The 2010Iowa Barnstormers season was the 10th season for the franchise, and the sixth in the Arena Football League, after three total seasons from 2001–2009 in the AF2, which dissolved following the 2009 season. The team was coached by John Gregory and played their home games at Wells Fargo Arena. The Barnstormers failed to make the playoffs when they finished the regular season 6th in the National Conference with a 7–9 record.
The Barnstormers began the season at home against the Rush on April 2. Their final regular season game was on the road against the Rattlers on July 31.[1]
Chicago – Palauni Ma Sun 5-yard pass from Russ Michna (Chris Gould kick), 4:36
Chicago – Chris Gould 27-yard field goal, 1:00
2nd quarter
Iowa – Jesse Schmidt 24-yard pass from Ryan Vena (Jeff Glas kick no good), 13:14
Iowa – Ryan Vena 1-yard run (Jeff Glas kick no good), 11:07
Chicago – Kenny Higgins 13-yard pass from Russ Michna (Chris Gould kick), 7:38
Iowa – Jeff Glas 21-yard field goal, 4:12
Chicago – Samie Parker 42-yard pass from Russ Michna (Chris Gould kick), 2:58
Iowa – Todd Blythe 17-yard pass from Ryan Vena (Jeff Glas kick), 0:08
Chicago – Chris Gould 34-yard field goal (Chris Gould kick), 0:00
3rd quarter
Chicago – Allen Turner 14-yard pass from Russ Michna (Chris Gould kick), 9:39
4th quarter
Chicago – Samie Parker 30-yard pass from Russ Michna (Chris Gould kick no good), 12:29
Iowa – Todd Blythe 5-yard pass from Ryan Vena (Jeff Glas kick), 9:37
Iowa – Ryan Vena 2-yard run (Todd Blythe pass), 6:00
Chicago – Kenny Higgins 10-yard pass from Russ Michna (Chris Gould kick), 1:45
Iowa – Timothy Dodge 6-yard pass from Ryan Vena no good), 0:33
Chicago – Robert Boss 6-yard run (Chris Gould kick), 0:26
Passing
Chicago – Russ Michna: 18/28, 261 yards, 6 TD, 1 INT
Iowa – Ryan Vena: 18/40, 245 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT
Rushing
Chicago – Robert Boss: 9 att, 6 yards, 1 TD
Iowa – Ryan Vena: 4 att, 6 yards, 2 TD
Receiving
Chicago – Samie Parker: 6 rec, 104 yards, 2 TD
Iowa – Jesse Schmidt: 8 rec, 129 yards, 1 TD
Chicago's DeJuan Alfonzo returned an interception from Brian Villanueva for a touchdown on Iowa's first play from scrimmage, sparking the visiting Rush to a 17–0 first-quarter lead. The Barnstormers turned the ball over six times in their first Arena Football League contest since 2000. After Iowa inserted Ryan Vena at quarterback for the second quarter trailing 17–0, he tossed touchdown passes to Jesse Schmidt and Todd Blythe to close the gap to 34–22 by halftime; however, Chicago would shut Iowa out in the third quarter and score early in the fourth to push the advantage to 47–22. A Vena pass to Blythe and a Vena run pulled Iowa to within 47–37 with six minutes remaining, but Chicago's Russ Michna hit Kenny Higgins to put the game out of reach, sending a record crowd of 12,184 fans home unhappy.
Milwaukee – Greisen 16-yard pass from Forse (Forstrom kick no good), 12:42
Milwaukee – Greisen 4-yard pass from Jones (Forstrom kick), 8:58
Iowa – Vena 20-yard pass from Blythe (Glas kick no good), 6:02
Milwaukee – Forstrom 19-yard field goal, 1:30
2nd quarter
Iowa – Vena 12-yard pass from Schmidt (2-point conversion no good), 14:52
Milwaukee – Greisen 20-yard pass from Forse (Forstrom kick), 11:56
Iowa – Vena 7-yard pass from Dodge (Glas kick), 7:28
Milwaukee – Greisen 22-yard pass from Forse (Forstrom kick), 4:10
3rd quarter
Milwaukee – Greisen 22-yard pass from Forse (Forstrom kick), 10:28
Iowa – Vena 6-yard pass from Blythe (Glas kick), 7:26
Milwaukee – Greisen 43-yard pass from Jones (Forstrom kick), 5:57
Iowa – Vena 1-yard run (Vena pass to Dodge), 0:31
4th quarter
Milwaukee – Greisen 33-yard pass from Jones (Forstrom kick), 14:26
Iowa – McCown 15-yard pass from Vena (Glas kick), 12:26
Milwaukee – Greisen 4-yard pass from Jones (Forstrom kick), 7:47
Iowa – Vena 31-yard pass from Blythe (Glas kick), 5:19
Milwaukee – Young 5-yard run (Forstrom kick), 4:33
Passing
Iowa – Ryan Vena: 24/37, 252 yards, 6 TD, 2 INT
Milwaukee – Chris Greisen: 25/36, 382 yards, 7 TD
Rushing
Iowa – Ryan Vena 7 att, 12 yards, 1 TD
Milwaukee – Tyre Young: 4 att, 13 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
Iowa – Todd Blythe: 9 rec, 118 yards, 3 TD
Milwaukee – Tiger Jones: 12 rec, 171 yards, 3 TD
Two Midwestern foes found themselves head to head this weekend. The Iowa Barnstormers traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to take on the Iron in their first of two meetings this season. Milwaukee won their home opener in front of the crowd of 5,032 Iron faithful. QB Chris Greisen continued his dominance at the quarterback position, throwing 25-of-36 for 382 yards and seven touchdowns. Greisen has yet to throw an interception this season. While Greisen continues to shine, it is his offensive counterparts that are successful in bringing the ball into the end zone. WRs Nate Forse and Anthony “Tiger” Jones have proven to be Greisen’s perfect receiving duo. Jones brought in three touchdowns on 12 catches for 171 yards this weekend, while Forse made 10 catches for 146 yards and three scores. Greisen’s seventh touchdown was caught by Alvance Robinson. Not to be outdone, Milwaukee’s defense also helped to hold off and Barnstormers serge. Marcus Everett intercepted QB Ryan Vena’s first possession of the game, eventually leading to an Iron score. Milwaukee managed to pull ahead 13–0 before the Barnstormers got into the game. WR Todd Blythe, known for his athletic catches, caught a pass deep in the corner of the end zone to bring the score to 6–13, but Milwaukee would never once trail throughout the game.
Iowa’s QB Vena was intercepted twice, including a game-highlighting play. Milwaukee’s Virgil Gray nabbed an erratic Vena pass in the end zone, not only disrupting a score for the Barnstormers, but also proceeded to run the ball back 58 yards for a score of his own. Despite two players leaving with injuries in the second half, Milwaukee was able to hold off the Barnstormers and come away with the 17-point win.
Iowa gave up a touchdown on the game's opening drive on a 15-yard touchdown pass. The Barnstormers also scored a touchdown on their first possession, but the extra point was blocked and eventually taken into the end zone by the Yard Dawgz for 2 points. The ensuing kickoff return was fumbled and Iowa recovered the ball and took it in for a touchdown. Down at the half by 4 points, Iowa briefly held the lead in the 3rd quarter, but by the end of the quarter, they were still down by 4 points. Ryan Vena had a 31-yard passing touchdown, and also took one in himself, giving the Barnstormers a 54–44 lead in the 4th quarter. Oklahoma City scored a touchdown with 23 seconds left in the game, and attempted an onside kick down 7 points. Iowa took the onside kick and returned it for a touchdown, effectively sealing the win for their first victory of the season. Vena finished the game with 217 passing yards and 7 total touchdowns. Jesse Schmidt was the top receiver with 141 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Iowa – Ryan Vena 1-yard run (Jeff Glas kick), 2:25
Iowa – Jesse Schmidt 20-yard pass from Ryan Vena (Charles Johnson pass no good), 0:28
3rd quarter
Iowa – Todd Blythe 11-yard pass from Ryan Vena (Jeff Glas kick), 11:10
Orlando – Jerrian James 5-yard pass from Nick Hill (Glenn Gauntt run no good), 5:27
4th quarter
Iowa – Ryan Vena 3-yard run (Jeff Glas kick no good), 12:06
Orlando – Nick Hill 3-yard run (Carlos Martinez kick), 9:33
Iowa – Jesse Schmidt 40-yard pass from Ryan Vena (Jeff Glas kick), 1:17
Orlando – Derrick Lewis 7-yard pass from Nick Hill (Carlos Martinez kick), 0:39
Iowa – Jeff Glas 17-yard field goal, 0:13
Passing
Iowa – Ryan Vena: 21/32, 236 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT
Orlando – Nick Hill: 29/35, 237 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT
Rushing
Iowa – Ryan Vena: 7 att, 15 yards, 2 TD
Orlando – Nick Hill: 5 att, 18 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
Iowa – Jesse Schmidt: 7 rec, 116 yards, 2 TD
Orlando – Derrick Lewis: 12 rec, 112 yards, 2 TD
The Barnstormers won their second straight game with a win in Orlando. In the 4th quarter, up by 7 points and inside the Predators' 10-yard line, Ryan Vena was intercepted by Marlon Moye-Moore. The Predators drove all the way to Iowa's 9-yard line, but the Barnstormer defense was able to come up with a stop as the Predators threw four straight incomplete passes. Following the turnover on downs, Vena connected with Jesse Schmidt on a 40-yard pass for a touchdown. With 1:17 remaining, the Predators were unable to make a comeback, giving Iowa the win. Vena finished the game with 236 passing yards and 4 passing touchdowns, though he threw a season-high 3 interceptions. Jesse Schmidt was once again the leading receiver, with 116 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Iowa – Jesse Schmidt 36-yard pass from Ryan Vena (Jeff Glas kick), 10:24
Iowa – Jason Simpson 5-yard kickoff return (Jeff Glas kick), 9:28
Cleveland – Ben Nelson 14-yard pass from John Dutton (Matt Denny kick), 6:00
Iowa – Jeff Glas 17-yard field goal, 0:52
Cleveland – Chris Johnson 1-yard run (Matt Denny kick), 0:13
3rd quarter
Cleveland – Victor Williams 3-yard run (Matt Denny kick), 12:36
Iowa – Ryan Vena 2-yard run (Jeff Glas kick), 6:43
Cleveland – Victor Williams 4-yard pass from John Dutton (Matt Denny kick), 0:29
4th quarter
Cleveland – Ben Nelson 5-yard pass from John Dutton (Matt Denny kick), 10:14
Iowa – Ryan Vena 2-yard run (Jeff Glas kick no good), 8:10
Cleveland – Ben Nelson 14-yard pass from John Dutton (Matt Denny kick), 5:50
Iowa – Ryan Vena 2-yard run (Jeff Glas kick), 4:03
Cleveland – Chris Johnson 32-yard pass from John Dutton (Matt Denny kick), 1:02
Passing
Cleveland – John Dutton: 31/39, 355 yards, 5 TD
Iowa – Ryan Vena: 16/30, 275 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
Cleveland – Victor Williams: 1 att, 3 yards, 1 TD
Iowa – Ryan Vena: 10 att, 30 yard, 4 TD
Receiving
Cleveland – Chris Johnson: 13 rec, 166 yards, 1 TD
Iowa – Todd Blythe: 6 rec, 131 yards, 1 TD
The Barnstormers jumped out to a lead of 12 points in the 2nd quarter, but the Gladiators cut it down to 36–35 at the half. Iowa's offense was unable to keep up with Cleveland's in the 2nd half, and after giving up the lead by allowing a 4-yard touchdown pass shortly before the end of the 3rd quarter, the Barnstormers never led the rest of the game, eventually losing by a score of 70–56. Ryan Vena barely completed half of his passes, with only a pair touchdown passes in the game. On the ground however, Vena compiled 30 yards and 4 touchdowns. Todd Blythe was the leading receiver with 6 catches for 131 yards and a touchdown.
