Gladiators Top VooDoo 64-42

Friday May 15, 2015

CLEVELAND, OH - Shane Austin threw for six touchdowns and ran for another to help the Cleveland Gladiators to a 64-42 victory Friday at Quicken Loans Arena before a crowd of 12,127. Dominick Goodman led all receivers with nine catches, 97 yards, and three touchdowns, and Amarri Jackson chipped in three total touchdowns, as the Gladiators outscored New Orleans in every quarter of the game. The Gladiators visit San Jose a week from Saturday in their next game; a 10:30 p.m. Eastern Time start that can be heard live on 92.3 The Fan.

Austin connected with Collin Taylor for a 36-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage to help the Gladiators to an immediate 7-0 lead, and the two teams traded touchdowns into the second quarter. After New Orleans tied the game 14-14 on a 15-yard touchdown grab by former Gladiator Carlese Franklin, the Gladiators charged ahead with a pair of touchdowns and two field goals before halftime. With 9:02 left in the second quarter, Austin connected with Goodman from six yards to help the Gladiators to a 21-14 lead. On the next Cleveland possession, Austin completed a four-yard touchdown pass to Goodman with 4:01 left in the first half to give the Gladiators a 27-14 lead.

The Gladiators took a 12-point lead into halftime after another field goal, which was made possible because of Trevino recovering his own kickoff. Trevino’s kick bounced off the center bar, and the Gladiators kicker pounced on the ball at the New Orleans 13-yard line. After the recovery, Trevino was able to nail a 34-yard field goal as the first half expired to give the Gladiators a 33-21 lead after 30 minutes.

All three of Jackson’s touchdowns took place in the second half; the first of which was a 10-yard strike to the right from Austin to give the Gladiators a 40-21 lead with 8:23 left in the third quarter. After New Orleans countered with a touchdown 3:30 later, Jackson returned a kickoff 51 yards for a score, once again giving the Gladiators a 19-point advantage. The Gladiators led 47-28 after three quarters.

The Gladiators outscored New Orleans 17-14 in the fourth quarter. Jackson notched his third touchdown of the game on a 14-yard pass from Austin just 35 seconds into the frame to give the Gladiators a 54-28 lead. Goodman’s third receiving touchdown- an 11-yarder with 3:10 remaining- secured the 64-42 victory.

The Gladiators visit San Jose on Saturday, May 23rd at 10:30 p.m. Eastern; a game that airs live on 92.3 The Fan.

NOTES: The Gladiators are 2-0 against New Orleans this season, and have scored 70 and 64 points against the VooDoo in the two outings… Jackson has six touchdowns over his last two games, and has back-to-back three-touchdown games… The Gladiators were 2-2 on fourth down… Taylor has 13 touchdowns over his last five games… Jackson had 113 kickoff return yards… Justin Hannah led the Gladiators with 5.5 tackles…Fred Shaw led the Gladiators with two pass breakups in the game… Follow the Gladiators on Twitter @CLEGladiators, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/clevelandgladiators, and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/clevelandgladiators.