronnie Gordon, following that game, there are some mental mistakes the team is making and they need to get focused and correct those things.
Last night following the loss to the Pioneers, Ronnie Gordon was replaying the game through his mind as he sat alone outside the locker room in the hallway.
“We just gotta make plays,” said Gordon. “We had some opportunities.”
One opportunity was on a fourth and five from their own ten trailing 14-27, Gordon did not see a wide open LaRico Cole on the right sideline. No one was around Cole for at least 15-yards. Gordon throws to Tim Dodge on the short side of the field where it was jammed up. The pass was knocked down, one of thirteen deflections for the Pioneers. It was opportunities like that. It was opportunities where points were put on the board or a first down was picked up that the plays were negated on a holding call.
“I need to make plays, whether the blocking is there or not, it is on me to make the plays and I didn’t do it,” said Gordon.
“The loss always hurts,” said Dodge. Although it is a long season and the Steamwheelers are leaving April with a 3-1 record, there is still time to correct things. The Steamwheelers have been here before and head coach Ingold will pull them through again. I may have had the ‘pit feeling’ in the hull of my stomach as the game drew near and as it unfolded but what the Steamwheelers are feeling is far worse.
Gary Stibolt has covered the Quad City Steamwheelers since their 2000 inaugural season. He also owns, operates and is the Chief Editor/Publisher of SteamwheelerFans.com, a website dedicated to the Steamwheelers and their fans. He coresponds for other media outlets covering arenafootball2. In addition to leading the Steamwheelers Fan Club, Gary serves as Coordinator of the National af2 Fan Club. He is married with two sons and works as an Infrastructure Analyst for Deere & Company in their Corporate Computer Center in Moline, Illinois.