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| (photo credit: photos.cleveland.com) |
Cleveland enters Monday’s contest with momentum from a
thrilling, one point victory, 41-40, over the Jacksonville Sharks last Saturday
evening. Arvill Nelson had 221 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions for the Gladiators, including the go-ahead,
game-winning pass to Collin Taylor with 34 seconds remaining in the game.
Taylor finished the game with six receptions for 101 yards and two touchdowns.
The Steel are in the midst of a seven-game road trip due to a
scheduling mishap that forced them to play their game against the Los Angeles
Kiss this past Monday in Anaheim instead of Portland. Home field for the Steel
is the Moda Center, which was occupied by the Portland Trailblazers as their
run in the NBA Playoffs continues. The Honda Center proved to be a
less-than-friendly host as the Kiss left the Steel in the dust, 66-27.
The Darron Thomas Resurrection Experiment is off to an inauspicious start. On his first drive, the reacquired quarterback had an interception returned for a touchdown. He would have four more interceptions in the game. Thomas finished with just as many touchdown passes to his own team (3) as he would to the Kiss. The Steel defense didn’t help out much, intercepting KISS quarterback Nathan Stanley just once, but allowing him to throw seven touchdowns. Donovan Morgan, to the surprise of nobody within the league, was the largest beneficiary of Stanley’s proficiency. Every other reception for Morgan was a touchdown, as four of his eight catches resulted in scores.
The Darron Thomas Resurrection Experiment is off to an inauspicious start. On his first drive, the reacquired quarterback had an interception returned for a touchdown. He would have four more interceptions in the game. Thomas finished with just as many touchdown passes to his own team (3) as he would to the Kiss. The Steel defense didn’t help out much, intercepting KISS quarterback Nathan Stanley just once, but allowing him to throw seven touchdowns. Donovan Morgan, to the surprise of nobody within the league, was the largest beneficiary of Stanley’s proficiency. Every other reception for Morgan was a touchdown, as four of his eight catches resulted in scores.
The winner of the Cleveland and Portland matchup will likely
be whichever team can manage to force more turnovers. The Gladiators have
forced eight turnovers in their six games, while the Steel have totaled just three in
their five games. Advantage: Gladiators.
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