A long 7 month wait is now over for the Quad City Steamwheelers.
Looking to capture another eastern conference title, the Steamwheelers welcome the Arizona Rattlers for the season opener Friday night at Vibrant Arena.
It’s a highly anticipated match-up as last year’s league MVP from the Rattlers quarterback Drew Powell faces reigning offense player of the year from the Wheelers quarterback E.J. Hilliard.
Powell threw 54 touchdowns while Hilliard lead the league in total touchdowns per game averaging just under five.
Hilliard going in knowing what to expect..
“That’s the beautiful thing about football. You can look at your opponent and know what they’re good at. What’s their staple. That’s a compliment to them. Knowing you don’t have to diviate from the gameplan. They want to be physical. They want to be fast. It brings out the best in us knowing they’re going to bring their best,” Hilliard said.
They have an explosive offense so right away we’ll need to get turnovers on the defensive side and with special teams make big plays. Doing that can really set the tone in our favor,” linebacker Nate Sheets said.
“We still have a ways to go to get up to their reputation but were not going to back down from anything,” receiver Keyvon Rudd said. “Were going to expect a battle plus were the only game this week so all eyes will be on us. Expect players to raise to the top and see all the things that are going to happen.”
