Gladiators hope QB acquisition can lift team

Adam Candee

Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2003 | 9:23 a.m.

Clint Dolezel found some time in a low-key week of dove hunting and fantasy football to take on the burden of lifting a middling Las Vegas Gladiators team into the Arena Football League elite.

The Gladiators acquired Dolezel, one of the AFL's top quarterbacks, from Grand Rapids in exchange for WR/KR Sedrick Robinson, OL/DL Paul LaQuerre and OL/DL Hardy Mitchell. The team introduced Dolezel at a Tuesday news conference, where Gladiators coach Frank Haege gushed about him.

"We got our gunslinger to come in here and change things up," Haege said. "We're going to build the rest of the team around Clint."

Dolezel found out almost two months ago that Grand Rapids intended to trade him as a salary dump and he had time to prepare his family for another move -- his 19th in the past eight years. The Rampage allowed Dolezel some input into where he would be traded. With an eager coach in Haege and a solid nucleus of players including wideout Mike Horacek, Dolezel wanted the Gladiators as much as they wanted him.

"I pushed pretty hard for Vegas," Dolezel said.

He arrived Tuesday in Las Vegas from his native Texas, where he was relaxing by hunting on the opening day of dove season and by doing a fantasy football draft before starting the cross-country drive from Michigan to Nevada this weekend.

Joining his fifth AFL team, Dolezel, 33, brings impressive credentials. An ArenaBowl champion with Grand Rapids in 2001, Dolezel also ranks among AFL career leaders in completion percentage (65.29), passing touchdowns (482), completions (2,060), passing yards (24,425) and attempts (3,155).

Dolezel led the league is passing touchdowns with 89 in 2003, helping Grand Rapids to an 8-8 record and a playoff berth.

"He's just scored a ton of touchdowns everywhere he's been," Haege said. "His durability is legendary."

Jay McDonagh and Todd Hammel struggled splitting the Las Vegas quarterback job last season and the team decided to pursue a top quarterback this offseason. Stifled in attempts to land free-agent Arizona QB Sherdrick Bonner (along with former UNLV star Hunkie Cooper in a package deal), Las Vegas turned to Dolezel to bring stability to its offense.

The Gladiators ranked among the league's worst in turnovers and Haege hopes Dolezel -- who tossed just 15 interceptions last season -- will rectify that by calming some nerves.

"When you know that you can score at any time because you've got the quarterback, everybody else is going to be able to just relax more than worrying about making a big play every down," Haege said.

Dolezel settles the team's most problematic position, but the Gladiators opened two more holes by dealing Robinson and LaQuerre.

One of the AFL's premier kick returners, Robinson ran back four kicks for scores and finished sixth in all-purpose yardage (2,399) as a wideout and returner in 2003.

It is the loss of LaQuerre, the team's starting center, which causes greater concern for Haege. The coach feels that he can find another affordable return man, but Haege said that fitting a strong center under the salary cap would be difficult.

"Finding skill guys is a little easier than finding linemen, to tell you the truth," Haege said.