Glads Envoke Winning Spirit, Fall Short on Wine and Gold Night

Photo Credit: Cleveland Gladiators/ Twitter

In a battle of 1-1 teams, the Cleveland Gladiators hosted the LA KISS for their signature annual Wine and Gold Night. However, the hometown crowd will have to look to their basketball team for the city's next win, as Los Angeles rebounded with a 47-42 road win in a Saturday night thriller.

No one ever said kickoffs weren't adventurous, and if they did, they're liars. With 55 seconds left and the Gladiators down by five, Adrian Trevino needed to get the ball to bounce just right to give his team a chance at victory. In the long-standing fashion of Murphy's Law, nothing went right. The kick went to near midfield, where the KISS' Dan Buckner easily recovered, and Cleveland was called for not one, but two penalties: a declined illegal formation and an accepted offside. That gift was just big enough to let LA run out the clock and get their second win of the season.

Cleveland had control early in the game, grinding out an 11-play drive that took up the first half of the first quarter. While Dennis Havrilla found Collin Taylor to convert on 4th down early in the drive, lightning didn't strike twice, as KISS DB Rayshaun Kizer gave Cleveland fans an all too familiar show: a pick-six. The 49-yard return turned out to be the only score of the quarter, as both teams couldn't find enough offense to get into the red zone. A seven-play drive for the Gladiators ended in a missed field goal by Adrian Trevino, and LA converted a 4th-and-2 only to end up in a 4th-and-22 thanks in part to a Collin Keoshian sack.

The second quarter had much more liveliness on offense, as Havrilla only needed a nine-yard pass to Taylor to get the home team on the board. The KISS answered quickly, as D.J. Stephens became Nathan Stanley's main target. After a personal foul put them at 1st-and-10 just inside the GEICO Blue Zone, Donovan Morgan found the end zone on a 14-yard catch to restore LA's lead, but only at 13-7 after a missed extra point. LA got another gift as the ensuing kickoff bounced off the bar and right to Fred Obi, giving Morgan only one yard to run for his second score of the night.

The Gladiators immediately slowed the tempo of the game back down, using short pass after short pass to march down the field. The strategy worked, as Havrilla found Taylor for the second time of the night, cutting the deficit to six while burning almost five and a half minutes off the clock.

When the KISS recovered the failed onside kick, Brandon Stephens gave the crowd something to cheer about, as he intercepted Nathan Stanley and took it 49 yards to the LA eight-yard line, where Havrilla finished the job by finding the big man, DJ Brandel, for an 8-yard catch and run for a 21-20 lead with 36 seconds left in the half.

But, as in arena football, 36 seconds is an eternity. Not only did it give the KISS enough time for a touchdown drive ending in a FB Rory Nixon six-yard run, but it also gave the Gladiators 18 seconds to respond. They got in position for a 35-yard field goal, but Marcus Pittman bullrushed through for the block, and Arvell Nelson got his hands on it for Cleveland with no time to advance.

Down 26-21 to start the third quarter, Cleveland was desperate to regain that offensive pressure that locked LA down to start the night. however, the KISS got the idea to grind the clock themselves, and so they did. The third quarter only saw three possessions between the two teams, and D.J. Stephens continued his big night in the process. He caught four of the next five Nathan Stanley passes, including another touchdown. Not to be outdone, the Gladiators burned off more than six minutes with their response, as Collin Taylor featured on the scoring drive, including catching his 3rd touchdown of the game.

The defense stepped up to end the third, as double coverage forced D.J. Stephens to drop a 4th-and-10 pass to give Cleveland the ball needing only 5 yards to retake the lead. Dennis Havrilla tried to involved Dominick Goodman, who had a quiet night up to that point, but consecutive fade routes only got the ball to the one, so Havrilla sneaked the ball over the goal line to finish things off. Goodman did find paydirt on the next play, however, as he caught the two-point conversion to give Cleveland a 36-33 lead with just over 12 minutes to go.

While the defensive line started to get to Stanley more and more as the game progressed, the Gladiators couldn't get off the field on fourth down, surrendering not one, but two conversions on the next drive, both for 10+ yards. Brandon Collins was the second beneficiary, and his 11-yard catch on 4th-and-2 gave his team the lead right back.

Fred Obi helped give the KISS a bit more cushion, as his interception led to another D.J. Stephens touchdown and a 47-36 lead. The Gladiators caught a break with a kick-catch interference call to give them the ball at their own 10, and Dominick Goodman netted his lone touchdown of the night just inside the one-minute warning. Dennis Havrilla missed on the two-point conversion, meaning that Cleveland needed to recover an onside kick to get back in the end zone. From there, the rest was history...

Dennis Havrilla felt a bit of pressure from the KISS' defensive line, but persevered to complete 24 of 39 passes for 236 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions, all while being sacked twice. His counterpart, Nathan Stanley, had a similar night. He finished 20/35 for 191 yards, four scores, an interception, and was sacked once.

Collin Taylor was the Gladiators' star on offense, leading the team in catches (13, a game high), yards (101), and touchdowns (3). Dominick Goodman and DJ Brandel were the only other receivers to reach the end zone. DJ Stephens was the main man for LA, as he finished with 12 catches for 109 yards and two scores.

Defense ruled the night once again, as Marcus Pittman added a sack to his blocked field goal, Rayshaun Kizer led the KISS in tackles (7.5) to add to his pick-six. Fred Obi (interception) and Rodney Fritz (sack) also joined the party. Brandon Stephens was the lone Gladiator to register more than four tackles (9) to go along with his interception, and Collin Keoshian got the lone sack.

At 1-2, Cleveland certainly isn't out of it, but their road trip to Philadelphia on Saturday, April 23 now looms ever larger. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m.