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Las Vegas Gladiators game notes

March 2, 2004 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Las Vegas Gladiators News Release


GLADIATORS VS. FORCE: THE FACTS

Date: Sunday, March 7, 2004
Kickoff: 9:00 AM PT
Site: The Arena at Gwinnett (Duluth, GA)
Officials Referee: David Lambros, Umpire: Al Granado, Head Linesman: Dale Newhouse, Line
Judge: Arthur Lucky, Back Judge: David Cutaia

THE GAME CAN BE SEEN...

On NBC with Eli Gold and Charles Davis handling the call.

THE GAME CAN BE HEARD...

On in Las Vegas with Andrew Siciliano handling play-by-play and Mike Pritchard with color commentary.

THE SERIES – GLADIATORS VS. FORCE

This will be the second meeting between the two teams. The Gladiators took the first meeting last season in Las Vegas 46-41. In that game, former Gladiator Jeroid Johnson picked off two passes including one with :19 seconds left to seal the Gladiator victory.

WHAT'S AT STAKE

With a third straight win, the Gladiators will jump above the .500 mark for the first time. If the Gladiators win, it would...
• Give Las Vegas a 2-0 record against the Force
• Give Las Vegas a 3-2 overall record
• Give Las Vegas a 2-1 road record

GLADIATORS LAST WEEK

DOLEZEL THROWS FOR 500TH TOUCHDOWN IN GLADIATORS WIN

Las Vegas, NV, February 29, 2004 – The Las Vegas Gladiators set the tone on their first possession of the second half with a three-play, 39-yard drive which culminated in a quarterback Clint Dolezel rushing touchdown to take the lead for good, on their way to defeating the New Orleans VooDoo 50-30 at the Thomas & Mack Center Sunday afternoon.

Following a sluggish first half, the Gladiators scored 21 unanswered points at the beginning of the third quarter to take a 38-17 lead. They capitalized on two VooDoo turnovers and a strong defensive effort to take control. The Gladiators ran their record to 2-2 on the season while handing the VooDoo their first loss of the season.

The VooDoo tried to get back in the game early in the fourth quarter when they scored on fullback Dan Curran's second touchdown run of the game to close within 38-24.

On the ensuing drive, Gladiators' return man TJ Hill returned the kickoff 56 yards to the New Orleans one yard line. The Gladiators punched it in on the following play by Frank Carter, his second rushing touchdown of the season, increasing the Las Vegas lead to 20.

The VooDoo opened the game strong as they took the opening kickoff on a six play, 45-yard drive and scored on a two-yard touchdown run by Curran. The Gladiators fumbled the ensuing kickoff and the VooDoo converted it into a 24-yard field goal and a 10-0 lead.

Dolezel, the Baby Ruth Offensive Player of the Game, lead the Gladiators by completing 22-of-32 for 224 yards and four touchdowns in the air and two on the ground. His first touchdown pass of the day was the 500th of his career.

ADT Defensive Player of the Game Marvin Taylor intercepted his third pass of the season and had three tackles on defense. Army Ironman of the Game Cornelius Bonner caught two passes for 70 yards and one touchdown and intercepted a pass on defense.

The VooDoo were led by quarterback John Fitzgerald, who threw for 167 yards on 17-30 with two touchdowns and two interceptions.

GLADIATORS NEXT WEEK

The Gladiators return home for a Western Division showdown on Sunday, March 14, when Hunkie Cooper and the Arizona Rattlers come to town. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 PM.

THE COACHES

Frank Haege (Third Season 18-15, 0-2 in playoffs)

The Las Vegas Gladiators third-year head coach can look back upon his first two seasons in the AFL and boast about his wide array of accomplishments. Haege led the Gladiators to the fourth-best record in the AFL and their first-ever playoff berth in franchise history in 2002.

The 2003 season was the first for the Gladiators in Las Vegas and Haege led them to a second consecutive playoff appearance and an 8-8 record.

In 2002 the Gladiators 9-5 record and first place finish in the Eastern Division of the National Conference was the biggest turnaround in AFL history. The Gladiators finished the 2002 regular season with seven more victories than the previous season.

Haege was named the second head coach of the New Jersey Gladiators on August 23, 2001. Haege brought with him six players and an assistant coach from the Steamwheelers.

Previously, he spent two years as the head coach and director of football operations with the Quad City Steamwheelers (af2) in 2000 and 2001. Haege posted a remarkable 37-1 record, including an undefeated 2000 season.

Haege is in his tenth season in the Arena Football League.

Marty Lowe (Third Season, 9-8 record, 1-1 in playoffs)

Marty Lowe concluded his second season and first full year as Head Coach with the Georgia Force in 2003, guiding the team to a record eight wins and leading the club to its first postseason appearance. At 32 years old (9/21/71), Lowe is the youngest head coach in the Arena Football League.

Despite being hampered by injuries all season in 2003, the Force jumped out to a 6-2 mark to start the year and was able to ride the strength of its league-leading defense to advance to the Quarterfinal Round of the playoffs. Lowe, a former AFL quarterback himself, helped pave the way for rookie Leon Murray to emerge as one of the league's rising stars after the loss of two starting quarterbacks during the year. Following the season, Murray was named to the AFL's All-Rookie Team.

Prior to joining the Force, Lowe served as running back coach for the University of Texas-El Paso. Lowe's coaching career in the Arena Football League started when he joined the Nashville Kats as an offensive assistant in March 2000 after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Louisville. With the Kats, Lowe had Nashville's offense clicking on all cylinders in the 2000 playoffs, scoring more than 50 points in each of the team's first three post-season contests to quality for Arena Bowl XIV. Lowe went on to serve as the Kats offensive coordinator and assistant coach, where his duties included creating and implementing the offensive game plan and coaching the team's wide receivers and quarterbacks.

GLADIATORS' NOTES AND TRENDS

First Weekly Honor

Quarterback Clint Dolezel was named the Baby Ruth Real Deal Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts in leading the Gladiators to a 50-30 win over the New Orleans VooDoo. Dolezel, who threw the 500th touchdown of his career in the victory, completed 22 of 32 passes for 224 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. He also ran for two scores in the Gladiators win. It was the ninth time in has career that Dolezel has earned AFL Player of the Week honors and the first Gladiator to win offensive player of the week since Mike Horacek in 2002.

Reunited

K Brian Gowins was acquired last week in a three-team trade that sent DS Jeroid Johnson to the Avengers and OL/DL La'Zerius White to the Soul. Gowins is reunited with former Rampage teammates Clint Dolezel and Terrill Shaw. He played in Grand Rapids for three seasons and was named Kicker of the Year in 2001. In his first game of the season against the VooDoo, Gowins connected on 5-of-7 extra points and 1-of-2 field goal attempts.

A Win Is A Win

For the first time in two seasons, the Gladiators were able to come away with a victory while being on NBC. Previously, the Red and Black were 0-3 in the regular season and 0-1 in the playoffs. With a 50-30 victory over the VooDoo last week on national television, the curse has finally been lifted.

OS=Offensively Shutdown

Once again the opposing offensive specialist was shutdown in large part to Marvin Taylor. This past week against the VooDoo, Aaron Bailey was held to just two receptions for 19 yards and no touchdowns. In Colorado, Damian Harrell only had four receptions for 42 yards and two touchdowns. In week two against the Avengers, Chris Jackson had six receptions for only 35 yards and two touchdowns and week three saw Steve Smith make six receptions for only 37 yards and no touchdowns for the Rampage.

History

Just four years ago in New Jersey, Jermaine Younger, Kevin Gaines and Dameon Porter were a part of the Gladiators. This will be the first meeting for all three players to play against their former team together. Last season, Younger was a member of the Gladiators and contributed in five games with 11 rushes for 33 yards and one touchdown. He also had three receptions for 23 yards and 12 total tackles on defense. Porter was a member of the Chicago Rush and played for Gladiators' Defensive Coordinator Stan Davis for the past three seasons. As for Gaines, he stepped in with the Force in 2003 as a defensive leader. He finished the 2003 season as the teams Co-Defensive Player of the Year.

Hundred Dolla' Bill Ya'll

With a 12-reception game and 109 yards receiving against the VooDoo, Marcus Nash reached 100 receptions for his career. Nash stepped in as the offensive specialist after Terrill Shaw went down in the first quarter with an injury. He recorded his first double-digit reception game and 100-yard reception game of his career.

Tackling TJ

Through four weeks of action in the Arena Football League, TJ Hill has elevated his game to the top. He is ranked third in the league with 26 tackles. He trails only former Gladiator and current Carolina Cobra Damon Mason (32.5) and Rashad Floyd (29.5) of the Colorado Crush. Last season he contributed with 63.5 and ranked second on the team.

Davis' Defense

Defensive Coordinator Stan Davis has changed the outlook of playing defense in the Arena Football League. In an offensively dominated game, the Red and Black have held their opponents to just 149 points in four games. Ranking the Gladiators number one in the league in points allowed in four games. In the past two, Las Vegas has out scored their opponent 101-44(51-14 vs. Grand Rapids and 50-30 vs. New Orleans).

Mikey Likes It

Gladiators Color Commentator Mike Pritchard returns to Atlanta this week where he played three seasons with the Atlanta Falcons. During which time he caught 201 passes for 2,187 yards and 14 touchdowns. He entered the NFL as the 13th overall selection in the first round on the 1991 NFL draft by the Falcons.

One Of The Best

After four games into the 2004 season, Las Vegas has been hitting the jackpot when it comes to total offense (269.5), scoring defense (37.2 points), passing yards (251.8), fumble return yards (25.0), fumbles recovered (7), interceptions (5) and sacks against (0).

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 2, 2004


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