Gladiators do some soul searching
Will Burge
Saturday May 3, 2008
“They came in 9-0. This is a big win for us and our program right now, but you know, next week is going to be just as big.” Cleveland Coach Mike Wilpolt said of his team’s upset.
In front of 13,721 screaming fans Cleveland put on their best performance of the year beating the previously undefeated division rival.
The Gladiators overcame a very slow start in which they let the Soul drive and score easily on their first possession. On the ensuing kickoff, Robert Redd fumbled the ball which took a crazy bounce off of the crossbar. It was recovered by Philadelphia for a touchdown and the Gladiators were down 14-0 only minutes into the game.
The Gladiators finally got an offensive possession and quickly turned it into seven points. Marlion Jackson took a direct snap from the 2 yard line and had no problem punching it in from there.
“The plays that we call are really quite different. We really have a different type of personnel especially the fullback, but I’m not your usual fullback.” Jackson replied when asked of the teams unique play calls that have allowed him to become the league’s leading rusher. He leads the league with 16 rushing touchdowns and 231 rushing yards.
The teams traded scores for the rest of the first half and Philadelphia led 34-27 at the break. Philyaw had 3 first half touchdown passes, all to Otis Amey. He was also very efficient going 14-of-17 on passing attempts. One of Philyaw’s only blemishes was an interception in the second quarter after the Gladiators’ defense made the Soul turnover on downs with a goal line stand.
In the third quarter the Gladiators received a lucky bounce of their own. After scoring on their first possession to tie the game their kickoff took a fortuitous bounce off the crossbar and was recovered by Robert Redd for a Gladiator touchdown and the lead 41-34.
Things turned even worse for the Soul on the very next drive. Quarterback Matt D’Orazio was hurt and had to be helped from the field. He was playing very well up until that point going 16-21 and throwing for 141 yards and three touchdowns.
He was replaced by Tony Graziani who played quite admirably as the fill-in. He finished 15-of-23 with 150 yards and three touchdowns. Give the Gladiators defense all the credit in the world though. They played very motivated, having a hand on almost every pass and a swarm of defenders on almost every tackle.
Graziani kept his team in the game, but with 3 minutes left and the Gladiators leading 61-55 he fumbled away the ball and the game. Cleveland defensive end Raymond Richardson recovered the fumble which ultimately sealed the victory for the Gladiators.
Just for good measure, Philyaw threw a beautiful 23 yard touchdown pass to Otis Amey in the back of the endzone. Amey brought the ball in one handed before crashing head first into the wall.
“It looked bad like I broke my neck. My neck twinged but it was my back that was hurting when I was on the ground.”
Amey had another stellar game finishing with 7 catches for 107 yards and 4 touchdowns. Amey is now second in the league with 26 touchdown catches on the year.
One of the major problem areas for the Gladiators thus far has been the play of the secondary. It wasn’t a problem on this night. In fact, it was one of the team’s strengths.
“I got two rookies back there and it takes time for them to learn. I’m playing more man coverage, mixing it in and not putting them in such bad positions. I’m learning as they learn also.” Coach Wilpolt said of the improved secondary play.
With the win the Gladiators are 5-4 and tied for third in their division, but perhaps more importantly they made a statement to the league with this win.
“This is the inaugural season so it is the biggest win. Philly was undefeated, they brought their own camera crew here. I think they thought they were just going to roll right through us and we came up with a big win today.” Otis Amey said of the victory.
Willis Marshall said, “It’s been a hard road for the last four games. He should have won those games. We knew we were a top team in the league. We took a tough loss at Dallas which is a tough team and Philadelphia just beat Dallas pretty good.”
“Our offense is good, our defense is good, our special teams are good so it’s just about making plays throughout the game. As you can see were going to put up points. It’s just the little mistakes that hurt us and if we didn’t make those we would probably only have one loss right now.”
The Gladiators will try to keep putting up points and keep up the positive momentum when they face the Orlando Predators at home next Friday. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
Will Burge is a journalism student in Cleveland, Ohio. He is currently working at ESPN 850 WKNR which is the flagship station for The Cleveland Gladiators. Will also reports and writes articles for High School Sports in the Greater Cleveland Area. He has been an avid fan of Arena Football for the past four years.
