Eaton, son of Glen and Virginia Eaton of Kidder and a 1994 graduate of Penney High School in Hamilton, played center on offense and nose guard on defense for the Steamwheelers.
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The Quad City Steamwheelers defeated Tennessee Valley, 68-59, on Aug. 10 to claim the Arena Cup, the championship trophy in the Arena Football League 2, and they did so with the help of Kidder, Mo. native Jessie Eaton.
Eaton, son of Glen and Virginia Eaton of Kidder and a 1994 graduate of Penney High School in Hamilton, played center on offense and nose guard on defense for the Steamwheelers, who finished a perfect 19-0 in AFL2 play. Regular season winners of the National Conference, the Steamwheelers became the first Arena Football team ever to score over 1,000 points in a season. Quad City scored more than 60 points in 13 of 19 games and finished with 1,260 points for the season.
“It was a blast,” Eaton said of his AFL2 experience, which included the nationally televised Arena Cup game on TNN. “It was also like nothing I have ever done before,” he added. “Practices (3 per day) were strenuous and the quality of talent in the league was tremendous.”
Arena football offenses are geared toward the passing game, Eaton said, and his job on defense was to pressure the quarterback, thus he did not get a lot of tackles. Eaton’s experience on offense at the center position was his first ever, he added.
Quad City finished a staggering +54 in takeaways and in a May 26 game against Greensboro (NC) grabbed the victory, 103 to 3. Most of the players in AFL2 came from NCAA Division II and III programs, said Eaton. “They were the guys that got overlooked by the NFL,” he said. The AFL2 lost at least 5 players to the NFL during the season.
Some players will move up to the more prominently known Arena Football League next season. Some are currently participating in the Canadian Football League. Some, like Jessie, are looking for a tryout with Vince McMahon’s Xtreme Football League, set to kick off in February 2001 with play in 8 different cities. The XFL is being inaugurated by World Wrestling Federation Entertainment, Inc.
Eaton, who finished his playing days at Penney High as an all-state offensive lineman, went on to earn Junior College All-American honors at Highland Community College, and was First Team Ohio Valley Conference while anchoring the offensive line at Southeast Missouri State University.