Glad(s) all over

Adam Candee

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2003 | 10:05 a.m.

In Las Vegas, it does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that you stay on 21. Try telling that to the new kids on the block from New Jersey.

The Las Vegas Gladiators opened their home schedule with a bang Monday night at the Thomas and Mack Center, erasing a 21-point deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime and eventually beat Tampa Bay, 61-55, for their inaugural win.

"It definitely feels good," Gladiators coach Frank Haege said. "That's right up there in the top 10 all-time in my career."

Wide receiver Sedrick Robinson scored the winning touchdown in overtime on Las Vegas' first possession, taking a handoff around the end and sprinting two yards to the corner of the end zone to frenzy what remained of the announced crowd of 12,521 people.

Robinson, named the game's Ironman, also returned a first-half kickoff 56 yards for a touchdown. It was the Las Vegas defense, however, that did the dirty work to give the team the opportunity to salvage another turnover-filled performance.

"We knew the game wasn't over until it's over," Gladiators defensive specialist Jeroid Johnson said. "We knew somebody had to make a play and fortunately, it was me."

Las Vegas (1-2) scripted its storybook finish with the pen of Johnson, whose two fourth-quarter interceptions of Storm quarterback John Kaleo made the stirring rally possible. Johnson earned game MVP honors for his momentum-shifting picks -- the first two Kaleo threw in three games this season.

"Jeroid Johnson stepped up and made two miraculous plays," said Gladiators wideout Mike Horacek, who caught 10 passes for 105 yards and 2 TDs.

Trailing 55-34 with just 6:26 remaining, tight end Jamarr Ward capped an eight-play drive by catching a one-yard TD flip from quarterback Jay McDonagh to cut the deficit to 14 points. Two plays into Tampa Bay's ensuing drive, Johnson stepped in front of a deep corner route and picked off Kaleo, returning the interception 30 yards for a touchdown.

The pick not only pulled the Gladiators back within 55-48 at the 4:30 mark, but it also energized a crowd seemingly resigned to an opening night setback.

"We were still in it," Horacek said. "In Arena ball, you could be down 50 points (and still win.)"

Johnson's magic did not end there. Just two minutes later, Gladiators linebacker Jeremy Wilkinson tipped Kaleo's third down pass at the line of scrimmage, and Johnson corralled the floating ball and returned it to the Tampa Bay 7-yard line.

Three plays later, McDonagh found a sliding Mike Horacek near the right boards in the end zone with a 6-yard scoring pass to improbably knot the game at 55 at the one-minute warning. McDonagh finished 19-of-26 for 189 yards and 3 TDs, with no INTs.

Tampa Bay (1-2) did not advance the ball a single yard on its final drive of regulation, although Kaleo missed a golden chance to win the game when he badly overshot a wide open Lawrence Samuels on a deep pass with just 13 seconds left.

Storm kicker Pete Elezovic, who missed three of his four extra-point tries, came up short on a desperation 56-yard field goal attempt on the final play of the fourth quarter, and Robinson's return to the Tampa Bay 19 ran out the clock.

Arena Football rules guarantee both teams one possession in overtime, and then the game then moves to sudden death if the teams are still tied. Tampa Bay won the coin toss and took the ball, but stalled out on downs at the Las Vegas 22 when Kaleo's fourth-down heave to Samuels glanced off the top of the wideout's fingertips.

Two completions to Horacek and two short runs preceded Robinson's score on Las Vegas' winning drive.

All did not come up perfect for Las Vegas on this night, though. In falling behind 21 points, the Gladiators turned the ball over three more times and had a field goal blocked deep in their own territory as well. Las Vegas has now turned the ball over 12 times in three games. Unlike its first two losses to Los Angeles and Phoenix, though, Las Vegas came up with its own takeaways to balance things out.

In addition, McDonagh had a pass picked off at the Tampa Bay 7 and returned for an apparent touchdown in the second quarter, but received a mulligan when an offside penalty nullified the play.