American East Division Rundown - Week 3

> Cleveland Gladiators: Friday, March 23rd vs Kansas City Command

• Won 49-39 -> Gladiators (1-1) Command (0-2)
• QB John Dutton -> 22 of 40 for 170 yards - 5 TD's 1 INT
• WR Dominick Goodman -> 8 receptions for 56 yards and 2 TD's
• DB Levy Brown -> 6 UT / 1 AT and 1 PD and 1 INT

Both teams entered their Week 3 match-up winless, but the Command couldn't put up a single point in the 3rd quarter for the second straight week after leading the Gladiators 26-23 at halftime. The Gladiators were able to counter by putting up 20 points in the 3rd and never looked back. The defending Eastern Division champion Gladiators gave their home crowd something to cheer about with the win. Recently sold to Dan Gilbert, the owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team has a great amount of potential to grow under the new ownership. The defense lead the way in this game as they were able to force 3 Kansas City Command turnovers, all INT's by QB Nate Davis. The defense allowed 26 points in the first half only to reduce that by half in the game's second half as they walked away with the game after the 3rd quarter. Not sure if the Gladiators 2nd half turnaround had more to due with the Command's 3rd quarter problems than anything else, but the Gladiators do currently have the 3rd ranked defense in the AFL, so they have the ability to shut down offenses.Though not entirely explosive, the Gladiator's offense was balanced as their receivers all finished with nearly the same stat line. WR Dominick Goodman, WR Robert Redd and WR Thyron Lewis had 8, 7 and 7 receptions respectively and 56, 55, and 59 yards respectively along with 2, 1, and 2 receiving TD's respectively. At this point I don't see the Gladiators as posing too much of a threat to the Soul this week because of their lack of offensive output, but you never quite know in these divisional games. If the Soul doesn't clean up their turnover issues, then the Gladiators won't need a whole lot of offense to claim victory.

Next Week: Sunday, March 1st at Philadelphia Soul (2-0)

> Milwaukee Mustangs: Friday, March 23rd at New Orleans VooDoo

• Won 65-42 -> Mustangs (1-1) VooDoo (0-2)
• QB Gino Guidugli -> 15 of 27 for 239 yards - 5 TD's 1 INT
• WR Jonathan Wilson -> 6 receptions for 118 yards and 2 TD's
• LB Ryan McFoy 8 UT / 2 AT and 1 INT

The VooDoo are 0-2 this season and are probably wishing that they didn't have to start out the 2012 season  against Eastern Division teams. The VooDoo took the early 13-7 lead over the Mustangs after the 1st quarter only to never lead again. Mustang QB Gino Guidugli hooked up with WR Jared Jenkins for an 11-yard TD to take a 14-13 lead just seconds into the 2nd quarter. A 19-yard WR Marcus Everett rushing TD increased the VooDoo's deficit to 8 points before they were able to counter with a 20-yard TD pass of their own. The Mustangs led 21-20 at the half and added an additional 44 points (6 TD's and 1 FG) in the 3rd and 4th quarters to counter the VooDoo's 21 point second half output. The Mustangs led 35-28 after the 3rd quarter and exploded in the 4th quarter for 31 points, including 2 TD's and 1 FG in the game's final minute. The VooDoo pulled with 7 points with 6:14 left in the game putting the game at 49-42, but after 5 non-scoring minutes from both clubs, the Mustangs tacked on 16 points to end the game. The Mustangs returned 2 VooDoo QB Kurt Rocco's passes for TD's for the game's final 13 points. LB Ryan McFoy had a 19-yard INT return for a TD with 32 seconds left and DB Marcus Everett returned a 27-yard INT for a TD with only 5 ticks on the clock. 

Next Week: Thursday, March 29th vs Pittsburgh Power (1-1)

> Pittsburgh Power: Friday, March 23rd vs Philadelphia Soul

• Lost 84-59 -> Power (1-1) Soul (2-0)
• QB Bill Stull -> 26 of 42 for 299 yards - 6 TD's 3 INT's
• WR Randy Hymes -> 7 receptions for 112 yards and 2 TD's
• FB Tyre Young -> 5 rushes for 23 yards and 1 TD
• DB LaRico Stevenson -> 3 UT / 5 AT and 1 PD and 1 INT

Look to my game recap for a recap of how the Power performed against the Soul.

Next Week: Thursday, March 29th at Milwaukee Mustangs (1-1)