Gladiators Defeat KISS 56-52

The Los Angeles KISS were in the perfect position to defeat the Cleveland Gladiators for the third time this season on Sunday night, when LA was hosting a first round playoff game at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California. Los Angeles had the 46-34 lead in the early stages of the fourth quarter, and they held the 46-41 lead with two minutes left to go in the game. The KISS had the ball in the Geico Blue Zone, but on fourth down, LA didn’t opt to attempt a field goal, and fullback Rory Nixon was stopped short, giving the Gladiators possession with under two minutes remaining.

Cleveland had a third down inside the Blue Zone, and quarterback Arvell Nelson threw an incomplete pass, but an illegal defense penalty committed by the KISS gave the Gladiators an automatic first down. Cleveland would take advantage of the penalty, as Nelson scored on a QB sneak, giving Cleveland the 47-46 lead. Nelson would also tack on two extra points after converting the two-point try, which meant the KISS would need a field goal to tie the game. Los Angeles had burned all of their timeouts, so they could only stop the clock by getting out of bounds.

LA had 30 seconds to tie the game, but it turned out that they wouldn’t get the chance to tie the game. The ensuing kickoff bounced off the net, and Fred Williams couldn’t come up with it, and that meant bad news for the KISS. Cleveland’s Larry Beavers picked up the football, and he would end up scoring the game-clinching touchdown. Los Angeles didn’t go away, as Nathan Stanley hooked up with Williams on an eight-yard touchdown pass, which cut the Gladiators lead to 56-52.

Garrett Lindholm missed the extra point, which meant the KISS would need a touchdown to win the game if they recovered the onside kick. Los Angeles attempted the onside kick, but Cleveland was able to recover it easily, and the Gladiators outlasted the KISS, 56-52.

Cleveland came out of the gates firing, as they ended the first quarter with a 20-6 lead. Los Angeles had a much better second quarter, as they only trailed by two points heading into halftime. Another strong quarter in the third gave LA the 12-point lead heading into the fourth quarter. Los Angeles was unable to beat Cleveland for the third time this season, as the KISS finished the season with a 7-10 record, which is LA’s best record in franchise history.

Nathan Stanley completed 19 of his 34 passes for 205 yards and five touchdowns. Donovan Morgan caught nine passes for 132 yards and three touchdowns in his final game in the AFL. Nelson completed 13 of his 26 passes for 202 yards and three touchdowns. He also scored one touchdown on the ground. Collin Taylor caught eight passes for 95 yards and one touchdown. The Gladiators will be moving on to the National Conference Championship Game, where they will play the Arizona Rattlers for the right to go to the ArenaBowl.

Sharks Open Landsee Era With 46-32 Win Over KISS

For only the second time this season, the Jacksonville Sharks (6-9) won a game at home on Saturday, beating the LA KISS (7-8) 46-32 at Sea Best Field.

With interim head coach Bob Landsee looking to notch his first win, the Sharks went to work immediately. The defensive line put pressure on Nathan Stanley throughout the opening drive, forcing Stanley to scramble. Just three plays in, Stanley turned the corner to convert a first down, but suffered an injury as he dove into the side boards. He left the field under his own power, but did not return.

Backup Pete Thomas also felt the heat, but still fired off three straight completions to Donovan Morgan before finding Fred Williams for the opening score. Jacksonville needed only two passes, one to Tiger Jones and the other to Andrew Robustelli, to come back and tie the game.

The KISS then slowed the pace of the game down tremendously. Their next drive lasted 10 plays, took nearly seven minutes off the clock, and featured an injury (OL Shannon Tevaga, who did return) and an unsuccessful challenge of an incomplete pass. Los Angeles had what would be a familiar down and distance of 3rd-and-10 twice, and only converted once via penalty. Jacksonville’s defense stiffened to force a turnover on downs.

With the ball back, quarterback Tommy Grady didn’t hesitate, completing three of four passes (the incompletion being a throwaway) to set up a Derrick Ross two-yard run to take a 13-7 lead after Lindsey Wolfe missed his first extra point of the night.

The Sharks defense continued their threat, as Thomas couldn’t get time to set up a good pass on the next drive. Following a Colin Madison holding penalty (which wouldn’t be his first infraction), the KISS found themselves at 1st-and-20, which they could not recover from.

Thanks in part to some heavy lifting by Derrick Ross on a 17-yard run, Grady kept firing and found Joe Hills in the end zone to continue Hills’ touchdown streak and increase the lead to two scores. Thomas did engineer a quick, four-play scoring drive to cut the lead back to seven after a missed extra point, but it would be the closest LA would get the rest of the night.

Content to mostly run out the clock and aim for a double score, the Sharks started their next drive inside the one-minute warning with consecutive Derrick Ross runs, but on 3rd-and-goal, offensive coordinator Raymond Philyaw questionably called a pass play. It worked, as Grady found Hills in the end zone again to increase the lead yet again.

Down 26-13, things went from bad to worse for the KISS. After Greg Reid broke up a pass, the aforementioned Colin Madison had words with some of the Sharks players. The words got physical, and Madison was called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Madison was subsequently ejected from the game, and called for two more penalties as he left the field. Despite a catch and run by Fred Williams, LA went into the locker room empty handed.

The best the KISS could do was trade scores for the remainder of the game, and until the fourth quarter, the only cylinder that wasn’t firing was Wolfe. His extra points were as follows: good, hit the right upright, good, wide right, good, good, wide left. Coach Landsee said prior to the game Wolfe would need to be perfect to save his job, that did not happen.

In the same timeframe, Grady completed 19 of his first 21 attempts, with the two misses being throwaways. However, cracks started to show in the final frame. Up 40-26 with the ball 2nd-and-goal from the KISS’ one yard line, there was confusion on the handoff between Grady, Ross, and Dexter Jackson, who was in at full back in the heavy package.

As Jackson was pushing Ross across the goal line, there was a fumble, and the ball hit the back wall of the end zone for a touchback and the first blemish of the night for Jacksonville. The defense made sure the turnover came to nothing, in part thanks to a Neefy Moffett and Cornelius Lewis third-down sack on Pete Thomas forcing a 4th-and-13 that the KISS couldn’t convert.

Finally, up 46-32 with the ball 1st-and-goal with just 23 seconds remaining, Philyaw called two more pass plays instead of handoffs. Neither were successful, and the second landed in the hands of a familiar face: longtime Shark turned foe, Terrance Smith. Smith took his interception near midfield, but LA ran out of options and time to make any changes to the final score.

Grady finished with one of his best nights of the season, completing 25 of 29 attempts for 180 yards, four touchdowns, and the interception. In relief, Thomas did complete 33 of his 53 attempts for 325 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions.

Morgan and Justin Wilson were the two star receivers of the game. The two finished one and two in catches and yards (13 for 117 and 11 for 105, respectively) and combined for three touchdowns (Morgan had one, Wilson two).

While London Crawford led the Sharks in catches with nine, Hills led the team with 69 yards and three scores (Crawford finished with 45 and a lone touchdown).

On defense, Greg Reid finished with a game-high 13.5 tackles (the only player to reach double digits), and five different players registered at least a half tackle for loss (including Cornelius Lewis, Neefy Moffett, and Jordan Miller, who all had at least a half sack).

While Jacksonville earned a much-needed win, the regular season isn’t over just yet. Next week the Sharks will take on the Tampa Bay Storm at Sea Best Field in the regular-season finale. The game is scheduled for Saturday, July 30, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. ET.

 

 

 

KISS Acquire former NFL WR Laquan Williams

The Los Angeles KISS announced that they have been assigned wide receiver LaQuan Williams, as they continue to gear up for the postseason, which is just a few weeks away. Williams is the second former NFL wide receiver to be added by the KISS in the last two weeks, as the team added former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Fred Williams last week.

Williams brings three years of NFL experience to the KISS, and head coach Omarr Smith is excited to add him for the stretch run. “Williams is an explosive receiver that has been in the NFL for three years, Smith said. “We are excited to see if he can help pick up the Arena game and help our offense down the stretch.”

The 6’0” 195 pound receiver is entering his rookie campaign in the AFL. Williams entered the NFL in 2011, when he signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent. For two seasons, Williams appeared in 23 games for Baltimore, recording four catches for 46 yards. Williams won Super Bowl XLVII with the Ravens in 2013. Williams played a big role on special teams, as he returned six kick returns for 109 yards, and he compiled nine kick-coverage tackles.

Williams played briefly for the New England Patriots in 2013, before rejoining the Ravens for the 2014 season. The Baltimore, Maryland native played collegiate football at the University of Maryland. Williams played four seasons with the Terrapins, and he caught 33 passes for 436 yards and three touchdowns in 38 games played. Williams will make his debut on Saturday night, when the KISS play the Cleveland Gladiators in LA’s final home game of the season.

KISS Acquire DB Trey Wolfe, WR Fred Williams

The Los Angeles KISS have announced the signings of wide receiver Fred Williams and defensive back Trey Wolfe as the team is gearing up for the postseason. Both players bring NFL experience to the roster, and they’ll add much needed experience to a young KISS squad.

The 6’0” 200 pound Williams played collegiately at St. Cloud State. Williams left the Huskies as one of the best wide receivers in program history. Williams finished his collegiate career as the record holder in receptions (264), and in receiving yards (3,804).

Williams also earned First-Team All-American honors in 2012, and he was named an NCAA Division II All-Star after the 2011 season. Along with having NFL experience, Williams will also be entering his third season in the AFL.

Williams played his first two seasons for the San Jose SaberCats, and he enjoyed success during the 2012-2013 seasons. He tallied 137 receptions for 1,698 yards and 32 touchdowns during his time in San Jose.

Williams’ success in the AFL caught the eyes of many NFL scouts, as he was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs in December of 2013. The Milwaukee, Wisconsin native didn’t play in any regular season games for the Chiefs, but he did get some playing time during the preseason. Williams recorded 19 catches for 218 yards and three touchdowns during eight preseason games in the 2014-2015 seasons.

Wolfe recently played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League, before coming to the states to play for the KISS. The 6’0” 190 pound defensive back was an undrafted free agent, who was signed by the Seattle Seahawks of the NFL as an undrafted free agent.

Wolfe also was a member of the Washington Redskins practice squad. The Marietta, Georgia native played collegiate football at Fort Valley State. Wolfe totaled eight interceptions as a senior in 2013, and he earned second-team Division II All-American honors. Wolfe also played college football at Reedley College and Midwestern State.