MIKE PETICCA
Special to The Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- How rare is it for an Arena Football League team to shut out an opponent for a full half?
Consider this. The Cleveland Gladiators now rank second-best in the fast-paced AFL in scoring defense, allowing 43.1 points per game.
That's after Saturday night's brilliant defensive performance, when the Gladiators blanked the Jacksonville Sharks (6-11) in the second half of their 62-20 victory before 13,064 fans at Quicken Loans Arena.
"The defense was crazy," lineman Willie McGinnis said after the Gladiators upped their record to 16-1, tying the AFL record for wins in a season. "It's probably one of our biggest defensive stands. It's near the end of the season and we're picking up on defense and getting ready for the playoffs."
Cleveland quarterback Shane Austin completed 24 of 34 passes for 345 yards and six touchdowns, with Dominick Goodman catching nine of his throws for 113 yards and three touchdowns.
The Gladiators finish regular-season play when they visit the Tampa Bay Storm next Saturday. They have won seven straight games since their lone loss, 48-34, to the Power in Pittsburgh on May 31. Cleveland has clinched the top seed in the American Conference and the East Division championship, and will host a conference semifinal playoff game on Aug. 2.
Cleveland essentially locked up the win in the first 12 minutes of the third quarter, extending its 35-20 halftime lead to 48-20. Joe Phinisee -- who also recovered a fumble -- intercepted an R.J. Archer pass off the net in the Cleveland end zone. Austin completed three passes to Goodman for 40 yards before 6-4, 340-pound offensive lineman Jason Jones bulldozed for a 4-yard touchdown run.
Then, Gladiators' back Marrio Norman grabbed his 12th interception of the season at the Cleveland 10. Five plays later, Thyron Lewis scored on a 1-yard end-around for the Gladiators' four-touchdown bulge.
Cleveland continued to pour it on, as Norman recovered a fumble at the Gladiators' 3 on the Sharks' next possession. Austin and Lewis connected on a 38-yard completion before Austin's 9-yard touchdown throw to Jones -- eligible as a receiver on the play. Chris Dieker's 4-yard touchdown run closed the Gladiators' scoring.
"We were hitting on all cylinders," Phinisee said of the defense. "I didn't realize they didn't score in the second half until the end of the game."
Austin and Goodman connected on a 33-yard touchdown on the final play of the first half. Goodman pulled in the pass in the clear at the Jacksonville 20, then was hit a yard from the goal line but tumbled into the end zone. That gave Austin five touchdown passes in the half, the first four on a 3-yarder to Collin Taylor, 5- and 9-yarders to Goodman, and a 20-yarder to Royce Pollard, who made a brilliant leaping grab against the boards in the back right of the end zone.
Austin has 94 touchdown passes this season, but he emphasized that the passing attack can get even better.
"I'd like the interception back," he said of his one pick. "A couple plays. But as long as we're striving for perfection, that's what matters."