Robinson Jumpstarts Gladiators Win
Marc Viquez
Monday April 29, 2002
"He (Robinson) did that all last season," said Gladiators quarterback Jay McDonagh who played along side Robinson for Quad City in the af2. "He makes the big catches when needed and is just a big time clutch player"
Robinson`s performance earned him Ironman of the Game and his interception of an Andy Kelly pass in the dying seconds sealed the first victory of the season for New Jersey who are looking for a big year from their new-signed talents. The rookie hauled in a touchdown pass and earned 76 yards receiving.
"You always want to win for the home crowd and show the people of New Jersey that we are for real," said Robinson.
New Jersey and Dallas were playing back and forth football for the first three periods, but after two quick scores by Dallas, the Desperados looked to control their own destiny, but the block on Jason Wells`s PAT quickly shifted the momentum for the Gladiators who would recover on on-side kick later on in the game that led to the game-winning touchdown.
"I just try to get up and make the big play," said Robinson who is working under the same system with head coach Frank Haege who coached Quad City for the last two seasons. One of Haege`s other stars from last season, McDonagh, threw six touchdowns for the second week in a row. He worked all of his receivers, hitting Mike Horacek, George Williams, James Bowden, and Alvin Ashley for yardage.
"They (McDonagh and Robinson) know my strategy and they can help out the other guys on the team," said Haege who earned his first win in the Arena Football League.
The victory showed the myriad of talent that the team has this year and when the game looked to be getting away from the Gladiators, lightning struck. A couple of touchdowns later and a spoiling of Dallas’ final drive gave the fans something to go home happy about. This time last season the team was averaging 24 points a game, while this year the Gladiators are forging ahead with a healthy 48 points.
The Gladiators will travel to Orlando to battle the Predators next weekend and look to move above the .500 mark for the first time in the team`s history.
Illegal Victory?
In case you were confused about the missed PAT rule, here’s how it works: As long as the ball doesn’t cross the line of scrimmage, the PAT can be returned. In the case of Sunday’s game, the PAT attempt was blocked, therefore never crossing the line.
A fan of the sport since 1990 Marc has covered both the New Jersey Gladiators and Cincinnati Swarm (Af2) for Arenafan Online. Marc now resides in Indianapolis after graduating with a Masters in Sports Management from Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Ind. When not at a Firebirds game Marc can be found traveling the Midwest covering sports for various Internet and print publications.
