Tulsa, Okla. — Tulsa Oilers Football, a proud member of the IFL and powered by Community Care, takes on the top-seeded team in the East on the road this Friday. 
 
LAST TIME OUT… Tulsa hosted Iowa for the first time this season last weekend. The Oilers' defense forced a turnover on downs for the second straight home game. Tulsa opened the scoring with a 10th rushing TD by TJ Edwards II, set up by strong runs from "Sauce" Rogers. After a failed Iowa drive and missed field goal returned to the seven-yard line, Edwards hit Cole Blackman for a 13-0 lead. Iowa answered with a Cahoon-to-Keshaun Taylor TD, then took a 14-13 lead early in the second quarter on a 32-yard Quian Williams catch-and-run. Edwards responded with his second rushing score. A sack by Rudy Nguoni led to an Iowa field goal, narrowing it to 19-17. Tulsa extended its lead to 26-17 with another Edwards-to-Blackman TD. A Taylor Hawkins interception set up Blackman's third TD, and a rouge on the kickoff made it 33-17 at halftime. Rogers returned the second-half kickoff to set up his first TD, extending the lead to 40-17. Another sack and a missed field goal gave Tulsa the ball, and Rogers scored again on a 24-yard screen. After Ramon Morris picked off Cahoon but fumbled, Cahoon found Bracy for a TD. A Saad pick-six brought Iowa closer at 62-57, but Tulsa recovered the onside kick to seal its third straight win. Edwards threw his fifth TD early in the fourth to "JuJu" Augustine, making it 54-23. Taylor and Williams caught TDs for Iowa, narrowing the gap to 54-35. After a Tulsa turnover on downs, Taylor's third TD made it 54-43. Edwards ran in his eighth total TD, but Williams returned the kickoff for a final score of 62-51.
 
FOCUS AHEAD… Tulsa is on a roll at home and will look to extend its franchise-best three-game win streak with a road visit to Moline, Illinois, against Quad City. Easily the biggest test of the season, Quad City is coming off its first loss of 2025 and is looking to stay perfect at home as a response. Tulsa adds a big piece to the WR room as Jerminic Smith, the former Frisco Fighter in the IFL and most recently, with the Edmonton Elks of the CFL. Smith has prior experience in the CFL, appearing in three games with Ottawa in 2019, recording eight catches for 87 yards. He played the 2022 and 2023 seasons with the Frisco Fighters in the Indoor Football League, totaling 143 receptions for 1,813 yards and 33 touchdowns in 31 games, earning All-IFL first-team honors in 2022. Collegiately, he played at Iowa (2015–2016) and Southwest Baptist (2017).
 
HOW TO KEEP THE "WHEELS" ON THE BUS… Tulsa has a tall task ahead against the top team in the East, but no better time to take on such a task than when you are at a peak. The Oilers have won their last three games and are starting to force turnovers left and right. TJ Edwards II has won yet again, another Offensive Player of the Week award and his offensive unit is thriving right now. Strong starts have proved necessary for Tulsa in finding victories and it is something they have not done on the road well. Application of a more recent execution rate in the first quarter could be instrumental in topping Quad City in their own barn, something no team has done this season. The Steamwheelers have forced interceptions at a similar rate as Tulsa and will be an important stat line by the end of this playoff-seeded battle. Controlling the run game will be something that becomes a much higher priority for the Oilers' defense. Last week Tulsa faced an Iowa team that doesn't run the ball hardly at all and this Quad City team is much more effective in that department, especially from their QB. If Tulsa can start strong, stop the ground attack, they'll have a real shot at pulling off a statement win on the road. 
 
Tulsa travels to the first-place Quad City Steamwheelers on Friday, May 16, aiming for a fourth-straight victory.  
 
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