By CONNOR GOMER
In 1980, the Cleveland Browns were known as the “Kardiac Kids” because of their tendency to play in close games. Finishing the season 11-5, the Browns played 12 games in which the margin of victory was seven points or less. The Cleveland Gladiators can probably relate to that this season after winning three games in the final play of regulation and six games being decided by two scores or less. Unlike the original “Kardiac Kids”, the Gladiators have managed to win every suspenseful game they have played, compiling a 9-0 record after Week 11.
In Week 6 the Gladiators headed to Spokane where they faced off against the Shock. After Spokane’s quarterback, Erik Meyer, completed a nine yard pass to Hank Edwards to take the lead with 13 seconds left, the Shock seemed more than confident giving the ball back to Cleveland. However, Gladiator quarterback, Chris Dieker, heaved a Hail Mary off the net to Thyron Lewis to pull ahead 52-50 as time expired. One of the most memorable plays this season, Lewis’ catch shows exactly how the Gladiators have been able to come up victorious in so many thrillers.
“Our guys always do a good job of not panicking. Sometimes you need a little luck and to be in the right place at the right time.” Cleveland head coach Steve Thonn said. “T-Lew [Thyron Lewis] was really the only guy who didn’t get grabbed so he got to the right spot and made the play.”
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Luck does seem to be on the Gladiators side this year. Most teams are lucky enough to have one game-winning play a season. The Gladiators continued their lucky streak three weeks later against the LA KISS. As the KISS tied the game up with less than eight minutes to play, the Gladiators just needed a field goal to pull ahead. But with 3:30 left at their own 23 yard line, they turned the ball over. The undefeated season seemed to finally be coming to a close. KISS quarterback J.J. Raterink drove the ball down to the six yard line, only to have the Cleveland defense create a turnover on downs with 41 seconds left. The Gladiators proceeded to drive the ball down the field and kick a field goal from the KISS one-yard line to win the game as time expired. The following week, after the second game-winning drive of their season, the Gladiators comfortably beat the Iowa Barnstormers by 10 points, with no last second comebacks necessary. The Philadelphia made it a little trickier for the Gladiators, after gaining a 38-21 lead after three quarters of play. Once again, all hope seemed to be lost for Cleveland’s undefeated season when the Soul went up by 17 with three minutes left in the game. After a touchdown pass from Shane Austin to Thyron Lewis, the Gladiators pulled within ten with just 52 seconds left in regulation.
“Getting that first score really got the whole thing rolling which set us up for the first onside kick” Coach Thonn noted. “Aaron [Pettrey] hadn’t really practiced onside kicks all week, but he was able to pop it up high and we were able to come down with it and score again”
This all set up another onside kick recovery and an incredible touchdown pass from Shane Austin to Thyron Lewis as time expired to win the game 52-50. It was Lewis’ third touchdown catch of the game and his second game-winning catch of the season.
“We kind of drew that play up in the dirt during our timeout” explained Thonn. “We said, ‘Hey, if the play blows up and we start scrambling, someone has to make a play.’ TLew did a great job of coming back to the ball and going to where Shane could see him. His awareness on the field really helps us down the stretch.”
The comparison to the 1980 Cleveland Browns is undeniably accurate. Playing in close games in Cleveland seems to be a consistency between the 1980 Browns and the 2014 Gladiators. Coach Thonn does recognize the similarities between the two teams, but he would rather just play Gladiator football, and not 1980 Cleveland Brown football.
“Honestly, I would rather be ahead at the end and not be compared to a team that plays in close games” Coach Thonn says. “There has been some luck involved when it comes to those final plays, so we need to work on converting more often on offense and playing better on defense to hopefully get some more comfortable wins.”
The 1980 Browns never did develop into a team that secured comfortable victories like Coach Thonn wants his Gladiators to do. The Browns went on to lose in the first round of the playoffs to the Oakland Raiders, 14-12. The Brown’s quarterback, Brian Sipe threw an interception in the final seconds of regulation on the Oakland 13, a pass that would’ve won them another nail-biter.
While it does seem the Gladiators have some things to clean up, one category is spotless. Cleveland’s undefeated start has been the best in franchise history, and they are chasing the AFL record for the best start to a season set by the Orlando Predators in 1994 at 11-0. Only time will tell whether or not their fate will be the same as the original “Kardiac Kids”… or if they will develop their own reputation as the AFL Playoffs are quickly approaching.
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