The Quad City Steamwheelers are no strangers to playoff success. It’s just been 10 years to the date since the last time fans on the Iowa/Illinois border could watch the team play in them.
The original Quad City Steamwheelers, that were branded as Quad Cities, were a dominant force in Arena Football 2, which was the development league for the AFL back in the day.
In the team’s first two seasons in the league, they went 31-1 and captured the first two AF2 championships in league history.
Quad City Steamwheelers visit Sioux City in first playoff game
Quad Cities survived for 10 years before folding and were brought back to life this season by owner Doug Bland.
Now, they try to replicate their postseason success, this time in Champions Indoor Football (CIF).
The Steamwheelers (8-4) will go on the road to visit the Sioux City Bandits (9-3) in the two teams’ second meeting of the season.
Sioux City won the first matchup in the season opener, though in the latest meeting, it was the Steamwheelers who came out on top.
Quad City is lead by quarterback E.J. Hilliard who provides his team with a threat in both the passing game and the rushing attack.
Hilliard is fourth in the IFL in passing yards per game with 151.2 and sits eighth in rushing yards with 28.0 per game. That’s down from Tyler Williams, who sits in third at 50.8.
Quad City has a reliable defense, but their true weapon relies in kick returner Daron Clark. Clark has returned three kickoffs for touchdowns during the season, and although thats not the league’s best, that number still provides a big enough threat to drastically change a game.
For Sioux City, the Bandits have two of the best players in the CIF when it comes to the stat sheet.
Running back Darrian Miller is second in the league in rushing yards with 52.7 per game and is atop the rushing touchdowns list with 25.
Although, the most intriguing Bandit lies within the defense.
Solomon St. Pierre has been having a season of a lifetime for Sioux City. As he helps lead the Bandits to this playoff run, St. Pierre has corralled a league-leading 11 interceptions.
On top of it, he also has garnered 55 tackles.
His defensive presence has helped the Sioux City Bandits earn another league leading stat. This one though is unheard of.
The Bandits have forced 25 interceptions in the 12 games that they have played. It’s literally more than two per game.
That will set up an interesting matchup when the Steamwheelers have the football.
Sioux City and Quad City will face off on Saturday at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, IA. Fans can tune into the game at 7:00 p.m. CT on Pluto.tv, the free streaming service.
