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Cleveland arena team can't afford to bask in last week's victory
By George M. Thomas
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Friday, May 09, 2008
WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS: Cleveland Gladiators wide receiver Otis Amey probably put it best this week when asked about the Gladiators' win over the undefeated Philadelphia Soul.
He said nothing about it and focused on this week's opponent — the Orlando Predators. It's difficult, however, not to look back on last week's silencing of the Soul and take note.
That game likely will prove important to a team still searching for a complete identity.
The Soul came into Quicken Loans Arena 9-0 before being outhustled and outplayed in the second half of that game.
With play like that, the Gladiators (5-4) could certainly run the risk of a mental letdown tonight against the Predators.
''Right now, every game is pretty much a playoff game for us,'' said Amey, the Gladiators' second leading receiver with 61 receptions for 782 yards and 26 touchdowns.
Indeed, in the Arena Football League's playoff system, 12 teams qualify from two conferences. Right now, the Gladiators are the sixth seed for the postseason.
Coach Mike Wilpolt loves the attitude that Amey presents.
''It was our last win, and we beat a 9-0 team at home. It's definitely a big win for our program,'' he said.
Yes, there is a ''but'' coming there.
''We've got to know that we're fighting for our playoff life down the road, and Orlando is a good team. They're great on defense and they're efficient on offense,'' he said. ''We've got to come to work on Friday night and continue what we started to build with the Philadelphia game. We've got to look at our next game and Orlando is our next game. Our record dictates that we can't worry about the future.''
How do they follow such a game, when they won by a decisive margin and when it appeared that all facets of their game clicked?
''Just go out and compete. We play well at home,'' quarterback Raymond Philyaw said. ''We feed off the crowd, but we still have to go out and compete.''
Philyaw suggests that the players remember what remains at stake for them each week. Given the team's history in its former hometown of Las Vegas, where it went 2-14 last year, continuing to put the past behind it has been paramount. This version of the Gladiators knows that if the season ended, the playoffs await.
''We're at home. This is an opportunity for down the road. This game is that much bigger than last week because it's this week,'' he said. ''We've got an opportunity to set ourselves apart from the group — a big bunch of teams in the middle and we're one of those teams. Right now, we can make our jump for the playoff push at the end of the season.''
Marching orders
Fans at last week's game got to witness another of Amey's spectacular grabs to seal the victory in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, they witnessed Amey going head-first into the end zone boards. He was on the floor for a bit and suffered back pain throughout this week. On Wednesday, he announced that he'll be healthy enough to play. . . . Last week, 13,721 fans attended the Gladiators game, an impressive number given that the Indians played at the same time across Gateway Plaza at Progressive Field and the Cavaliers played in Game 6 of the NBA playoffs. More than 11,000 tickets have been sold for the game tonight. However, competition won't be as stiff. The Cavs don't play until Saturday. But the Indians will host the Toronto Blue Jays.
George M. Thomas can be reached at sportswriterabj@sbcglobal.net. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/sportsblitz/.
WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS: Cleveland Gladiators wide receiver Otis Amey probably put it best this week when asked about the Gladiators' win over the undefeated Philadelphia Soul.
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