Gladiators announce team awards
June 3, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Las Vegas Gladiators News Release
Las Vegas, NV, June 3, 2005 â The Las Vegas Gladiators announced their team awards for the 2005 season today. Quarterback Clint Dolezel was named Most Valuable Player; Joe Douglass earned Ironman of the Year honors; Steve Konopka was named Lineman of the Year; Marcus Nash garnered the Offensive Player of the Year award and Marvin Taylor was named the team's Defensive Player of the Year.
Dolezel (6'5", 205, East Texas State) played in 12 games and surpassed the 70 or more touchdown plateau in his seventh different AFL season (78 in 2005, 93 in 2004, 89 in 2003, 79 in 2002, 80 in 2001, 81 in 1999 and 81 in 1998). He also threw five or more touchdown passes in each of his last 10 games after being activated from the injured list. Dolezel threw more touchdowns in his last 10 games than any other quarterback in the League (71). He finished the season completing 303-of-467 for 3,341 yards despite 16 interceptions. During his 10th season in the AFL, he became only the fourth player in League history to reach 600 touchdowns and 30,000 yards passing for his career.
Douglass (5'11", 185, Western Illinois) joined Las Vegas in 2005 and became an intricate part of the Gladiators offense. He finished the season with 74 receptions for 677 yards with 20 touchdowns. He also returned five missed field goals for 88 yards, 16 kick returns for 296 yards and he returned one fumble for a touchdown. On defense, he tallied a career-high 26 total tackles with one tackle for a loss, two pass breakups, two fumble recoveries and one interception.
Konopka (6'4", 275, Central Connecticut State) was named the team's Lineman of the Year following another solid season on both sides of the ball. He lead the AFL with in blocked kicks (3) and also tallied 16.5 total tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks and three breakups on defense. On offense, he caught five passes for 32 yards with two touchdowns. He was named the ADT Defensive Player of the Game twice this season after his performances against the Philadelphia Soul in Week 12 and against the Chicago Rush in Week 14.
Nash, (6'4", 220, Tennessee) the AFL's reigning Offensive Player of the Year, finished his second season with the Gladiators with 131 receptions for 1,769 yards with 41 touchdown while rushing for two more. On the season, he led the League in receiving yards and receiving yards per game (110.6). He also finished second in receptions and third in points scored (258). In his last two seasons, Nash has caught more passes (285), gained more receiving yards (3,540), scored more touchdowns (87) and more points (558) than anyone else in the AFL.
Taylor (6'1", 185, Florida A&M) completed his second season in Las Vegas and fourth in the AFL. He was second on the team in total tackles with 62.5 and finished the season tied for second in the League with seven interceptions. He also recorded 2.5 tackles for a loss, eight pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. In Taylor's four seasons in the AFL, he has tallied 17 interceptions with each season's interception totals escalating (2002 â 2, 2003 â 3, 2004 â 5 and 2005 â 7).
The Gladiators fourth season at the Thomas & Mack Center kicks off in 2006. Season tickets are on sale now and can be purchased by calling the Gladiators office at 702-731-4977 or logging onto www.lvgladiators.com.
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