Iron Pick Up First Home Victory

On Friday night I found myself at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee doing something I haven't done in several years - attending an arena football game. The last time I was at such an event was sometime in 2003 maybe, watching the now defunct La Crosse Night Train. It was actually a pretty good game, as the Iron won their first home game of the season. I'll have much more about my thoughts on Arena Football in Milwaukee on this Thursday's Winks Thinks. As for the nuts and bolts about the game, here's the press release courtesy of the Iron.

MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Todd Hammel is officially back in arena football. The veteran quarterback put on an aerial display Friday night in Milwaukee going 25 of 39 for Seven touchdowns and zero interceptions. Hammel racked up 337 yard in the air as the Iron grabbed its first home win of the season, 58-47 over Mahoning Valley, and recorded its first winning streak with two straight victories. Hammel has thrown for 610 yards in two af2 games with the Iron. He has not thrown an interception.

The win moves the Iron to 4-6 on the season and noted its first ever season series sweep of another team. The Iron defeated the Thunder, 69-39, on April 4 for the franchise’s first win ever.

WR Antoine Burns extended his scoring number to a team-high 20 touchdowns this year counting four touchdowns Friday night.

The Iron carried over its tenacity from last week’s win at Albany and turned up the heat early to capture Friday’s historic feat. Hammel found Burns on a perfect throw that put the team’s leading scorer in enemy territory for the first six points of the game. Kicker Alex Walls made good on the extra point for a 7-0 home-team lead.

The Hammel and Burns show continued four minutes later as Burns scored his 17th touchdown of the year off a 14-yard pass from the veteran Hammel.

The Thunder managed to get on the scoreboard when WR Jermaine Moye ran into the Milwaukee end zone off a 16-yard pass from team QB Davon Vinson.

Milwaukee WR Scott Burnoski wrapped up Milwaukee’s first quarter scoring with a third Iron touchdown at the 2:32 mark off a 34-yard pass from Hammel for a 21-7 Milwaukee lead.

Despite Burns’ touchdown to start the second quarter, two straight touchdowns by the Thunder pulled Mahoning Valley within one point, 28-27, at the half.

The teams played touchdown tag in the third quarter by matching each others scoring. Both teams pulled in three touchdowns in the trade off that included a tie, 41-41, at the 5:12 mark.

A couple of new faces accounted for the Iron’s touchdowns in the third frame, including WR Kellen Allen’s two scores and WR Bryan Pray’s touchdown to end the quarter with a Milwaukee lead in tact at 48-47.

Milwaukee’s league-leading defense held the Thunder scoreless in the final quarter as Burns scored a TD for the Iron and Walls added another field goal to cap the game, 58-47.

The Iron will be back in action on June 13 in Oklahoma City. The Iron will face off with the Yard Dawgz in the Ford Center at 7:05 p.m. CT. Milwaukee is 3-2 on the road this season.

Milwaukee Iron ticket info.