SPOKANE, Wash. — Early  last season, Sidney Lewis and the Quad-City Steamwheelers were suffering from secondary burns.

Two games into a new era, Lewis, a rebuilt Q-C secondary and the Steamwheelers simply are on fire.

Behind a four-interception night by Lewis and his mates in the defensive backfield, the Steamwheelers knocked off the defending arenafootball2 champion Spokane Shock 60-46 Saturday night at Spokane Arena.

In a battle matching the No. 2 and No. 3 ranked teams in af2, the third-ranked Steamwheelers improved to 2-0, stopped a 10-game Spokane winning streak and handed the Shock only their second loss in their packed home arena.

“This is a big win coming into Spokane and playing in front of this crowd and how loud they get,” Lewis said of an announced crowd of 10,200. “We kept our composure. We knew as long as we kept coming up and hitting them we’d get turnovers sooner or later.”

Lewis got a critical one in the end zone late in the third quarter, with his team nursing a 33-27 lead. And the Steamwheelers used it — and a friendly ruling from officials — to build a two-score cushion early in the final quarter.

They went on top a couple of minutes into the fourth when quarterback J.J. Raterink and receiver Kris Peters hooked up for their third touchdown connection of the night, a 24-yarder. That came five plays after an apparent Peters’ fumble was ruled an incomplete pass.

The Steamwheelers poured it on from there, taking full command of the contest after Antwan Allen picked off a pass on a Spokane fourth-and-goal on the series following Peters’ touchdown.

Coming against the defending league champions, it was a statement victory for first-year head coach Sean Ponder and a Q-C franchise looking to reclaim a spot among the league’s elite after a couple of down years.

The Steamwheelers, 81-21 winners in last week’s opener in Cincinnati, will come home to host the Boise Burn on Friday at The Mark of the Quad-Cities with a large head of steam.

“What a great way to start,”said Ponder. “We said we had to get out of the gates, starting the season with two on the road, and we won in a tough environment tonight. Now we get to come back home.”

Saturday’s game was a strange homecoming for Q-C defensive coordinator Troy Biladeau, who held the same job last year in Spokane and was bypassed for a vacant head coaching job there last fall.

“Sweet revenge for Troy,” Ponder said. “Troy probably didn’t sleep much this week. He was ready to go.’’

Biladeau said he may have watched a few extra reels of Spokane game film leading up to Saturday’s tilt, and what he came up with was an aggressive, blitz-heavy approach that included a rare use of zone on the backend.

The blitzes hurried a pair of Spokane hurlers, while the zone produced some heavy hitting in the secondary and, ultimately, the four interceptions, starting with one by safety Kevin Adams on the game’s first series.

Lewis, who was forced to play the safety spot during an 0-4 Steamwheelers start last year, was credited with a game-high 7.5 tackles plus his two picks and said this year is off to a better start because this is a better Q-C team with a very solid secondary.

“We have got a good chemistry back there,’’ he said. “This is the best secondary I have played with since I’ve been in arena ball.’’

The Steamwheelers offense did its part to fuel the big victory. Raterink completed 21 of 34 throws for 260 yards and five touchdowns, while Peters reeled in nine catches for 132 yards and those three scores.

Jermaine Petty helped key the pass rush on defense and carried the load again near the goal line. He ran 26 yards on five carries and had his second straight two-TD night.

Fullback/linebacker/noseguard Kika Kaululaau added spice to the night with the first receiving touchdown of his career.

“If you haven’t noticed, we’ve got a pretty good little football team,” Biladeau said.