Gladiators win fight with Soul

The Cleveland Gladiators won the battle over the Soul, 59-41, on Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Gladiators struck first, but the Soul responded with a 10-yard catch by Syvelle Newton to make it 7-6 at the end of the first quarter.

Cleveland went on a tear early in the second, taking a 23-6 lead, but the Soul fought back to go into the half down just 23-20.

The key play came in the third quarter, when the Soul (3-7) made a goal-line stop on fourth down, but linebacker Brandon Perkins was called for being "out of the box." The Gladiators (6-3) immediately capitalized and grabbed the momentum when fullback Russell Monk ran in for a 3-yard touchdown.

After the critical play, both teams added a touchdown, and Cleveland ended the third quarter leading, 45-27.

Each team added 14 points in a fourth quarter that was marred by fights, and six players, three from each side, were ejected.

Soul quarterback Ryan Vena completed 20 of 31 passes for 249 yards, six touchdowns, and an interception. Wide receiver Donovan Morgan had nine catches for 132 yards and four touchdowns. Fellow receiver Newton had seven catches for 49 yards and two touchdowns.

Gladiators quarterback Kurt Rocco completed 18 of 29 passes for 233 yards and seven touchdowns.

Next up for the Soul: a home game against the New Orleans VooDoo (2-6) on Friday at 7:05 p.m.