Gladiators lose four straight games to rival

The Gladiators seem to perpetually put themselves in positions conducive to failure. Dropped balls, over-thrown passes, fumbled snaps, penalties and missed assignments eventually became too much to overcome for Chabot, (5-5, 2-2), falling 32-0 to the Eagles Friday night.

Any revenge, redemption or vindication jargon the Gladiators hoped to bellow after an overdue victory over rival Laney will have to be put off until 2009. And they have no one to blame. Except for the image reflected when one gazes into a mirror-visor found on football helmets.

"It's tough to end it like this," said sophomore defensive back, Anthony Ragsdale. "I envisioned it to be a little closer." Neither team distinguished itself in the first half through the air. Both relied on the running game early in matriculating offense. "It came down to who'd shoot-themselves-in-the-foot the least," said Laney head coach, Jay Uchiumi. "We played well on defense; that's what we wanted to do."

The initial quarter saw a myriad of gaffes from both sides. A false start inside the Gladiator 10 negated a Laney touchdown, which resulted in Laney's Lance Harrison-Brown's blocking of a Chabot field goal. Chabot's punter Jon Bowe had his second punt attempt converted into a safety from the 12. The snapped sailed over his head into the end zone with Chabot's Zarius Galloway recovering the botched exchange.

False starts saw two Brandon Williams first down runs called back. On defense it was offside infractions that aided Laney drives; however, Laney eventually punted.

The second quarter featured redundant play of the first quarter. Matt Parker's interception of Laney's Jeff Murphy throw gave the Glads possession inside Laney territory. It didn't parlay into points, unfortunately, as a sack forced another Bowe punt. Coach Uchiumi's Eagles used a quarterback duo in this affair. Murphy and backup Kevin Tobin both contributed significantly. After an out-of-bounds punt gave the Eagles possession on midfield, Murphy got to work.

Murphy found receiver Jeff Perri twice on the drive for two catches totaling 41yards. With 35 seconds left in the half, a wide-open John Dallas hauled in a 9-yard touchdown to put Laney up 9-0 entering halftime. And they'd carry that momentum into the second half as the Eagles began pulling away. Terrell Woodall got behind the secondary and Murphy nailed him for the 61-yard touchdown strike. Backup Tobin was perfect five-for-five, 77 yards- connecting on a 17-yard td pass with wide out, Ikharo Taulib.

Brandon Williams led the Glads with 102 yards rushing on 17 carries for the team, but it wasn't enough to help. Gladiator Thomas Lanto (5-22, 53 yards) couldn't bask in the same pay dirt as his opposition. While Lanto made some superfluous throws, he didn't get much help. Again, penalties put the offense in unmanageable third-and-longs and receivers dropped simple pass completions.

"We're a young team. We learned a lot [this season], we're going to improve in the off-season," said Lanto with a dejected look on his face. "That's all I've got to say."