Game Recap vs Quad City Steamwheelers | April 11, 2026

Tonight marked the first of three meetings this season between the top two seeds from the 2025 season in the Eastern Conference. The Green Bay Blizzard (3-0) travel to Moline, IL, to take on the Quad City Steamwheelers (1-2) in a Saturday night showdown.

On the opening kickoff, Blizzard Kicker Andrew Mevis nailed the deuce try for the first points of the night. After the deuce, the Steamwheelers' first drive began at their own five. Through a balanced approach, the Steamwheelers drove down the field, chewing about seven and a half minutes off the clock, but ultimately had to settle for a field goal that was successfully converted by kicker Jan Bogdan. Green Bay's first drive featured a motion handoff to running back Demilon Brown, but the Blizzard also settled for a field goal of their own. The Quad City next drive started with good field position after a 20-yard kick return by Wide Receiver Quian Williams. The Steamwheelers were driving down the field at the end of the first frame. The scoreline appeared more similar to a baseball game, with the scoreline of 5-3, favoring the Blizzard.

Just a few plays into the second quarter, Quad City found the endzone on a play where Quad City quarterback Daquan Neal was under center and handed the ball off to former UW-Whitewater Warhawk running back Jarrod Ware. The second Green Bay drive faltered initially, but was given a second chance by a roughing the passer call on a third down that resulted in an automatic first down. However, the Blizzard would end up failing on a 4th down conversion. In just two plays, the Steamwheelers would drive 45 yards with about 30 of those yards coming on a speed option pitch out to Jarrod Ware, who scored on the play. In the following Blizzard drive, the offense failed to move the ball, and Mevis came on to attempt a long field goal from his own endzone. Mevis was able to boot it out of bounds at the Steamwheelers' five-yard line. The following Steamwheelers possession was capped off by a quick short pass from Neal to wide receiver Quian Williams. With just 11 seconds on the clock, the Steamwheelers kicked the ball short, and Blizzard defensive back Franky West Jr fielded the ball on a hop and returned the ball into the Steamwheelers' territory, leaving four seconds on the clock. Mevis came on and made the field goal. At the break, the Steamwheelers jumped out to a 24-8 lead.

The start of the second half saw Green Bay run just three plays, concluding when Quarterback Liam Thompson connected with Wide Receiver Terrell Carey for a touchdown. Quad City was quick to respond on their first drive of the second half. Neal connected with Wide Receiver Keyvan Rudd for a 20-yard score. The second Blizzard drive quickly resulted in another Blizzard touchdown. Thompson connected with Carey again for a 32-yard score. Midway through the third, the score was now 31-22, still favoring Quad City. The Steamwheelers would yet again respond with another Neal to Rudd connection. The 3rd quarter would end with the score of 38-22, still favoring the Steamwheelers.

The fourth and final stanza began with an ongoing Blizzard possession and would see yet another Green Bay touchdown. This time, Thompson connected with Wide Receiver Draysean Hudson on the second play of the quarter. The Steamwheelers would follow up with another score of their own, this drive being capped off by a Daquan Neal scramble. Bogdan would miss the point after attempt. On the ensuing kickoff, Blizzard defensive back Franky West Jr would field the ball on a bounce again and appeared to have a return touchdown, but after a Quad City challenge, it would be ruled that he made contact with the wall on the Steamwheeler side of the field. The Blizzard would capitalize in only three plays with a pass from Thompson to Wide Receiver Trevon Alexander. The score now sat at 44-36 with the Steamwheelers still holding onto the lead. The next Steamwheeler drive chewed up much of the remaining clock and still resulted in a touchdown pass from Neal to Wide Receiver Jordan Vesey as the clock hit the one-minute warning, just about crushing any hopes the Blizzard had at clawing their way back. On the first play of the Blizzard drive, Thompson looked for a deep pass and was intercepted by former Blizzard defensive back Kevin Ransom II. The Steamwheelers would kneel out the remaining clock and successfully defended their home turf, 36-51.

With the win tonight, Quad City improves to 2-2. Quad City will travel to San Diego next week for a date with the Strike Force on Friday, April 17th, with kickoff at 9:00 PM CDT. Yahoo Sports! will be streaming the game. The Blizzard suffered their first loss of the season and dropped to 3-1. The Blizzard, or shall I say, Frozen Phoenix, as will be the one game only moniker for the next Blizzard game, will be back in action on Saturday, April 18th, on Freeze Field at the Resch Center. Kickoff is slated for 4:00 PM CDT. Tickets are selling fast, so get them today by visiting the Blizzard website.

Written By: Tyler Klackner