Gladiators' Defense Sparks 21-Point Come-from-Behind Victory
February 18, 2003 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Las Vegas Gladiators News Release
Fans who were excited to see the return of pro football to Las Vegas certainly got their money's worth Monday. Sedrick Robinson scored from two yards out with 8:47 to play in overtime to give the Las Vegas Gladiators a thrilling 61-55 come-from-behind victory over the Tampa Bay Storm in their home debut in front of a raucous crowd of 12,521 at Thomas & Mack Center.
The win was the Gladiators first of the season after dropping two straight ballgames on the road. The Storm, having lost their last two games, fell to 1-2.
Down by 21 points with 11:45 to play in the game, the Gladiators began to create a storm of their own. Following a third quarter of miscues and missed opportunities, quarterback Jay McDonagh found Jamarr Ward in the end zone to start the Gladiators' comeback, bringing them to within 14 points at 55-41.
Now it was time for Jeroid Johnson and the Gladiators' defense to take over. In a play that would swing the game's momentum, Johnson picked off a John Kaleo pass at the 18 yard line and scampered 32 yards down the right sideline for the touchdown.
"We knew the game was not over and we kept fighting until the end," said Johnson, who was named the games MVP. "The fans were great. I love playing here in Las Vegas."
Trailing by seven with 4:40 to play, Johnson came up big again on the next possession. On third and four, linebacker Jeremy Wilkinson tipped a Kaleo pass that Johnson intercepted and took to the Tampa Bay six yard line. Following a false start penalty, McDonagh hit Mike Horacek on a 10-yard strike to tie the score. Tampa Bay still had 1:00 on the clock, but the Gladiator defense stood strong and forced a 54-yard field-goal attempt by Pete Elezovic that was wide right, sending the game into overtime.
The Storm got the ball first in overtime. After a first down that marched the Storm to the Gladiator 22 yard line on their first play, Tampa Bay managed to gain only 2 more yards, turning the ball over on downs.
McDonagh then hit Horacek, who finished with 10 receptions for 105 yards and two touchdowns, on two straight completions to move the ball to the Tampa eight yard line. Three plays later Robinson crossed the goal line to for the win.
"The switch went off in the fourth quarter," said Kaleo, who finished the game 19-33 for 251 yards and five touchdowns. "We did not make the plays when we needed to."
McDonagh finished 19-26 for 189 yards with three touchdowns, and more importantly, no interceptions. Jermaine Younger led the Gladiators on the ground, rushing for 14 yards on six carries and four touchdowns.
"We knew we still had a chance when we were down 21," said Coach Frank Haege. "It's big to get the first win in front of our fans. We needed to steer the ship in the right direction."
The first two quarters were back and forth as neither team could pull away. The Gladiators jumped out to a 7-0 lead on their first possession when McDonagh bullied his way to the end zone from two yards out. Tampa answered quickly as David White also scored from two yards out, capping a two play 36-yard drive. The score was 7-6 Gladiators as Elezovic missed the first of three extra point attempts on the night.
After a Robinson fumble, Kaleo hit Clif Dell for a touchdown and the Storm successfully converted the two-point conversion to give them a 14-7 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Robinson, who was named the Ironman of the Game, took the kickoff six yards deep in the end zone and streaked 56 yards to the house for a touchdown. It was the second consecutive game that Robinson has returned a kickoff for a score.
In the second quarter, Tampa Bay jumped out to a 27-17 lead after recovering a fumble in the end zone, but the Gladiators rebounded by scoring the final 10 points of the half to knot the score at 27 going into the intermission.
The Storm controlled the third quarter and opening minutes of the fourth quarter, outscoring the Gladiators 27-7, to run the lead to 55-34, the point that Las Vegas began their comeback.
The Gladiators travel to New York in week four to take on the New York Dragons, Saturday, February 22. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 PM. The Gladiators will return home on Sunday, March 2 to take on the defending ArenaBowl champion San Jose SaberCats.
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