Phoenix come up short once again       

Article by: Adam Knoll (Wilmot Phoenix)       

               The Phoenix, now at 1-6, will have to think about what might have been in their expansion season in the GFL. Close losses to the Cougars, Nighthawks and now Gladiators have nearly drenched all the fire out of a playoff campaign. With each new week, the Phoenix find many new reasons to believe the team is only this close from being a playoff team, and yet, the bane of this season is that mistakes will kill you at the worst time, if you continue to let them.
                Taking the field on defense, it was clear from the start that the Gladiators have no set offense anymore, and considering they have now won two in a row, perhaps it’s for the best. Running reverse passes and overload screens, the Gladiators wiggled their way down the field to take an early 6-0 lead. The Gladiator offense would only score twice on the night, continuing to entrench the Phoenix defense as once again a solid unit.
                Knowing the importance of this game, the Phoenix offense took the field with starting QB Adam Knoll back at the helm after having his knee blown out by a Premier’s player three weeks ago. It would turn out to be a good decision as the Phoenix needed only 5 plays to score and even the game up at 6. The two point conversion was missed as the Gladiators field is quite crowned, and it played havoc on both Phoenix quarterbacks during the night.
                After this, the Phoenix defense kept standing tall against the Gladiators’ offense. After forcing a few punts, the Phoenix offense once again drove the field to the Gladiator 15. On 4th and 5 the Phoenix pulled the Gladiators offside, yet the penalty resulted in a 4th and inches instead of a 1st down. A well executed blitz forced a very quick throw and the resulting play was an incompletion.
                The defense did a great job shutting down the Gladiators on the ensuing drive, and the Phoenix took the ball over around the 30. Another great blitz by the Gladiators caused another quick pass, only this time it was intercepted and taken back for the score. Down 14-6, the Phoenix took the field again with 1:37 left in the 1st half. Aching to redeem himself, Knoll stood tall in the pocket, avoided a blitzer and rocketed a pass down the sideline that ended up in Ricky Martinez’s hands as he bolted down the field to score. A great lob to Kyle Ritter tied the game at 14, and the Phoenix once again had life.
                The second half though, was another case of missed opportunities. Knoll, driving the team down the field again, had his knee swiped from the side and was injured again. Dan Mikal took over and immediately completed a ball, yet was sacked twice in a row, and another scoring threat was killed. The defense didn’t give up much, and the offense now back to being run in the style of the last few games, did enough to gut the ball into the end zone a third time. Ricky Martinez had a great game, catching three touchdowns, cementing that the Phoenix has one of the top receiving corps in the entire league.
                Up 20-14, the Phoenix needed to play well for about 11 minutes. However, we bit ourselves in the butt again, racking up needless penalties and allowing a Gladiators receiver to be alone, uncovered in the end zone some 50 yards downfield. The Gladiators style of scrambling quarterback who runs around while his receivers find a hole hurt us twice in two plays, as the 2pt conversion was scored in the same manner.
                With time ticking down, the Phoenix turned in one of the sloppiest drives of the season, yet somehow we reached the 8 yard line. The Gladiators are a hard hitting ballclub, yet there over eagerness to get a good shot turned against them as they gave up lots of penalty yardage. Dan Mikal was able to calm down and find receivers deep in the Gladiators zone, getting us to within Kyle Ritter’s range for a late field goal try. A timeout by both teams set the stage as the Phoenix lined up and took a shot at winning their second game, and staying alive for the playoffs….
                 Unfortunately, the Gladiators have a guy who is 8 feet tall, and he got his big fat mitt on it to send the ball into the ground.
                The Phoenix, now at 1-6, is left to wonder what the season could have been if they could have pulled out a win here or there. However, they have proven without a doubt they can play in this league, and play well. With at least two games remaining, we will make our push to end on a high note beginning with a rematch with the Nighthawks next week. It’s sure to be a good one.