Gladiators tame Cats

Report by Nick Foxley - Colchester Gladiators

Photos courtesy of John Singer

The Colchester Gladiators won their fourth game in a row as they handled the winless Cambridgeshire Cats in a scrappy game at Colchester Rugby Club.

With their starting quarterback/running back tandem Curtis Bourke and Chris Jackson away, junior product Sam Huxtable took over play-calling duties for his first senior start while Casey Campbell filled in for Jackson, his first start since suffering a serious knee injury nearly two years ago.

The Gladiators started well, scoring easily on their first possession when Campbell went over from 33 yards out. The extra point was good and the hosts had an early 7-0 lead.

The Colchester defence had a strong game, containing the athletic Cats QB, and a tackle for a loss by Christian Steward and a penalty, brought up third and long. The pass was incomplete, forcing the Cats to punt.

Colchester added to their lead near the end of the first period, racking up four first downs from long runs from Huxtable and fellow junior graduate Andrew Cairns, before completing the 69 yard drive when Huxtable found Joe Parsons in the endzone from 11 yards out. The extra point was wide but the Gladiators led 13-0.

With an early two score advantage, the Gladiators threatened to run away with the game but the Cats dug in and a scrappy game was dominated by flags on both teams, meaning neither side were able to sustain long drives.

The Cats' offence failed to generate a first down on three consecutive drives with two stopped on downs while the Gladiators' offence drove into the Cats' redzone. After Huxtable found Campbell with a pass, the speedy back looked to be heading for the endzone but a last gasp tackle stopped him on the one. Cairns was stopped short on fourth down and the Cats survived.

After another Cambridgeshire punt, the Gladiators took over with excellent field position but good defence forced a field goal attempt on fourth down. Kicker Nathan Brown coolly slotted the ball through the uprights to add three points to the Gladiators' tally and after Garry Shuttleworth forced a fumble on the Cats' next drive, which was recovered by Dave Walton, the visitors were happy to hear the half time whistle, still in the game but trailing 16-0.

The Gladiators recovered the onside kick to open the half but could not capitalise and punted, but soon had the ball back when Alex Robinson intercepted the Cats QB.

Both teams continued to struggle offensively with the Gladiators edging the stalemate and enjoying better field position, while the Cats didn't look like breaking down a resolute Colchester defence led by the dynamic Josh Milgate who finished with eight tackles and Garry Shuttleworth (three sacks).

Colchester’s' Joe Stickings just failed to hang on to an errant throw forcing a punt but good coverage forced the Gladiators to start on their own six. A penalty moved the ball back to the three and on the next play, the Cats broke through to tackle Campbell in the endzone for a two point safety to make the score 16-2 to the hosts.

The Cats received the resulting kick off and suddenly found some offence, driving to the Gladiators' 11 but two losses took the ball back to the 22 and on fourth down, the field goal attempt was short.

The fourth quarter began with another exchange of punts before the Cats found some rhythm, with the their American QB finding some success scrambling with the ball and some hopeful passes, one being caught by his compatriot wide receiver, who evaded some tackles on his way to the Gladiators 22. Two short runs took the ball to the 16 but an incomplete pass brought up fourth down and Ian Digby and Nik Phillips combined for an important tackle for no gain, turning the ball over on downs.

The Gladiators then put together their best drive of the half to run down the clock as Huxtable ran for gains of 10 and 27 yards and Campbell for 11 more. But the clock came to the Cats' rescue with the Gladiators deep in Cambridgeshire territory and the final whistle went on a tough, scrappy, penalty-ridden affair which saw the Gladiators improve to 4-2, while the Cats dropped to 0-7.

Head Coach Neil O'Hare reflected on the game and said: “We were missing some key personnel for the game and some players had to step up into unfamiliar roles. This meant there were times when we weren't as fluid as we would like to be. That being said we were very pleased with the win and with the effort all round and our defence was rock solid again. We are by no means complacent though, we have a tough game coming up against an excellent Solent side and again we will be missing one or two key players. The coaches and players will be working hard to put us in the best possible position for the rest of the season.”

The Gladiators' next game is in two weeks, on Sunday 5^th July when the table topping Solent Thrashers come to Colchester.

All home games will be played at Colchester Rugby Club, Mill Road, Colchester, kick off 2.30pm.

Full details can be found through the Gladiators’ website at www.colchestergladiators.com