The Express Hits the Road to Take on the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks
On Saturday the Reading Express hit the road to take on the Lehigh Valley Steelhawks, both teams looking to snap a two-game losing streak.
The Express has lost on the road to the Bloomington Edge and at home to the Green Bay Blizzard while the Steelhawks won their first game on the road to the Chicago Slaughter but wasn’t able to keep up the momentum against the Cedar Rapid Titans and at home against the Edge.
The Express had a bye this week and has been spending a lot of time out on the practice field preparing for this rivalry match-up between the neighboring Pennsylvania counties.
Both teams bring fast defenses that the quarterbacks need watch out for. The Steelhawks’ Bryan Tarkington and Gerard Bryant both recorded four unassisted tackles against the Edge. Steelhawks have also snagged four interceptions on the season.
On the Express side, Mike Dell, Michael Thompson and Michael Pace have been plaguing the quarterbacks for the past two games. Dell recorded three sacks and six tackles, while Thompson has one sack and 12 tackles and one interception and Pace also making double-digit tackles recording ten.
Offensively, the Steelhawks are averaging just 10 yards more than the Express. Express’ Joshua Floyd is currently third in the IFL for all purpose yards, following Tony Taylor of the Slaughter and Dennis Kennedy of Tri-cities Fever. Floyd has found most of his yardage on special teams, recording 311 yards in returns alone, one of those returns for a touchdown against the Blizzard.
Looking at the team stats for the season so far, this game will prove to be an exciting one for both teams with the Express looking to pick up their first win of the season and the Steelhawks looking to pull away with some positive momentum.
By: Rachel Zaccarelli
