Cleveland Gladiators Beat Baltimore Brigade, 59-48

The Cleveland Gladiators hosted the Baltimore Brigade at the Q Arena in Cleveland, OH Friday night. It was a must-win for Cleveland to catch up to Baltimore for the third seed in the Arena Football League playoffs.

Cleveland got on board first with a deep touchdown pass from Arvell Nelson to Quentin Sims after just two plays. A Shane Carden sack-fumble was recovered by the Gladiators in the end zone for a touchdown to give Cleveland a 14-0 lead.

Following a touchdown pass from Carden to Pablo Gonzalez, Nelson found Sims for his second touchdown to give Cleveland a 20-7 lead. A deep touchdown to Brandon Thompkins for Baltimore made it a 20-14 game at the end of the first quarter.

The two teams went back and forth to start the second quarter. Nelson found Tom Gilson for a touchdown. Baltimore responded with a touchdown from Carden to Julian Talley. Both teams continued to go back and forth, and the Gladiators took a 40-28 lead into halftime.

Cleveland took over midway through the third quarter. Leading 46-35, Kenny Veal picked off a Carden pass at the goal line. The Gladiators would capitalize with Sims’ third touchdown of the night. Following a second consecutive interception, this time by Lonnie Outlaw, another touchdown made the score 59-35. By the end of the third quarter, the score was 59-42.

Baltimore would attempt a comeback in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough as the Gladiators went on to win by a final score of . Cleveland’s defense was key to their victory in this one as they picked off Carden a total of four times in the second half alone.

With the win, the Gladiators also close in on half a game behind the Brigade for the third seed in the Arena Football League playoff picture. They will host the Philadelphia Soul next weekend while the Brigade will host the Washington Valor for the first time ever.

2016 Arena Football League Playoffs Preview: Rattlers vs Steel

In the first round of the 2016 AFL Playoffs, the Arizona Rattlers will host the Portland Steel in the matchup of the number-1 and number-4 seeds, respectively, in the National Conference. The teams will face off on Saturday, Aug. 6, at 10 p.m. ET at Talking Stick Resort Arena in Phoenix, Arizona.

Arizona (13-3) enters the playoffs with several things tilted in their favor. The Rattlers tied with the Orlando Predators for the best record in the AFL. They are the only team in the league that is undefeated at home this season. Arizona is the only team to be undefeated in games within their own conference.

They also scored the most points in the league (1,068; 66.8 per game) while giving up the second-fewest (766; 47.9 per game). Arizona quarterback Nick Davila led the league in completion percentage (69.6%) and touchdown passes (110), was second in QB rating (125.2), and third in passing yards (4,198). Wide receiver Rod Windsor was second in the league in receptions (145), receiving yards (1,667), and receiving touchdowns (48).

Maurice Purify was also top-seven in touchdown catches, finishing with 30. Receiver and special teams contributor Anthony Amos returned four kickoffs for a touchdown, second-most in the league. Defensively, 11 players in the league had at least four sacks. Four of those players are Rattlers.

Portland’s situation is significantly more dire. The Steel (3-13) used wins in two of their final three games to finish 3-13, one game ahead of the Tampa Bay Storm for the worst record in the league. They scored the second-fewest points in the league (670; 41.9 per game) while giving up the second-most (926; 57.9 per game), and were one of two teams to go the entire season without winning a game on the road.

Quarterback Shane Austin and wide receiver Tom Gilson became offensive standouts, though Austin had the worst TD-to-interception ratio in the league and Wilson had just 14 touchdowns despite having the fourth-most receptions in the league.

In the three games between the two teams this season, Arizona won all three by scores of 80-26 on April 1, 68-21 on April 30, and 76-49 on June 11. This playoff pairing doesn’t seem to predict anything different.

The winner of this first round game will play the winner of the other National Conference first round game between the Cleveland Gladiators and Los Angeles KISS next weekend in the National Conference Championship game.

2016 Week 18 Preview: Steel vs KISS

The Los Angeles KISS and the Portland Steel enter Monday evening’s game with the same purpose: finish the season out strong with a win. The two squads will meet for a Week 18 battle at the Moda Center, with nearly nothing on the line.

Both the KISS and the Steel were expected to be cellar dwellers at the start of the season, but one of those teams has exceeded expectations. The KISS (7-8), clinched home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs last week.

Portland on the other hand may have even performed worse than expected. The Steel enter this contest with a record of 2-13, and they’ll either be the seventh or eighth seed in the playoffs. Portland will face the Arizona Rattlers in the first round.

Last week, the Steel were defeated by the Tampa Bay Storm, 41-40, and the KISS were downed by the Jacksonville Sharks, 46-32. The KISS and the Steel have met twice this season, and both times the KISS were victorious at the Honda Center.

LA defeated the Steel 66-27 in May, and they beat Portland in a much closer game, 54-42 just a few weeks later. The Steel were winless when Danny Southwick was the quarterback, but once Shane Austin took over the offense, the team played significantly better. They picked up two wins, against the Tampa Bay Storm and the Jacksonville Sharks.

Austin has played in 10 games for the Steel. He’s thrown for 2,324 yards and 44 touchdowns. Austin has completed 60.3% of his passes, and he’s compiled a quarterback rating of 87.2. Austin’s top target this season has been Tom Gilson, who’s caught 127 passes for 1,269 yards and 14 touchdowns. Another reliable target for Austin has been Jared Perry. Perry has caught 66 passes for 810 yards and 11 touchdowns.

The Steel defense has been powered by Mike McMillan and Sergio Gilliam. The duo have combined for 100.5 tackles, and they’ve combined for four interceptions this season. The KISS have been fueled wide receiver Donovan Morgan.

Morgan has made the most of his final season in the league, as he’s caught 101 passes for 1,332 yards and 39 touchdowns. Morgan and quarterback Nathan Stanley have formed a connection this year, and that’s a big reason why Stanley has succeeded this season.

Stanley has thrown for 2,057 yards and 41 touchdowns, while completing 58.7% of his passes. The KISS defense has been led by Fredrick Obi, who leads the team in tackles (87.5), and in interceptions (5). The KISS will need to jump out to an early lead, while the Steel will need to pressure Nathan Stanley throughout the game.