The Yard Dawgz defense came out biting with a defensive stop on Cleveland's first offensive possession. This stop was capped off by a sack by Yard Dawgz lineman, Dustin Barno, for a loss of 7 yards. The Gladiator defense then returned the favor with a stop themselves. Gladiator quarterback, John Dutton, quickly connected with wide receiver, Brent Holmes for a Gladiator touchdown to close out the first quarter with the Gladiators up 7-0. The second quarter was full of fireworks with the two teams combining for 7 touchdowns. Dutton connected with Ryan Stanchek on a 5 yard pass to start the quarter and the Dawgz answered quickly with a 58 yard kickoff return by Timon Marshall. Dutton then found receiver Ben Nelson open for a 17 yard touchdown. Oklahoma City legend, Al Hunt scored back to back touchdowns for the Yard Dawgz on their next two offensive possessions. Both scores were one yard runs. Dutton looked to Nelson again for his second touchdown of the night, an 11 yard pass. On the next Yard Dawgz offensive possession, Grady connected with tight end, Kelly Butler, for a wide open touchdown which tied the game at 28. The Gladiators closed out the second quarter with a 28 yard field goal by Matt Denny which ended the half with the Gladiators leading 31-28. The Dawgz defense held the Gladiators scoreless in the third while the Dawgz offense scored two touchdowns during the quarter. The first score was a one yard run by Al Hunt which gave the Yard Dawgz the lead for the first time in the game at 35-31. Timon Marshall also went in for a score on a 28 yard pass from Tommy Grady. The third quarter ended with the Dawgz leading 42-31. The Yard Dawgz went on a scoring run of 42-10 from the 7:30 mark in the second quarter to the 8:48 mark in the fourth quarter. The Dawgz defense started the fourth quarter with a big stop on 4th down. The Dawgz then continued to score on offense with a two more touchdown passes to Al Hunt and a touchdown run by Victor Mann. The Gladiators got on the board three times as well in the final quarter of play with two touchdown catches by Ben Nelson and one by Chris Johnson. The Yard Dawgz offense, defense and special teams play proved to be too much for the Gladiators. The Yard Dawgz went on to celebrate their first victory of the season with a final score of 63-50 over the Gladiators. The Yard Dawgz travel to Des Moines, Iowa next Saturday to take on the Iowa Barnstormers live on the NFL Network. Kickoff is set for 8:00 PM. The Yard Dawgz will return home on May 8th, to host the Bossier Shreveport BattleWings. Single game tickets are on sale, starting at only $10! The Yard Dawgz Block Party will begin at 5:00 PM on Reno and kickoff is scheduled for 7:05 PM. For additional information, please call (405) 228-3294 or visit www.okcyarddawgz.com.
