Quad City Steamwheelers (2018)

Last updated
Quad City Steamwheelers
AmericanFootball current event.svg Current season
Established 2017
Play in Vibrant Arena at The MARK
in Moline, Illinois
steamwheelersfootball.com
Quad City Steamwheelers 2024.png
League/conference affiliations
Current uniform
Team colorsNavy blue, gold and scarlet red
   
Personnel
Owner(s) Doug Bland
General managerDestiny Brown [1]
Head coach Cory Ross
Team history
  • Quad City Steamwheelers (2018–present)
Championships
League championships (0)
Conference championships (1)
Division championships (0)
Playoff appearances (4)
Home arena(s)

The Quad City Steamwheelers are a professional indoor football team based in Moline, Illinois, that competes in the Indoor Football League (IFL). They played their first season as part of the Champions Indoor Football, and then joined the IFL prior to their second season. [2] The team plays its home games at the Vibrant Arena at The MARK. The team announced it would be dormant for the 2021 season due to the arena capacity restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but returned to play in 2022.

Contents

The Steamwheelers are named after the Quad Cities' previous team of the same name, which played in all ten of the AF2's seasons (20002009) and won the first two ArenaCups.

History

Initial CIF/IFL Logo (2018-2021) QuadCitySteamwheelers.png
Initial CIF/IFL Logo (2018-2021)

After the original Quad City Steamwheelers folded along with the AF2, TaxSlayer Center director Scott Mullen had been in talks with various investors seeking to bring back the Steamwheelers, but none were financially secure enough to meet his standards. During 2017, a splash page emerged allegedly belonging to a revived Steamwheelers team in the CIF, however, neither Mullen nor the CIF would comment on the page. [3]

On August 15, 2017, the Center confirmed that a deal had been reached which would see the Wheelers return as members of the CIF for 2018, with a press conference taking place the following day. [4] At the press conference, the Wheelers introduced their owner/general manager Doug Bland (previously part-owner of fellow CIF team the Dallas Marshals) and head coach Cory Ross (most recently head coach for the Omaha Beef). [5]

After one season in the CIF, the Steamwheelers announced they were joining the Indoor Football League for the 2019 season. [2]

Helmet Logo Quad City Steamwheelers.png
Helmet Logo

After playing only one game in 2020, the Steamwheelers' season was initially postponed and the league's season was eventually cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On October 23, 2020, the team announced that due to the restrictions on arena capacity during the pandemic, they would be dormant for at least the 2021 season. [6] In September 2021, they announced they planned to return for the 2022 season. [1]

Roster

Quad City Steamwheelers roster
Quarterbacks
  •  5 Judd Erickson
  •  6 Mike Irwin

Running backs

  •  7 Edward Vander

Wide receivers

  •  0 Ka'ron Ashley
  • 18 Easton Bianchi
  • 16 Jarrod Harrington
  •  9 Rahim Harvey
  •  3 Warren Newman
  • 13 Keyvan Rudd
  • 15 Jordan Vesey
Offensive linemen
  • 67 Paul Fay
  • 65 Joe Krall
  • 71 Ivory Scott

Defensive linemen

  • 91 Dominion Ezinwa
  • 41 KeShaun Moore
  •  4 Melik Owens
  •  8 Jaylin Swan
Linebackers
  • 22 Bubba Arslanian

Defensive backs

  • 17 Malik Duncan
  • 11 Brian Hughes
  • 34 Dareon Jackson
  • 23 Suni Lane
  • 10 Dreko Statham
  •  2 Trey Smith

Special teams

  • 24 Kyle Kaplan
Reserve list
  • Currently vacant

Rookies in italics
Roster updated March 18, 2024
33 Active, 0 Inactive

→ More rosters

Statistics and records

Season-by-season results

League championsConference championsDivision championsPlayoff berthLeague leader
Season League Conference Division Regular season Postseason results
FinishWinsLossesTies
2018 CIF North3rd840Lost Conference Semifinal (Sioux City) 46–54
2019 IFL 7th680
2020 IFL100Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2021 IFL 000Season cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic
2022 IFL Eastern3rd970Won First Round (Massachusetts Pirates) 39–38
Won Second Round (Frisco Fighters) 48–41
Lost Championship (Northern Arizona) 45-47
2023 IFL Eastern4th960Lost First Round (Frisco Fighters) 29-57
2024 IFL Eastern4th880Lost First Round (Green Bay Blizzard) 23-34
Totals41330All-time regular season record (2018–2020)
23All-time postseason record (2018–2022)
35280All-time regular season and postseason record (2018–2022)

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References

  1. 1 2 "Steamwheelers announce they will return for 2022 season". Quad-City Times. September 12, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Quad City Steamwheelers join the IFL for 2019 season". Nebraska.tv. 7 September 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  3. Tappa, Steve (August 1, 2017). "Steamwheelers return talk resurfaces". The Dispatch–Argus . Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  4. Doxsie, Don (August 15, 2017). "Steamwheelers indoor football returning to Q-C". Quad-City Times . Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  5. Doxsie, Don (August 16, 2017). "Dallas-based group bringing Steamwheelers back to life". Quad-City Times . Retrieved August 17, 2017.
  6. "Quad City Steamwheelers cancel 2021 season". KWQC . October 23, 2020.