After Anthony Jones’ 43 yard touchdown catch from Chris Greisen in overtime, it was on the Iron’s head coach Bob Landsee whether or not the Iron were going for an extra point or the 2 point conversion. An extra point would have tied the game at 55 against the Utah Blaze. According to the old rule of football, go for the tie on the road and for the win at home. Dropping back, Greisen saw a slim chance of connecting with Nate Forse which Greisen made happen for the 56-55 win in a barn burning victory to keep the Iron’s record flawless at home.
Greisen finished the game 21 of 34 with only 1 interception, 308 yards and 6 touchdowns. Greisen with 3 different receivers, all whom caught 6 balls. Anthony Jones was the go to guy for crossing the goal with 4 touchdowns on only 7 receptions, finishing with 119 yards. Forse snagged 8 catches for 114 yards and 1 touchdown. Damien Harrell also had a very memorable night breaking the AFL All Time Career Receiving Yards with 13,398. Harrell’s record setting catch came in the 2nd quarter to take over Barry Wagner’s previous record of 13,363 yards. On the ground, Tyre Young lead all rushers with 8 yards on 4 attempts and 1 touchdown.
The Blaze gave it their all after falling down 13-0 in the middle of the 1st quarter. To close the 1st half, the Blaze scored 14 unanswered points. Then to open up the 3rd quarter, the Blaze added another 7 to the scoreboard to put the game at 34-27, giving the Blaze their first lead of the night. After that score, the Iron and Blaze traded touchdowns all the way to the finish. When it was all said and done the Iron finished with 323 yards of total offense. Greisen averaged 9.1 yards per pass.
On the season the Iron are now at the top of the Division with 5 wins and 1 loss. Up next, the Iron have the Orlando Predators. Orlando is currently struggling at 1-3 so far this year, so the Iron will have to stay mentally tough in order to pull out another victory.

In their second season as an arena football team the Milwaukee Iron defeated the Iowa Barnstormers 65-40, in this year’s home opener. On the first place of scrimmage, the Iron started with a delay of game penalty pushing them five yards backwards, but from that point the Iron were headed in the right direction. Quarterback Chris Greisen connected with wide receiver Nate Forse on the 3rd play for a 16 yard touchdown. From that point on, the Iron were clickin’ on all cylinders and not lookin’ back. The Iron finished with 19 first downs, 16 of which were passing. Greisen lead the team to 4-7 in 3rd down conversions, 1-1 on 4th down. Greisen finished the game 25-36, 382 yards, 7 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. Wide receivers Anthony Jones and Forse both had big nights. Jones caught 12 balls for 171 yards and 3 touchdowns. Forse caught 10 balls for 146 yards and 3 touchdowns as well. Overall the Iron posted 407 yards of total offense, averaging 10.6 yards per pass. Defensively the Iron held the Barnstormers to 267 total yards of offense, including 2 interceptions. With 10:28 to play in the third Barnstormer quarterback Ryan Vena threw an interception to the Iron’s db Virgil Gray who returned it 49 yards for the score. Currently, the Iron are 2-0 on the season, 2nd in the National Conference behind the Chicago Rush. Next on the menu for the Iron will be the Tampa Bay Storm who are 0-1 on the season. The Storm in their only game put up 350 yards of offense and 58 points, while allowing 69 points and 305 yards.

Announced yesterday at a Press Conference in Milwaukee, former Green Bay Blizzard coach Bob Landsee was hired by the Milwaukee Iron to take over coaching duties after Gary Compton’s contract wasn’t renewed for the upcoming season. With the Iron joining the Arena Football 1 league next year, Landee’s coaching experience in the league will come to much benefit to the Iron. With the Blizzard, Landsee’s record was 45-28, reaching the Arena Cup in 2006. Landsee was also an assistant coach with the Milwaukee Mustangs in 2000 and 2001. Landsee will look to improve upon the Iron’s record of 5-11 last year in their inaugural season.

As well as their season, with the final home game loss to the Albany Firebirds, 58-55.  If the Iron were to have won, they would have been in the playoffs since they have already defeated the Firebirds earlier in the season.  However, it was Firebird’s defensive lineman David Tash who recovered a Todd Hammell fumble for a 4 yard score that proved to be the difference maker in the game.  The first quarter was the only period where the Iron were outscored by the Firebirds, 6 – 14.  Without that defensive score in the middle of the 2nd quarter, the Iron would have been the top dogs heading to the playoffs.

The Iron powned the Firebirds in offensive statistics.  The Iron finished with 313 total offensive yards compared to the Firebirds 220.  The Iron averaged 7.0 yards per play.  The Iron averaged 16.2 yards per return.  The Iron defense held Firebird’s quarterback Stephen Wasil to 211 yards off of 24 completions, while throwing 1 interception as well.  Anthony Rodriguez lead the Firebird’s recievers with 8 catches for 87 yards and 1 touchdown.

The Iron offense was powered by qb Hammel who finished with 317 yards on 24 completions and 7 touchdowns.  Scott Burnoski was the main target for Hammel as he hauled in 8 cataches for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Robert Gill had his best game catching 7 passes for 102 yards and 2 touchdowns.

Finishing the season at 5-11, the Iron tie with Peoria Pirates and the Quad City Steamrollers in the Midwest division, which was dominated by the Iowa Barnstormers (12-4) and Green Bay Blizzard (10-6).  The Iron’s head coach Gary Compton should be pleased how the team continuosly fought throughout the 2nd half to come back.  But on any given Friday, it’s not always the best team that wins.

Long after a 53-19 shellacking by the Tulsa Talons 2 weeks ago, the Iron followed up their bye week with a victory on the road against the Albany Firebirds.  In an offensive death match, both teams went back and forth on the score to finish the game 66-63.  Since both teams went down almost each drive and scored, it was in the 2nd quarter after the Firebirds scored twice that the Iron returned a kickoff, then recorded a safety and scored another touchdown with 55 seconds left to go in the half.  The 3rd quarter was much of a stalemate with the Iron scoring late on a touchdown pass from Todd Hammel to Bryan Pray.  The 4th quarter went back to the up tempo offense with each team exchanging blows to the scoreboard down to the final minute.  With 54 seconds left, Firebirds quarterback Stephen Wasil connected with Alvin Jackson with a 13 yard touchdown pass, leaving little time for the Iron to get back onto the board.  A field goal wouldn’t help the Iron, they were in need of a touchdown.  Exactly 14 seconds later, the Iron’s prayers were answered with a 34 yard touchdown from Hammel to Pray once again to put the Iron ahead by 2, with the extra point converted by Alex Walls.  On 4th – 18, Firebirds QB Wasil threw an incomplete pass to cap off the final drive of the game.
As an offense, the Iron finished with 275 yards on 41 plays with no interceptions and only 2 lost fumbles on 5.  Hammel threw for 23 out of 32, with 7 tds and 273 yards.  Wide receiver Antoine Burns had the most catches on the night with 9 for 87 yards and 2 touchdowns, but Pray was the offensive threat for the game.  With on 8 catches, he finished with 143 yards and 5 touchdowns, to be easily player of the game.  On the defenses side of the ball, the Iron gave up 290 total yards of offense, but recorded the only interception of the game by Laron Ragsdale.  Brandon Payne had a temendous day on defense finishing off the night with 10 solo tackles.
With the win, the Iron are 3-6 with 7 games to go in a long season.  On Friday, June 5th, the Iron take on the Mohaning Valley Thunder at the Bradley Center starting at 7:05pm.

Down 35 – 57 going into the 4th quarter, with Tyler Donovan (the starting qb for the Milwaukee Iron) on the bench due to an injured knee, the Iron battled their way back to defeat the Peoria Pirates 62 – 57.  Donovan and Shane Adler combined for 274 yards through the air with 6tds and only 1 interception.  On the ground the Iron offense rushed for -6 yards, no so good… Although, they did score twice on the ground.  Scott Burnoski lead the Iron recievers with 7 catches for 100 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Ricard Lenhart was right behind Burnoski with 5 catched for 88 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Blue Aldridge lead the Iron on defense with 6 total tackles.  The Iron are looking for their first home game victory against the #2 team in the National Conference, the Tulsa Talons (6-1).  After Friday’s game, the Iron get their first bye week to finish off the first half of the season.

The Green Bay was the 1st on the board with a field goal with 9:17 into the game, but less than a minute later the Milwaukee Iron put up 6 with a 21 yard run by Tyler Donovan. Milwaukee scored 2 more times before the half, but the Blizzard scored 5 more times putting the score at 21 – 34.
It was as rough 2nd half for the Iron as the Blizzard powned the scoreboard tacking on another 22 points.  The Iron’s offense just couldn’t get it going in the 3rd quarter due to a blocked field goal and an interception to start off the 4th.
Donovan and the Iron offense finished with 40 total yards rushing and only 99 yards through the air.  The defensive rush from the Blizzard was heavy on Donovan all night, taking him to the turf a total of 7 times.  Offensively, the Iron only managed 1 td through the air and 2 on the ground.  The Blizzard went 6-6 when scoring in the red zone and 5-6 for field goals, which didn’t help any. Donovan finished 11-26 with 4interceptions…a few passes were wildly thrown to fans in the 1st 5 rows for keepsakes.  Donovan did lead the team in rushing, 5 times for 26 yards.  Scott Burnoski and Ricardo Lenhard both caught the ball 4 times for 43 and 28 yards.  Mark Nicolet went 15-34 on completions ending with 175 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Blizzard.  On the other side of the ball, Lavar Stepter lead the Iron on defense with 6 tackles and 1 pass break up.
Next week, the Iron are on the road against the Peoria Pirates who are only 1 loss ahead of the Iron in the Midwest standings.

Last week the Kentucky Horsemen defeated the Milwaukee Iron, 56 – 38.  Currently the Iron are 1-4 on the season overall and 0-3 in the Midwest Division.  Iron came out ready to play against the Horsemen, lighting up the board for the 1st 10 points of the game.  Scott Burnoski caught a 26 yard pass from Tyler Donovan for the score.  Five minutes later Alex Walls put 3 more points onto the board from 25 yards out.  However, much of the scoring for the remainder of the 1st half was done by the Horsemen, with only another touchdown completion from Donovan to Burnoski again in the 2nd quarter.  Jared Lorenzen first connected with Harry Lewis for a 10 yard touchdown pass to end the 1st quarter.  Later Lorenzen went on to connect with Lonnell Dewalt 3 times in the air for touchdowns from 9 yards, 6 yards, and 35 yards out of the endzone.  Lorenzen also ran in a 1 yard touchdown.
Dewalt continued to do damage to the Iron secondary as he scored 2 more touchdowns in the 3rd quarter n- 1 from Lorenzen and another from Justin Rascati.  The 4th quarter was owned by the Iron, putting 21 points on the board.  It just wasn’t enough though because the majority of the damage was already done, not leaving ample time for the Iron to recover.
The Iron’s offense finished with 250 total offensive yards, but the defense gave up 309 yards and 8 touchdowns.  Donovan went 10 for 24 for 125 yards with 4 interceptions.  Adler went 8 for 16 for 130 yards and 3 touchdowns.  Burnoski went to town hauling in 10 catches for 170 yards and 5 touchdowns.  For the Horsemen, Dewalt snagged 11 catches for 149 yards and 6 tds.  James McCoy lead all Iron with 6.5 tackles followed closely by Blue Aldridge with 6 tackles.
On Friday, May 1, the Milwaukee Iron take on the in state rivals Green Bay Blizzard who are 2-2 on the season.  Prior to the game, American Idol star Jamar Rodgers with be singing the National Anthem.  Tickets are $11 and available at www.mkeiron.com.

Last Friday, the Milwaukee Iron(1-3) were defeated 50-34 at home against the Peoria Pirates(1-2) leaving then still in search of their first home victory.  Both Peoria quarterbacks, Luke Drone and Kent Smith went 16 for 28, finishing with 189 yards through the air.  Smith recorded 3 td’s, while Drone threw for 2.  3 of the recieving touchdowns went to Brian Albrooks, who also finished with 6 receptions for 67 yards.  Wide Reciever Dante Ridgeway finished with 8 catches for 123 yards and 1 touchdown for the Pirates.
Shane Adler went 18 for 37 for 257 yards for the Iron, with also 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions.  In the air, the Iron finished with 257 yards, 9 of the balls went to Scott Burnoski for 124 yards, followed by Antoine Burns who had 4 catches for 49 yards.  On paper, the Iron finished with better stats at the end of the game, however the scoreless 1st quarter put the Iron in a 13 point deficet with only 3 quarters to play.
Currently the Iron are last in the Midwest Division of the American Conference.  Offensively, the Iron are ranked 20th, averaging 44.8 points per game and defensively they’re averaging 54.5 points scored by opponents per game.     For Total Defense, the Iron are amazingly ranked number 1 by averaging 195.2 yards/game.  The Iron are currently ranked 10th in 1st downs and 14th in 3rd down conversions.  An achilles heel of the Iron are the penalties commited with 43 for 331 yards, putting them at 23rd in the league.
Individually, Tyre Young is ranked 5th in the league for rushing by averaging 22 yards per game. Tyler Donovan is ranked 22 with 12 yards per game.  Levar Stepter is tied for #2 in the league with 3 interceptions in only playing 3 games.
This Saturday, the Iron hit the road to take on the Kentucky Horsemen who are currently 1-2 in the South Division.  On paper both teams are evenly matched so expect this to be a very competitive game.

April 3, 2009
In their inaugural game at the Bradley Center the Milwaukee Iron lost 60-38 to the Iowa Barnstormers.  The Iron were the first to jump onto the scoreboard with a 47 yard pass from QB Shane Adler to WR Antoine Burns.  On Iowa’s next possession, Joe Brannen linked up with Tim Dodge for the score to tie the game 7-7.  But before the 1st quarter closed out the Iron were back on the board for the score thanks to Tyre Youngs’ 3 yard touchdown run.  All 5,238 fans in attendance were excited to see the Iron come out ready to play.
In the 2nd quarter, the Barnstormers caught fire lighting up the Iron for 26 unanswered points.  A 40 yard interception return by Barnstormers’ Jordan Davis and then fumble recovery in the end zone by Jason Ripke were 2 things that really swung the momentum to the Barnstormers during the 2nd quarter.  With less than 50 seconds left in the 1st half, Antoine Burns took a 30 yard pass from Wisconsin’s former QB Tyler Donanvan to the house, putting the score at 33-21.  7 seconds later, Ken Williams returned the kickoff 11 yards for the Barnstormer score.
Offensively, the 3rd quarter was owned by the Barnstormers as they put up 20 unanswered points, which was just enough to keep the game out of reach for the Iron.  With 2:10 and 44s left on the clock, the Iron scored for a final of 60-38.  Throughout the game there were far too many miscues by the Iron to pull off a victory with fumbles, dropped balls that were obviously catchable and miss thrown balls.  However, with out the mistakes the Iron looked as though they were able to play some ball.
Head Coach Gary Compton said in the post game press conference that “the defense did their job.”   With Iowa only finishing with 121 total offensive yards, this was the case.  MKE actually lead in all offensive categories finishing with 17 first downs, 33 rushing yards, 2 rushing TDs, 3 passing TDs, 209 yards in the air and even 50 total offensive plays. Donovan went 11-27 for 149 yards, 2tds, and 2 sacks, with 23 yards on the ground too.  Adler went 5-9 plus  1 INT, 1 TD and 1  sack.  Scoot Burnoski lead all Iron receivers with 7 catches, but Burns finished with 97 yards and 3 touchdowns off of 4 catches.
Tomorrow, the Iron take on the Mahoney Valley Thunder in Youngstown, Ohio for their 1st road game.  Even though the Thunder forced 6 turnovers in their victory last Friday against the Albany Firebirds, look for much of the mistakes to be handled by the Iron offense in order to catch the season’s first victory.