Gladiators in playoff hunt
Flag Football
La Cañada Junior Gremlins-Gold vs. Arcadia Indians (no score is kept): Bennett Oakes came out ready to lead the Gladiators on both sides of the ball in the team’s third game of the 2010 season. Oakes, the Gladiator quarterback, completed a pass to Valentine Nunez in the third quarter for a gain of 10 yards, but the Gladiators were unable to score on the drive.
Oakes proved he was an all-around player, playing strongly on defense, pulling a flag, coming up with an interception and batting down an Arcadia pass. There were plenty of other defensive standouts as well, as Nathan Lee notched an interception, Angel Martin pulled a flag and Nunez pulled two. Dylan Luper cemented himself as a pillar of the Gladiators defense, pulling five flags against Arcadia.
Tackle Football
La Cañada Gremlins 36, Arcadia 0: The Gremlins improved to 1-2 after an impressive victory against the Arcadia Indians.
The Gladiators offense was led by a running-back committee consisting of Mitchell Espinosa (seven carries for 15 yards and a touchdown), Thomas McConnell (seven carries for 52 yards and a two-point conversion), Elijah Washington (nine carries for 118 yards and three touchdowns — two rushing and one receiving), Adam Crawford (eight carries for 66 yards and a touchdown) and Charlie Rocca (five carries for 32 yards).
Tanner Gish distributed the ball for the Gladiators at quarterback, connecting with Washington on a 15-yard touchdown pass. Washington scored 22 points in the first quarter.
The Gremlins were no slouches on defense either, holding the Indians to 61 yards of total offense. Evan Estrada and Chris Wood each recovered fumbles for the Gladiators.
Chris Wood set himself up as the Gladiators kicker, converting two extra-point attempts, which are good for two-points each because of how rare they are at the Gremlin level.
La Cañada Junior Pee-Wees 25, Arcadia 0: The Junior Pee-Wees got their second-straight shutout, moving its record to 2-1.
The Indians received the opening kick-off and started from their own 44 yard-line. But they were unable to move the ball, as Jules Buenabenta and Jackson Totleben sacked Arcadia’s quarterback twice in a row for a two four-yard losses. A tackle by linebackers Eli Chavez and Will McConnell on fourth down gave the Gladiators the ball at the Indians’ 38-yard line.
The Gladiators marched the ball to the 4-yard line on three plays. Then, Eli Chavez followed up with a four-yard touchdown run, putting the Gladiators up 7-0 after a successful extra-point conversion.
The score remained 7-0 after the first quarter, but not for long. The Gladiators scored on their third play of the second quarter on a 30-yard screen pass from quarterback Brian Erickson to Chavez, which pushed the lead out to 13-0 after a missed extra-point.
The next points of the game came on a McConnell 14-yard touchdown run, giving the Gladiators a 19-0 lead after a failed conversion attempt. The final score of the day came after Erickson hit his tight end, Totleben, on a 30-yard touchdown pass.
The defense held up its end, recording five sacks on the day and forcing multiple turnovers. Michael Chan recovered a fumble, Bobby Gazmarian intercepted a pass and Ethan DeMoulin sacked the Arcadia quarterback, forcing a fumble and recovering it himself.
La Cañada Pee-Wees 38, Arcadia 0:
The Pee-Wees shut out the Temple City Rams in their first home game of the season, which keeps the Gladiators undefeated at 2-0.
The Rams realized how long the game was going to be after Mario Martinez forced and recovered a fumble for the Gladiators all in one, returning it for 45-yard touchdown. An extra-point attempt brought the score to 8-0. The next Temple City drive was stopped as Martin Guerrero sacked the quarterback, forcing a fumble that was recovered by Tyler Hill.
Daivon Grayson took control on the ensuing Gladiators’ possession, running for a 60-yard touchdown, which brought the score to 16-0 after a two-point conversion. By the end of the second quarter, the score was 30-0.
Temple City’s total offense generated minus-5 yards with no first downs in the first half, as Gladiators David Vardinian and Michael Doud each sacked the quarterback.
The Rams offense started picking up in the second half, as it almost scored on a 40-yard pass. Mario Martinez tackled the receiver at the 1-yard line, forcing a fumble that Dominic Jones recovered and returned to the 20-yard line. Gladiator quarterback Brett Gangi ran for an 80-yard touchdown on the next drive, which put the final score at 38-0 after a successful conversion.