GAME
NOTES
Louisville, KY-On Derby
Day the Fire will be thinking about
more than horses and bets. Redemption
will be on their minds at Quad City
this Saturday at 8:00 EST (7:00 CST).
Each team has had a similar season.
Louisville opened the season with
two wins and then two losses. Quad
City started the season with two wins
but recently has gone on a two game
losing streak.
The Fire are coming
off of a week where everything went
right, beating the Lexington Horsemen
61-34. A hot start contributed to
a 27-12 lead at halftime and closed
the game by allowing only eight points
in the fourth quarter. The Fire rushed
for five touchdowns (three by Bassuener
and two by Forney) and threw for three
more touchdowns. Matt Bassuener led
the team with 30 yards rushing, 240
yards passing, and 6 total touchdowns.
“Matt [Bassuener] is
starting to figure things out and
move into a leadership role,” stated
Fire Head Coach Tommy Johnson. “He
is making the right reads and learning
to use a good combination of his arm
and legs.”
The Steamwheelers are
coming off of two losses to the Iowa
Barnstormers and the Green Bay Blizzard.
During the 52-35 loss to the Blizzard,
Quad City had 20 more yards than their
opponent but had nine penalties in
the game.
The Fire lost to the
Steamwheelers on April 11, 39-28.
“We knew Quad City was a good team
and they were able to capitalize on
our mistakes,” stated Johnson after
the loss to Quad City.
During the game on April
11, each team threw an interception,
but the Fire had two more fumbles
than the Steamwheelers and a total
of 14 penalties for 93 yards. Each
Fire quarterback, Aaron Marshall and
Matt Bassuener, struggled throwing
because of a constant rush applied
by the Steamwheelers. Even with all
of the Fire’s struggles, they out
gained the Steamwheelers by 51 yards.
The Fire are looking
to establish the running game early
to allow Bassuener a chance to settle
into the flow of the game. In the
previous match-up, the Fire was without
key offensive lineman Thomas Coleman,
who will be playing in this week’s
game. Louisville is ranked number
one in arenafootball2 in rushing offense
averaging 52.0 yards per game, whereas
the Steamwheelers have the 19th best
rushing defense in the league allowing
28.8 ypg. The Steamwheelers will be
trying to take advantage of a depleted
Fire secondary (two players from the
opening day roster are still on the
injured reserve). The Steamwheelers
passing offense ranks seventh in the
league with 240.8 ypg, and the Fire’s
pass defense ranks 16th allowing 222.6
ypg.
The game can be heard
on ESPN Radio 93.9 FM The Ticket.
The game can also be seen on the internet
courtesy of Nifty TV by downloading
the af2 player at www.Nifty-TV.com/af2.
GAME FACTS –
Louisville Fire (3-2) vs. Quad City
Steamwheelers (2-2)
Date: Saturday, May 3
Time: 8:00 EST (7:00 CST)
Site: iWireless Center
Online Broadcast: Game will be streamed
online at www.louisvillefirefootball.com
Radio: The Ticket (93.9 FM) with Zack
McCrite (play-by-play)
Series History: Quad City leads 9-5
all-time (4-2 in Louisville, 5-3 in
Moline, IL)
Last Meeting: Louisville 28, Quad
City 39 (April 11, 2008 - Freedom
Hall, Louisville, Ky.)
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