Iowa, coached by former Twisters Head Coach John Gregory, had the early lead when Barnstormers quarterback Joe Brannen capped a 49 yard drive with a one yard touchdown run. The extra point gave Iowa a 7-0 lead.
The Barnstormers (4-9) took the lead again when Jeff Glas nailed a 40 yard field goal to put Iowa up 10-7 at the end of the first quarter.
Arkansas (9-4) came roaring back in the second quarter. Receiver Chris Denney caught an 11 yard pass from Rowley, and the extra point put the Twisters up 14-10.
Tracey Belton stripped Robert Kilow of the football on the next series and Belton recovered the ball at Arkansas 10 yard line. The Twisters next score was set up when Jon Schoonover dove out fully extended to catch a 34 yard pass and slid down to the one yard line. Kyle Rowley found Denney for a one yard score and the extra point put Arkansas up 21-10.
Rowley found Denney for three first half scores and the Twisters led 28-17 at halftime.
The Twisters began the third quarter by driving 38 yards and scoring when Rowley found Denney for the fourth time in the game. The catch was Denney's 30th of the season, and he became just the second Twisters player in history to reach 30 touchdown catches in a season. The extra point extended Arkansas' lead to 35-17.
Iowa wouldn't go away. They cut the lead down to four by going on a 14-0 run. The Barnstormer started the run by driving 45 yards and punched it in on a Brannen one yard run. Daniel McLemore intercepted Rowley on the next series. It was Rowley's first interception thrown in 258 pass attempts. Iowa cashed in the opportunity when Tim Dodge caught a pass and dashed up the sideline 29 yards for the score. The extra point cut the Twisters lead to 35-31.
Arkansas answered when Perry caught a Rowley pass in stride and went the distance to the endzone for six. James Paul connected on the extra point to put Arkansas up 42-31 at the end of three quarters.
The Barnstormers continued to exchange scores with the Twisters, but couldn't stop Arkansas' offense in the fourth quarter.
With Arkansas up 55-44, the Twisters defense stopped the Barnstormers on fourth down with 16 seconds left to put the finishing touches on hopes of a comeback attempt.
Rowley completed 28 of 43 pass attempts for 368 yards, eight touchdowns, and one interception. The 368 passing yards are third most in Twisters history. Jamaal Perry caught a game high 11 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Denney finished with 10 catches for 123 touchdowns and 5 touchdowns. Schoonover added seven catches for 91 yards and one score. Tracy Belton finished with 7.0 tackles, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and three pass breakups.
Brannen completed 23 of 36 passes for 315 yards and five total touchdowns. Former Twisters player Errick McCown caught 10 passes for a game high 168 yards. Former Twisters player Jason Simpson had 15.0 tackles.
The Twisters match a franchise record by winning its sixth straight game. The team will enjoy a week off before taking on Central Division leading Tulsa on July 12th.
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