Gladiators to face conference rival Laney

Two Golden Gate Conference rivals -- Chabot Gladiators and Laney Eagles -- will engage on the gridiron Friday night at 7 p.m. for not only the season finale, but the Chabot - Laney annual bowl game trophy. The last three meetings have not gone in the Gladiators' favor, and the team would more than love to grasp the trophy once again. Last season's battle fell into Laney's hands 35-20.

"The kids are excited. It's a good, healthy rivalry," said coach Danny Calcagno. The distance between the two schools is only 16 miles, and many of the players have connections, because many were former high school teammates. Chabot offensive linemen Richard Romero and Sifa Etu blocked for Laney running back Troy Evans at Hayward High School and Chabot running back Lee Garrett was the predecessor to Laney's Chizzy Dimude at Mt. Eden High School. "It'll be a good game, it's always a dogfight. Having former teammates on the other side makes the rivalry even better," said Etu. The coaching staffs even have familiarity with one another. "Laney [Chabot] rivalry has been good during the time I've been at Laney. The players know each other and we have known the Chabot coaches for a while," said Laney coach Jay Uchiumi.

The significance of this game also affects the high school talent pool. "It's always big in recruiting," said Calcagno. Many of these prospects come from local high schools like Skyline, San Lorenzo, and Alameda. The college that wins gets to claim bragging rights and increases program prestige.

This season the Laney Eagles have an overall win-loss record of 6-3 and are 3-1 in the Golden Gate Conference. The Eagles lost last week's critical conference match 41-20 to the Modesto Pirates after a four- game winning streak. Now the Pirates are the conference leaders with a 4-0 record, and could run away with the conference in their upcoming game with less than stellar Merced (2-2, 2-7).

The strength of the Eagles team lies with their running backs Dimude and Evans. Dimude leads the team with 458 rushing yards (5.87 average per carry) and Evans follows with 391 yards of his own (4.77). "They are physical and fast with big play capability," said Calcagno of Laney's offense.

The Gladiators are coming off last week's manhandling of Cabrillo College (49-10) and have some playmakers of their own. Brandon Williams had another 100-yard game (113) and ran for three touchdowns. Williams' season totals stand at 795 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns. Tyler Mason scored twice in the game with a 64-yard reception and an 88-yard kick return. Mason's quickness as a kick returner instilled fear into Cabrillo's special teams as the team avoided kicking the ball to Mason.

"I feel like I can take it back every time," said Mason who also ran back a kickoff in a previous game against Los Medanos. Although this is a showdown and on a Friday night, opposed to the usual Saturday games, coach Calcagno is conducting his team the same way he has been all season long and not letting his team get overanxious.

"We've got to keep perspective," he said. "And do what we are capable of doing."