Las Vegas Gladiators game notes

Published on March 9, 2004 under Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Las Vegas Gladiators News Release


GLADIATORS VS. RATTLERS: THE FACTS

Date: Sunday, March 14, 2004
Kickoff: 3 PM PT
Site: Thomas & Mack Center (Las Vegas, NV)
Officials Referee: Riley Johnson, Umpire: Paul Frerking, Head Linesman: Darrel Leftwich, Line Judge: Paul Engelberts, Back Judge: Bud McCleskey

THE GAME CAN BE HEARD...
On ESPN in Las Vegas with Andrew Siciliano handling play-by-play and Mike Pritchard with color commentary.

COMMUNITY FOCUS
For the remainder of the season the Gladiators will partner with local non-profit organizations to collect donations and raise awareness for their various causes. Tonight's game features Clark County Reads, which is collecting books for children ages 3-17. The Gladiators are committed to making an impact in the Las Vegas community and have begun to do so by attending over 91 community appearances and donating tickets and merchandise to over 40 events so far this season. Most recently, the Gladiator players and dancers have visited 12 elementary schools as part of Nevada Reading Week and National Reading Month.

THE SERIES – GLADIATORS VS. RATTLERS

This will be the third regular season meeting between the Rattlers and the Gladiators and the first as division opponents. The Rattlers have won both previous meetings. The two teams also met in last season's playoffs with the Rattlers dismantling the Gladiators 69-26.

WHAT'S AT STAKE

The Gladiator look to get back on the winning track and pull to .500.

If the Gladiators win, it would...
· Give Las Vegas a 1-2 record against the Rattlers
· Give Las Vegas a 3-3 overall record
· Give Las Vegas a 2-1 home record

SCHEDULES


LAS VEGAS GLADIATORS (2-3)
Date Opponent Time Result Score
Feb. 6 @ Colorado 6:00 L 42-43
Feb. 14 Los Angeles 12:00 L 55-62
Feb. 22 @ Grand Rapids 12:00 W 51-14
Feb. 29 New Orleans 12:00 W 50-30
March 7 @ Georgia 9:00 AM L 40-55
March 14 Arizona 3:00
March 20 @ San Jose 7:30
March 27 @ Orlando 4:30
April 4 Chicago 3:00
April 10 @ Arizona 7:00
BYE
April 25 Detroit 12:00
May 2 Indiana 12:00
May 8 @ Philadelphia 4:30
May 16 San Jose 12:00
May 22 @ Los Angeles 7:30
May 30 Columbus 12:00
All times PST


ARIZONA RATTLERS (3-2)
Date Opponent Time Result Score
Feb. 8 Los Angels 1:00 L 32-51
Feb. 13 Detroit 7:00 L 31-48
Feb. 21 @ Carolina 5:30 W 45-38
Feb. 29 New York 1:00 W 53-41
March 5 Columbus 7:00 W 65-42
March 14 @ Las Vegas 4:00
March 18 New Orleans 7:00
March 27 @ Colorado 7:00
April 4 @ Grand Rapids 12:00
April 10 Las Vegas 7:00
April 18 Dallas 12:00
April 25 @ Indiana 12:00
May 1 @ Los Angeles 7:30
May 9 San Jose 12:00
May 15 @ Detroit 4:30
BYE
May 30 @ San Jose 1:00
All times AZ time

GLADIATORS VS. FORCE
BY THE NUMBERS

Statistical GLADIATORS RATTLERS
Category (2004 Per Game) Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 11 47.6 15 45.2
Scoring Defense 1 40.8 6 44.0
Total Offense 4 272.0 14 248.0
Total Defense 1 215.6 4 231.0
Pass Offense 3 256.6 12 236.4
Pass Defense 3 196.6 4 205.4
Rushing Offense 13 15.6 16 12.4
Rushing Defense 10 20.0 16 25.5
Pass Defense Rating 6 105.7 2 98.9
Turnover Margin 10 0 10 0
Sacks By 14 3 5 6
Sacks Against 1 0 10 4
Red Zone Offense Scoring Percentage 6 89.7 11 83.3
Red Zone Defense Scoring Percentage 15 87.5 6 80.8

GLADIATORS LAST WEEK

GLADIATORS TURN BALL OVER FOUR TIMES; LOSE TO FORCE

Duluth, Georgia, March 7, 2004 – ADT Defensive Player of the Game Morris Anderson picked off Clint Dolezel for the second time late in the fourth quarter and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown, sealing the victory for the Georgia Force 55-40 in front of 8,517 fans at the Gwinnett Center.

With the Gladiators looking to go above .500 for the first time this season, the Force would not be denied on their home turf and caused Las Vegas to turn the ball over four times including three interceptions and one fumble. The victory for Georgia was their first win at home in more than a year.

Georgia outscored the Gladiators 27-13 in the second quarter for a 34-20 halftime lead and thwarted every Gladiator attempt to close in on them.

Dolezel completed 24 of 41 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns, but was harassed and hurried by Georgia's front three. They applied constant pressure on Dolezel and lead him into throwing a season-high three interceptions.

The Baby Ruth Offensive Player of the Game Leon Murray completed 21 of 31 passes for 233 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Gladiators looked sharp early, taking a 7-0 lead on a Dolezel to Marcus Nash touchdown strike in the corner of the endzone on the first drive of the game. The drive consumed 8:30 off the clock, yet the Force would respond by scoring six consecutive touchdowns and pushing their lead to 41-20 midway through the third quarter. Las Vegas came within eight points late in the fourth quarter, but that was the closest they would come for the remainder of the game.

The Gladiators, playing without offensive specialist Terrill Shaw, suffered another blow when defensive specialist T. J. Hill sustained a knee sprain during the second quarter and did not return.


GLADIATORS NEXT WEEK

The Gladiators hit the road for another Western Division showdown on Saturday, March 20, when they travel to take on the San Jose SaberCats. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 PM.

THE COACHES


Frank Haege (Third Season 19-16, 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.

Danny White (13th Season, 131-61 record)

If there is one name that is synonymous with Arizona Rattlers Football, it is Danny White. A living legend of football in Arizona, Danny is the first and only Head Coach and General Manager of the Rattlers. Danny has lead the Rattlers to ArenaBowl berths in 1994, 1997, 2002 and 2003, emerging as the World Champion in 1994 and 1997. White was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1997, and had his #11 jersey retired by Arizona State University. On Christmas 1999, White was named the Arizona Athlete of the Century by the Arizona Republic newspaper. White was also inducted into the Arena League Hall of Fame in 2002.

It took only three seasons for White to reach the pinnacle of the Arena Football League. He was hired on October 10, 1991 and on September 2, 1994 he became a World Champion, as the Rattlers defeated Orlando 36-31.

Danny and the Rattlers became World Champions for the second time after ArenaBowl XI, when the Rattlers beat the Iowa Barnstormers 55-33. The Rattlers returned to the ArenaBowl in 2002, but fell to the San Jose Sabercats. In 2003, Arizona lost to the Tampa Bay Storm in the ArenaBowl. White finished the 2003 season with an overall record of 128-59 (.685).

The Arena Football League Coach of the Year in only his second season (1993), Danny's 128 wins rank him second all time, and his .694 regular season winning percentage is fourth best in Arena Football history. He also ranks second all time with 18 postseason victories, trailing only Tim Marcum.

Coach White became the second coach in AFL history to win 100 games when the Rattlers defeated the Houston Thunderbears on June 30, 2001. He was an inductee for the Arena Football Hall of Fame class of 2002.

GLADIATORS' NOTES AND TRENDS


Return Of The Kings

For the first time in nearly 10 years, former UNLV stars Hunkie Cooper and Randy Gatewood will be playing in Las Vegas. Cooper graduated in 1991 and was a two-time All Big-West Conference selection. He was also an All-American selection as a punt returner as a senior and played six different positions. Gatewood was an All-American honorable mention and first team all-conference selection his senior season in 1994. He also holds the UNLV record for most receptions in a season with 88. In a game against Idaho (9-17-94), Gatewood caught a UNLV record 23 receptions for 363 yards and one touchdown.

Lucky #7

The Gladiators will be trying to prevent from losing yet another game against a Western Division opponent this week. Las Vegas is 0-6 against Arizona (0-3), Los Angeles (0-2) and San Jose (0-1).

OS = Offensive Stud

Marcus Nash played his first game this season as the offensive specialist last week against the Georgia Force and tallied nine receptions for 75 yards and one touchdown. Nash will be playing against the Rattlers for the second time. In the first meeting as a member of the Detroit Fury, he caught four passes for 83 yards and two touchdowns.

Revenge

Maurice Bryant will be playing his former team for the first time this week. Bryant played for the Rattlers for four seasons before coming to Las Vegas and recorded 177 receptions for 2,360 yards and 53 touchdowns. While with the Red and Black, he has played in only two games and has caught eight passes for 59 yards and one touchdown. He is currently 15 receptions shy of 200 for his career.

The Double Nickel

At the end of the first half against the Force, Brian Gowins converted a team-record and league best 55-yard field goal. The kick abolished the previous record by Steve Videtich of 49 yards last season against the Orlando Predators on April 20th. Gowins personal best is 56-yards. He converted that back in 2001 as a member of the Grand Rapids Rampage.

Top It Off

Las Vegas is ranked number one in the league in total defense. They have only allowed 214.8 yards per game. On the season they have given up a league low 976 passing yards and 98 rushing yards in five games of action.

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Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 9, 2004


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