2014 Cleveland Gladiators season

2014 Cleveland Gladiators season
Head coach	Steve Thonn
Home field	Quicken Loans Arena
Results
Record	17–1
Division place	1st AC East
Playoff finish	Won American Conference Semifinals 39-37 (Soul) Won American Conference Championship 56-46 (Predators) Lost ArenaBowl XXVII (Rattlers) 32–72

The 2014 Cleveland Gladiators season was the 15th season for the franchise in the Arena Football League, and their fifth while in Cleveland. The team was coached by Steve Thonn and plays their home games at Quicken Loans Arena. By finishing the regular season with a 17–1 record, the Gladiators set a league record for wins in a single season (this record was tied one year later by the San Jose SaberCats).

Standings

East Division v t e
Team	W	L	PCT	PF	PA	DIV	CON	Home	Away
z-Cleveland Gladiators	17	1	.944	991	782	7–1	12–1	9–0	8–1
x-Pittsburgh Power	15	3	.833	1015	778	6–2	11–2	8–1	7–2
x-Philadelphia Soul	9	9	.500	1021	949	2–5	7–7	7–2	2–7
Iowa Barnstormers	6	12	.333	848	1046	0–7	2–10	3–6	3–6

x - Clinched playoff berth
z - Clinched division and conference's best record

Schedule

Regular season

The Gladiators began the season by visiting the Pittsburgh Power on March 15. Their final regular season game was on July 26, on the road against the Tampa Bay Storm.^[1]

Week	Day	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results		Location	Attendance	Report
					Score	Record
1	Saturday	March 15	5:00 p.m. EDT	at Pittsburgh Power	W 63–53	1–0	Consol Energy Center	7,742	[2]
2	Bye
3	Saturday	March 29	8:00 p.m. EDT	at New Orleans VooDoo	W 37–26	2–0	Smoothie King Center	5,695	[3]
4	Friday	April 4	7:30 p.m. EDT	Iowa Barnstormers	W 54–47	3–0	Quicken Loans Arena	10,255	[4]
5	Saturday	April 12	10:00 p.m. EDT	at Los Angeles Kiss	W 40–30	4–0	Honda Center	10,570	[5]
6	Saturday	April 19	10:00 p.m. EDT	at Spokane Shock	W 52–50	5–0	Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena	8,752	[6]
7	Saturday	April 26	7:00 p.m. EDT	Pittsburgh Power	W 55–28	6–0	Quicken Loans Arena	11,083	[7]
8	Bye
9	Saturday	May 10	7:00 p.m. EDT	Los Angeles Kiss	W 45–42	7–0	Quicken Loans Arena	10,472	[8]
10	Saturday	May 17	8:05 p.m. EDT	at Iowa Barnstormers	W 63–46	8–0	Wells Fargo Arena	7,156	[9]
11	Friday	May 23	7:00 p.m. EDT	Philadelphia Soul	W 54–52	9–0	Quicken Loans Arena	10,659	[10]
12	Saturday	May 31	5:00 p.m. EDT	at Pittsburgh Power	L 34–48	9–1	Consol Energy Center	5,348	[11]
13	Saturday	June 7	7:00 p.m. EDT	Iowa Barnstormers	W 86–49	10–1	Quicken Loans Arena	9,857	[12]
14	Saturday	June 14	7:00 p.m. EDT	New Orleans VooDoo	W 62–46	11–1	Quicken Loans Arena	9,404	[13]
15	Saturday	June 21	6:00 p.m. EDT	at Philadelphia Soul	W 69–68	12–1	Wells Fargo Center	8,033	[14]
16	Friday	June 27	7:00 p.m. EDT	Tampa Bay Storm	W 48–41	13–1	Quicken Loans Arena	10,855	[15]
17	Saturday	July 5	7:00 p.m. EDT	Portland Thunder	W 61–40	14–1	Quicken Loans Arena	9,840	[16]
18	Saturday	July 12	8:00 p.m. EDT	at San Antonio Talons	W 50–47 (OT)	15–1	Alamodome	8,217	[17]
19	Saturday	July 19	7:00 p.m. EDT	Jacksonville Sharks	W 62–20	16–1	Quicken Loans Arena	13,064	[18]
20	Saturday	July 26	7:30 p.m. EDT	at Tampa Bay Storm	W 56–49	17–1	Tampa Bay Times Forum	14,770	[19]

Playoffs

Round	Day	Date	Kickoff	Opponent	Results	Location	Attendance	Report
AC Semifinals	Saturday	August 2	7:00 p.m. EDT	Philadelphia Soul	W 39–37	Quicken Loans Arena	12,648	[20]
AC Championship	Sunday	August 10	3:00 p.m. EDT	Orlando Predators	W 56–46	Quicken Loans Arena	14,543
ArenaBowl XXVII	Saturday	August 23	8:00 p.m. EDT	Arizona Rattlers	L 32–72	Quicken Loans Arena	18,410

• If Cleveland would have won ArenaBowl XXVII, they would have ended a 50+ year championship drought in the city of Cleveland. However, this feat would later be accomplished by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 after coming back from a 3-1 deficit in the 2016 NBA finals to win over the Golden State Warriors.^[21]

Final roster

2014 Cleveland Gladiators roster
Quarterbacks 10 Shane Austin 14 Chris Dieker Fullbacks Currently vacant Wide receivers  7 Tom Gilson 16 Dominick Goodman  6 Thyron Lewis 15 Royce Pollard 17 Collin Taylor		Offensive linemen 74 Shannon Breen 71 C. J. Cobb 96 Corey Howard 45 Jason Jones 79 Kitt O'Brien Defensive linemen 55 Luke Black 95 Rudy Cerami  9 Jamie Clavell-Head 44 Randy Colling 56 Willie McGinnis 42 Louis Nzegwu		Linebackers 20 Gary Butler 28 Alvin Ray Jackson Defensive backs  3 LaRoche Jackson  2 Dominic Jones  5 Joe Phinisee  8 Christian Wise Kickers  4 Aaron Pettrey		Injured reserve 88 Tyrone Collins WR 11 Anthony Degrate DL 50 Jacob Hardwick DL 76 Dashawn Johnson OL 97 Julian Miller DL 99 Robert Rose DL 75 Chad Schofield OL  9 Brandon Stephens DB 23 Tony Tatum LB Other league exempt 76 Dominic Alford OL 33 Brian Brikowski LB -- Darren Keyton OL  1 Marrio Norman DB Refused to report 90 Darren Branch LB League suspension 19 Rashad Barksdale DB 21 Larry Ford DL -- Brian Gamble DB 69 Jason Thomas TE Inactive reserve 92 Alex Daniels DL Recallable reassignment Currently vacant Rookies in italics Roster updated August 8, 2014 25 Active, 18 Inactive → More rosters

References

1. "2014 Arena Football League Schedule". ArenaFan.com. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
2. "Gladiators Victorious in Opener". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. March 15, 2014. Retrieved March 16, 2014.
3. "Second half rally keeps Gladiators unbeaten". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. March 30, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
4. "Gladiators roll past Barnstormers in home opener". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. April 5, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
5. "Gladiators maintain perfection with win over KISS". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 14, 2014.
6. "Touchdown as Time Expires Keeps Glads Perfect". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. April 20, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
7. "Gladiators trounce Pittsburgh 55-28, Stay perfect on season". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. April 26, 2014. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
8. "Last-second field goal keeps Gladiators undefeated". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. May 10, 2014. Retrieved May 11, 2014.
9. "Gladiators remain undefeated with 63-46 comeback win in Iowa". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. May 17, 2014. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
10. "Gladiators top Soul 54-52 on final play, Improve to 9-0 on season". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. May 23, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
11. "Gladiators suffer first loss of season in Pittsburgh, 48-34". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. May 31, 2014. Retrieved June 2, 2014.
12. "Gladiators score team-record 86 points, top Iowa". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. June 8, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
13. "Austin's eight touchdown passes lead Gladiators to 62-46 win over VooDoo". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. June 14, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
14. "Gladiators win thriller in Philadelphia on final play, clinch playoff berth". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. June 21, 2014. Retrieved June 22, 2014.
15. "Gladiators Win Fourth Straight, Top Tampa Bay 48-41". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. June 27, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2014.
16. "Gladiators Win Fifth Straight, Top Portland 61-40". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 8, 2014.
17. "Gladiators win East Division, Lock up first place in American Conference with overtime win". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. July 12, 2014. Retrieved July 17, 2014.
18. "Gladiators Win 7th Straight, Top Jacksonville 62-20". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. July 20, 2014. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
19. "Gladiators Set AFL Record with 17th Win, Clinch home-field advantage throughout playoffs with win". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. July 12, 2014. Retrieved July 29, 2014.
20. "Gladiators Beat Soul on Last Play, Again". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. August 3, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
21. "LeBron James's Cleveland Cavaliers make history with NBA Finals win over Golden State". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved August 31, 2017.