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Las Vegas Gladiators game notes

March 1, 2005 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Las Vegas Gladiators News Release


GLADIATORS VS. WRANGLERS: THE FACTS

Date: Friday, March 4,, 2005
Kickoff: 7:00 PM PT
Site: Thomas & Mack Center (Las Vegas, NV)
Officials: Referee: Bill McCabe, Umpire: Doug Wilson, Head Linesman: Royce Cooley, Line Judge: Dirk Bell
Back Judge: Jimmy Buchanan

THE GAME CAN BE HEARD…
On ESPNRadio 920 in Las Vegas with Andrew Siciliano handling play-by-play and Mike Pritchard with expert analysis.

THE SERIES – GLADIATORS VS. WRANGLERS
First Meeting
The Austin Wranglers entered the AFL as an expansion franchise in 2004. This will be the first meeting between Las Vegas and Austin.

WHAT’S AT STAKE

If the Gladiators win, it would
· Give the Las Vegas a 1-0 record vs. the Wranglers
· Give Las Vegas a 4-2 overall record
· Give Las Vegas a 2-1 home record

SCHEDULES


LAS VEGAS GLADIATORS (3-2)
Date Opponent Time Result Score
Jan. 30 Los Angeles 12:00 W 46-37
Feb. 5 @ SanJose 6:00 L 31-66
Feb. 11 New York 7:00 W 41-37
Feb. 20 Georgia 3:00 L 13-38
Feb. 26 @ Nashville 5:30 W 40-32
March 4 Austin 7:00
March 12 @ Columbus 4:00
March 19 @ Arizona 6:00
March 28 San Jose 7:00
April 3 @ Colorado 12:00
April 8 Grand Rapids 7:00
April 17 @ Philadelphia 10:00 AM
BYE
May 1 @ Chicago 10:00 AM
May 7 Dallas 7:00
May 14 @ Los Angeles 7:30
May 22 Arizona 12:00
All times PST


Austin Wranglers (1-4)
Date Opponent Time Result Score
Jan. 30 Philadelphia 11:00 AM L 35-66
Feb. 6 @ Tampa Bay 11:00 AM L 45-66
Feb. 11 Los Angeles 7:30 L 51-64
Feb. 19 @ Grand Rapids 6:30 W 73-61
Feb. 25 Georgia 7:30 L 63-66
March 4 @ Las Vegas 9:00
March 13 Dallas 3:00
March 19 New York 7:30
March 25 @ Orlando 6:30
April 1 New Orleans 7:30
April 8 @ Georgia 6:30
April 17 Tampa Bay 12:00
April 22 @ Arizona 9:00
April 30 @ Columbus 6:00
May 7 Orlando 7:30
May 14 @ New Orleans 7:00
BYE
All times CST

GLADIATORS VS. WRANGLERS
BY THE NUMBERS

Statistical GLADIATORS WRANGLERS
Category Rank Stat Rank Stat
Scoring Offense 17 34.2 6 53.4
Total Offense 8 284.0 3 305.4
Scoring Defense 2 42.0 16 63.8
Total Defense 2 233.6 17 347.4
Rushing Offense 6 22.6 9 19.4
Rushing Defense 1 20.8 15 33.0
Passing Offense 9 261.4 3 286.0
Passing Defense 3 222.4 16 314.4
Pass Rating 17 85.3 10 108.4
Pass Defense Rating 5 97.6 17 123.0
Sacks By 2 10 6t 3
Sacks Against 1t 1 2t 2
Turnover Margin 17 -8 10 -1
3rd Down Conversion % 17 28.6 11 42.9
Opponent 3rd Down Conversion % 6 41.2 2 34.8
Red Zone Offense Scoring Percentage 17 48.0 13 64.3
Red Zone Defense Scoring Percentage 5 64.3 17 88.2

GLADIATORS LAST WEEK

GLADIATORS PREVAIL IN NASHVILLE 40-32

Las Vegas Gladiators quarterback Craig Whelihan threw five touchdown passes to lead the Gladiators to a 40-32 victory over the Nashville Kats at the Gaylord Entertainment Center on Saturday Night.

Whelihan finished the day 26-of-39 for 267 yards with five touchdown passes despite one interception.

On the final drive of the game for the Gladiators, Whelihan sealed the victory with a four-yard strike to Marcus Nash to give the Gladiators their eight point advantage. Las Vegas’ defense would then hold Nashville on their final drive to secure the victory.

Nash led the Gladiators receivers with eight catches for 77 yards and two touchdowns.

Las Vegas’ defense came out and performed like they have all season. They held the Kats to 13 points in the second half, after trailing at halftime 19-17. They also tied a franchise record with a combined 42 total tackles. Defensive specialist Jeremy Unertl led the team with 10.5 tackles.

ADT Defensive Player of the Game Frank Carter led the Gladiators’ defensive pressure on Kats’ quarterback Tony Zimmerman. Carter recorded two sacks in the game and now has seven sacks on the season.

Zimmerman finished 25-of-38 for 272 yards with one touchdown pass and one rushing touchdown. Nashville’s Darryl Hammond caught eight passes for 112 yards in the loss.

U.S. Army Ironman of the Game Coco Blalock caught four passes for 52 yards with one touchdown and returned three kicks for 38 yards. On defense, he tallied 3.5 tackles.

THE COACHES

Ron James (First Season, 3-2)

Ron James enters his first season as the head coach of the Gladiators. He spent the previous three seasons as assistant head coach/offensive defensive line/special teams coach.

James previously served as line coach for the Houston ThunderBears and Director of Player Personnel from 1999-2001. He is entering his seventh season in the Arena Football League.

Prior to his time in the AFL, James served as the Assistant Football coach, offensive line coach and Admissions Support Officer at Army in 1998 and 1999. Army captured two Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) rushing titles during his stint, averaging more than 257 yards per game.

James spent five seasons at Kentucky Wesleyan College, where he served as associate head coach for the final four years. James began his stay at Kentucky Wesleyan in 1993 as offensive coordinator in addition he managed the offensive line. In 1994, James was promoted to associate head coach at Kentucky Wesleyan and added defensive coordinator/secondary coach to his repertoire.

James coached a combined fourteen years at the collegiate level. In 1992-93, he served as defensive coordinator/secondary coach at Hartwick College. From 1989-1991, James was defensive coordinator/linebacker coach at St. Lawrence University. He began his coaching career in 1986 as a linebacker coach at Siena College (New York) and served as head coach of the junior varsity team.

James was a four-year starter at offensive tackle at Siena College. An N.C.F.A All-America First Team and two-time First-Team All-Conference selection, James also saw action at defensive tackle. He earned a BA from Siena and a MBA from Rockefeller College, which is a subsidiary of the State University of New York at Albany.

Skip Foster (Second Season, 9-12)

Head Coach Skip Foster is entering his second AFL season with the Austin Wranglers. Foster, deemed the second most winning coach in arenafootball2 history with a 44-10 record including an ArenaCup Championship, will again act as the Wranglers offensive coordinator in addition to carrying the head coaching duties. After finishing the team’s 2004 debut season with a commendable 8-8 record, Foster is building a 2005 team that will take the Wranglers to an ArenaBowl championship.

In the team’s inaugural season performance, Foster’s offense scored 104 touchdowns, an average of 47.8 points per game, led the AFL in total offense for five weeks and remained one of the League’s top three total offenses for a total of fifteen weeks in 2004. The Wranglers offensive unit gained more than 300 yards in five different performances and had two 200+ receiving-yard games for AFL All-Rookie Tacoma Fontaine. Quarterback John Kaleo posted career-highs in attempts with 565 and completions with 352. Kaleo passed for more than 4,000 yards for his second consecutive season bringing his career total to 26,077 passing yards. Fontaine and veteran WR/DB Charlie Davidson led the Wranglers receivers combining for 1,959 of the teams 4,045 yards receiving and 37 of the team’s 82 receiving touchdowns.

Prior to joining the Wranglers, Foster served as the head coach for the 2003 af2-Champion Tulsa Talons. Foster lead the team to a 13-3 regular season record while accumulating 3,995 yards in total offense, 3,679 yards passing and 316 yards rushing. This offensive effort also concluded with Tulsa outscoring their opponents 823-690 in regular season play. The Talons totaled 745 yards in offense and outscored their postseason opponents 179-130 on their way to winning the 2003 ArenaCup. During his three years with Tulsa , Foster made history when he led his team to the National Conference Central Division Championship for two straight seasons. Foster was the only af2 coach to go undefeated at home over three consecutive regular seasons.

Foster compiled a record of 82-39-2 at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas before moving to arena football. Foster coached the Red Ravens to six conference championships during his 12 seasons as the head coach. In 1990, Foster led Coffeyville to a national championship and an undefeated season. He was selected as Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Coach of the Year in both 1990 and 1991.

After serving as an assistant to his father, Dick Foster, for four seasons at Coffeyville , Skip took over the head coaching duties where Dick won a national championship in 1983. They are the only father/son pair in the National Junior College Athletic Association to win a national championship at the same school. Skip played football for his father from 1979-1980 at Coffeyville.

A graduate of Missouri Western State College, Foster earned a bachelor of science in education. Foster and his wife, Gay, have three children.

2004 SEASON


Offensive Player of the Game
Week Opp. Player
1 LA Marcus Nash (LV)
2 SJ Calvin Schexnayder (SJ)
3 NY Marcus Nash (LV)
4 GEO Jim Kubiak (Geo)
5 NAS Craig Whelihan (LV)
6 AUS



ADT Defensive Player of the Game
Week Opp. Player
1 LA Antuan Simmons (LA)
2 SJ Omarr Smith (SJ)
3 NY Billy Parker (NY)
4 GEO Kevin Gaines (Geo)
5 NAS Frank Carter (LV)
6 AUS

Army Ironman of the Game
Week Opp. Player
1 LA Dameon Porter (LV)
2 SJ Matt Kinsinger (SJ)
3 NY Frank Carter (LV)
4 Geo Derek Lee (Geo)
5 NAS Coco Blalock
6 AUS


AFL TOP 10: League Leaders after Week 5
GLADIATORS
Player Rank Category Stat
Clint Dolezel 10 Had Intercepted 4
Rod Robinson 2 Pass Completion % 69.2
2t Had Intercepted 6
Frank Carter 10t Rushing Touchdowns 3
7 Rushing Attempts 16
10 Rushing 52
1 Sacks 7.0
1 Tackles for Loss 5.0
Coco Blalock 8 Kick Return Yards 260
9 Kick Returns 15
Mark Lewis 7 Scoring (kickers) 22
6 Field Goals Made 5
4 FG % 75.0
5 Field Goal Atempts 8
Marcus Nash 4 Receiving Yards 516
8 Receptions 36
4 Receiving Yards Per Game 103.2
4 Yards From Scrimmage 515
Marvin Taylor 6t Interceptions 2
Dameon Porter 6t Interceptions 2
Joe Douglass 2 Missed FG Return AVG. 25.0
Wilky Bazile 3t Tackles for Loss 4.0


MILESTONE WATCH

PLAYER MILESTONE CURRENT NUMBER TO GO
Clint Dolezel 600 Touchdown Passes 582 18
Clint Dolezel 30,000 Passing Yards 29,359 641


GLADIATORS’ NOTES AND TRENDS


FRANK THE TANK
Frank Carter has started the 2005 season on pace to shatter the record for most sacks in a season. He currently has seven sacks in five games of action and is six away from tying the League record of 13. (Craig Walls, Pittsburgh Gladiators, 1987). He has also surpassed the team record for sacks in a season and tied his career total. In three seasons with the Gladiators, Carter has tallied seven sacks.

YEARNING FOR YARNELL
Lucas Yarnell will be facing his former team for the first time this weekend after playing 13 games in 2004 with the Wranglers and tallying 5.5 total tackles with two fumble recoveries.

TACKLING DUMMIES
The Red and Black tied a franchise record last week with a total of 42 team tackles against the Nashville Kats. The last time they tallied 42 tackles was against the now defunct Indiana Firebirds on July 8, 2001.

DEFENSIVE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
In Las Vegas’ victories, the Gladiators’ defense has held opponents to an average of just 35 points per game (Los Angeles-37, New York-37, Nashville-32). In Gladiator losses, they have given up an average of 52 points (San Jose-66, Georgia-38).

LET THE WHEELS TURN
Craig Whelihan stepped in as the third quarterback this season to lead the Gladiators to a victory. Against the Kats, he completed 26-of-39 for 267 yards with five touchdowns.

THREE IS FINALLY A CHARM
For the first time all season, the Red and Black scored in the third quarter last week against Nashville. They had not scored in the previous four games in the third quarter.

BULLWORTH
Thaddeus Bullard recorded his first career touchdown last week when he caught a Craig Whelihan pass and went 12 yards for the score. On the season, he has three receptions for 23 yards.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS
The Red & Black are 1-0 this season on Friday night games and are 2-7 in franchise history. They defeated the New York Dragons in Week 3 at the Thomas & Mack Center, 41-37. Prior to this season, they hadn’t played a Friday night game since April 19, 2002, when the Gladiators were based out of New Jersey and played the Destroyers in their former home of Buffalo.

THE LONE STAR
Las Vegas signed WR/DB Kelly Malveaux on Tuesday and he will be the first rookie to dress for the Gladiators this season. Malveaux played the previous three seasons in the CFL with the Calgary Stampeders.

WHO’S THE MAN
In each of the three victories this season the Gladiators have had a different quarterback leading the team each time. Earlier this season, Clint Dolezel lead Las Vegas to its first victory of the season over Los Angeles and Rod Robinson was the quarterback when they went on to defeat New York. Last week, Craig Whelihan led the Red and Black to victory last week against the Nashville Kats.

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