Cleveland’s Other Football Team: Gladiators lose to Utah Blaze, but find some positives as they gear up for playoffs

CLEVELAND, Ohio — As a playoff tuneup, there have been better.

The Gladiators would have liked a win in their regular-season finale, but lost, 76-69, to the Utah Blaze at The Q. And it would have been particularly nice if they hadn't watched the Blaze score the game-winning touchdown with four seconds remaining.

"We wanted to win that game, especially when the competitive juices get flowing," Cleveland coach Steve Thonn said.

But there have definitely been worse ways to head into the playoffs. The Gladiators know they will host either Georgia or Orlando on July 31, depending on the outcome of today's games. So in their tuneup Friday, the Gladiators accomplished much of what they set out to while falling to 10-8 in only their second loss at home.

For starters, quarterback Kurt Rocco rested -- at least for one half.

The Gladiators found that they can manage just fine without leading touchdown scorer Troy Bergeron, the receiver who did not play because he is likely to return to the Dallas Cowboys as the NFL lockout is close to being lifted.

The Gladiators rotated pieces into a patchwork offensive line that is expected to lose Cliff Louis to the Arizona Cardinals.

And they even found a way to anger and inspire what has been a solid defense all season, one that typically allows 279.1 yards per game, as Utah stormed its way to 404 yards of total offense, including 351 passing yards. Euclid and Heidelberg product Michael Preston had 97 of those yards for the Blaze on 10 catches.

"I don't want to put too much into it right now because I know they're going to bounce back," Thonn said. "They're already in [the locker room] talking about it."

Instead, Thonn and the Gladiators focused on the positives -- such as Rocco's steady performance in the first half that helped the teams to a 34-34 halftime tie. The rookie was sharp in connecting on 10 of 15 passes for 118 yards and four touchdowns. He found receiver Robert Redd twice in the first half, Dominick Goodman once and Thyron Lewis for another.

He remained, in essence, the same player who won AFL Offensive Player of the Week honors after the Gladiators' victory last week, the same poised leader he has developed into over the course of the season.

"The biggest thing is he's so much more confident," Thonn said. "He has a good feeling with his receivers."

Lewis, who returned to the lineup after sitting four games with an injury, proved he can be a capable target for Rocco. He had two catches for 16 yards and one touchdown. Not exactly on par with Bergeron's 30 touchdowns for the Gladiators this season, but it's a start.

Redd proved he might be enough to make up for the loss of Bergeron. The veteran arena player scored three touchdowns, including a 47-yard scamper to start the fourth quarter that included a slick spin move around Blaze defensive back Alfred Phillips that even had Thonn gushing.

"That was unbelievable," he said. "It was fun to see."

"'"It helped that Redd knew there is added pressure on him to perform with Bergeron gone.

"We've got to pick up the slack," he said. "Troy's a great player, and he has a great opportunity in Dallas. We want to bring him a championship."

Article source:

http://www.cleveland.com/gladiators/index.ssf/2011/07/cleveland_gladiators_lose_to_u.html