The Colchester Gladiators gained revenge for their defeat to the Devils in Norwich two weeks ago with an awesome defensive display that covered up for the struggling offence. The “bend don’t break” defensive philosophy from the George Baldwin era of the late 1980s was never more apparent than in this gutsy, backs to the wall performance.

New signing Jon Wyse was again the star of the show taking a fourth down play 61 yards for the game’s opening score in the second quarter and picked off two Norwich passes in the second half to help secure the win. Veteran receiver Ian Frost scored the game’s only other touchdown in the second quarter, collecting a Keith Rogers pass for a ten yard completion and score.

After an early exchange of possession, the Devils started to make some progress behind the power running of Steve Hoskins but the defence was in no mood to roll over and consistently made plays to stop their progress.

Throughout the first two quarters, running backs Anders Bengston and Jamie Scott were struggling to consistently make yards leaving the Gladiators regularly facing third and long situations. Dave Hogarth’s progress from a QB Keith Rogers pass was stopped short of the first down marker, forcing the team to punt. The snap was not a good one however and Wyse struggled to field the ball. He was forced to run with the ball, and behind a crushing block by Nick Foxley, outstripped the Norwich defence for a spectacular 61 yard score. The extra point was missed but the Gladiators led a game for the first time this season at 6-0.

The next Devils possession ended when linebacker Christian Steward sacked Norwich QB Ian Burchett for a 12 yard loss, forced him to fumble, and recovered the loose ball. Despite Rogers finding receiver Mark Beynon for a short pass and strong running by Hogarth, the Gladiators again could not make much impression against a tough Devils defence.

The Gladiators defence was equally impressive with Simon Wilkinson and Malcolm Jay getting into the Devils backfield and making tackles. Burchett threw incomplete on another fourth down due to tight coverage in the secondary with cornerbacks Ben Pepper and Foxley shutting down their receivers with help from safeties Bill Kendall and Wyse. A good tackle by Paul Ainsworth forced another punt but punter Ben Green shanked it out of bounds as he tried to keep the ball out of the hands of danger returner Wyse. The Gladiators offence for once had good field position and made no mistake. James Ormrod and Hogarth made good gains before Rogers fired a tight spiral to Ian Frost in the end zone. The ten yard score was his first touchdown for 19 years! The two point attempt failed but the lead had been doubled to 12-0.

The second half was a story of grit and determination by the home defence who made play after play to keep the Devils at bay. The offence struggled to pick up first downs and twice fumbled the ball deep in their own territory but the defence could smell victory and would not let the visitors back into the game.

George Meighan, John Bragaglia and Nick Anderson got in on the action with strong tackles and while the Devils got ever more desperate, their confidence grew. Stuart Holben and Wilkinson combined to stop a fourth down play and receiver Green was tackled by Ben Lloyd again short of the marker. A struggling punting game though kept the Gladiators pinned in their own half and the faltering offence meant that the hosts barely left their own half throughout the final two quarters. Rogers manfully struggled to control the “O” but first downs were hard to come by. But Wyse’s two picks and Foxley’s fumble recovery in the fourth quarter extinguished Devil hopes and allowed the Gladiators to run out the clock and claim victory. Mark Beynon received the offensive MVP award with Jon Wyse collecting both the defensive and team awards.

Gladiators' Chairman Dave Hogarth was delighted with the result.  "It is a big day for this young team" he said, "The coaching staff and players have shown that they can learn from earlier mistakes and adapt the game plan accordingly! Team ethic is huge at this Club and confidence is growing every week". 

The Gladiators now prepare for their next home game at Wivenhoe Town Football Club’s Broad Lane stadium, Wivenhoe, against the division leaders, Kent Exiles, on Sunday 15th May, kickoff 2.30pm. Admission only £3 for adults, £1 for U16s and free to the under fives. Further information can be obtained as usual from the Gladiators website www.colchestergladiators.com.