2A Team of the Week: Italy Gladiators
Italy found itself frustrated for most of last Friday. Gladiators head coach Mike Loveless gave a ton of credit to Rio Vista for keeping his team quiet on the night.
With just seconds left on the clock, Rio Vista was lining up to kick a potential game-winning 41-yard field goal with the score tied at 14. Across the field, the Gladiators were in deep discussion on how to keep the game alive.
“We designed a block and one of our coaches suggested to put a player back in case it was short and I agreed,” Loveless said.
It turned out to be the perfect decision. The kick came up short, and quarterback/safety Gared Wood worked his magic. With a couple of big blocks from his teammates, he found an alley to take the kick back 102 yards for the game-winning score. It may not have been the cleanest victory of the week, but it was arguably the most dramatic one.
“Well, since we were not feeling good about our game production, winning it that way was an absolute shock,” Loveless said. “To be 2-0 [in district] and beat a team of the caliber of Rio Vista at their place was a very good feeling for sure.”
The ending also capped off a huge night for Wood. He also had 53-yard and 80-yard rushing scores. The Gladiator defense also came up big with interceptions from Eric Solis and Terence Jones.
With its 2-0 district record, Italy is currently tied for the top spot in 7-2A Division I. The Gladiators will get some rest on their bye week this week before they take on Axtell, the only other 2-0 team in the district at the moment, at home on October 18.
Previous 2A Teams of the Week
Week One: Stamford
Week Two: Panhandle
Week Three: Shelbyville
Week Four: Post
Week Five: Sunray
