Quad City avenged their home loss to the Tulsa Oilers by outscoring the home team, 31-27, Friday night at the BOK Center.
With the loss the Oilers dropped into a tie for second place in the IFL Eastern Conference standings with a record of 6-3. The Eastern Conference leading Steamwheelers improved to 7-2 on the season.
It looked like Tulsa was going to dominate in this game, scoring early in the first quarter, when TJ Edwards carried the ball into the end zone from five yards out. The extra point was missed and the Oilers led 6-0, with 8:33 left in the quarter.
The Steamwheelers answered with a 40-yard field goal by Kyle Kaplan.
With 1:11 remaining in the second quarter, Quad City took the lead for good on a Daquan Neal six-yard touchdown run.
Both teams played tight defense and combined with a pair of turnovers, it was the lowest scoring half of indoor football I have ever seen. Quad City led 10-6 at the intermission.
The Steamwheelers extended their lead in the third quarter with an 11-yard touchdown run by former Oiler Jarrod Ware.
Tulsa cut the Quad City lead to 17-14 with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Edwards to Cole Blackman, plus a two-point conversion.
With 8:13 remaining in the fourth quarter, Quad City’s Jordan Vesey scored on a 10-yard pass from Neal, and the Steamwheelers led 24-14.
In the final three minutes of the game, both teams exchanged touchdowns and kept the game entertaining.
Tulsa moved within a field goal of Quad City when Edwards ran the ball into the end zone from 16 yards out, cutting the Steamwheelers lead to 24-21 with 2:28 remaining.
Neal then connected with Keyvan Rudd on a 25-yard touchdown pass to put the Steamwheelers ahead 31-21 with less than a minute remaining.
However, the Oilers weren’t ready to quit and scored another touchdown on an Edwards one-yard run, with 15-seconds remaining on the clock. The Oilers attempted an on-side kick that was recovered by Quad City to end the game.
The Oilers are on the road this week to play the Bay Area Panthers in San Jose, Calif. on Saturday. Their next home game is on June 14 against San Antonio at 7:05 p.m. at the BOK Center.