Gladiators tumble to 1-4

The Gladiators appeared on the cusp of a breakthrough victory so badly needed by an inexperienced team.

They fought back from 18 points behind Sunday to take the lead twice in the third quarter against the Utah Blaze. Then Utah coach Danny White called for an onside kick early in the fourth quarter that changed the game.

Ryan Dennard recovered the kick for the Blaze, and his 25-yard touchdown catch soon boosted Utah's lead to 11. Las Vegas never fully recovered, suffering a 57-47 Arena Football League loss before an announced crowd of 5,416 at the Orleans Arena.

"The onside kick killed us," Gladiators coach Danton Barto said. "We set up for the onside kick. We knew it was coming, and it's unfortunate and it's very disappointing we didn't execute. We have practiced that a million times, and here comes a guy we're supposed to block scot-free."

With the Blaze (4-1) leading the Western Division, Las Vegas (1-4) had an opportunity to pull off a confidence-building upset. Instead, the Gladiators will have to pick out the positives, such as rallying from 21-3 down, and try again next Sunday at home against the Kansas City Brigade.

"I'm encouraged by the way the guys kept fighting," said quarterback Shaun King, who was critical of coaches and teammates after the Gladiators' previous loss, 68-41 at Arizona on March 23. "I think this is a good lesson for us. We battled back, and they kind of out-executed us at the end.

"I was encouraged by the guys around the locker room. The guys understand now that if we prepare correctly before we go into a game and do what you're supposed to do, it gives you a much better chance to have success."

King also made noticeable strides, completing 25 of 37 passes for 287 yards and six touchdowns with no interceptions. He got excellent protection, and he was not sacked.

However, King failed to connect with open wide receiver Etu Molden on third down late in the game with the Gladiators trailing 51-40. No defender was near, but Molden did not run the proper route as the pass sailed over his head. Molden was playing in place of Kevin Prentiss, who suffered an undisclosed injury to begin the second half.

"I'm not blaming Etu because maybe that's what he saw, but Shaun threw the ball where he thought he would be and he went a different way," Barto said. "That's kind of the way we've been all year."

King's fourth-down pass also fell incomplete, ending the Gladiators' chances to make it a one-possession game.

Fourth down was not kind to the Gladiators, especially defensively. Utah scored three touchdowns on fourth downs, including the first two of the fourth quarter.

Utah took the lead for good when quarterback Joe Germaine (316 yards, seven TD passes) hit Siaha Burley for a 21-yard score to go up 44-40 with 11:45 to play. Burley caught eight passes for 163 yards and four touchdowns.

Then Dennard's back-breaker with 8:13 left occurred on fourth-and-10. Any fourth-down stop could have turned the game in Las Vegas' favor.

"Oh yeah, it turns the whole game around," Gladiators defensive back Eddie Canonico said. "This is how this game is -- back and forth, and which defense is going to make that stop. We couldn't get those fourth-down stops."