Dolezel helps propel Gladiators to first victory

Steve Vedder

Monday, Feb. 23, 2004 | 9:37 a.m.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Clint Dolezel wasn't sure what kind of homecoming he'd receive from a former team he'd led to an Arena Football League title three years ago.

It turns out that Dolezel, now the Las Vegas Gladiators' quarterback, couldn't have asked for much more from an impressive return. Dolezel fired five touchdown passes to help the Gladiators to an easy 51-14 thumping of the Grand Rapids Rampage Sunday before a crowd of 7,299 at Van Andel Arena.

Dolezel helped the Rampage to the 2001 AFL title, but was dealt to Las Vegas in a four-player deal Sept. 3. His return to Grand Rapids not only helped the Gladiators (1-2) to their first win of the season, but also allowed Dolezel to pass the 25,000-yard mark in career passing yardage. And his five touchdown passes left him one short of becoming the fourth AFL quarterback to throw for 500 career touchdowns.

Dozezel wound up completing 17 of 26 passes for 225 yards in just over three quarters, including seven passes to another former Rampage star, receiver Terrill Shaw, who signed with the Gladiators as a free agent this season.

"It was nice," Dolezel said of his homecoming. "It was great to get the welcome that Terrill and I got. I was excited to come back here and play.

"As a team, we needed this. We hadn't won yet, but we had almost dominated one game and still lost. We needed a win here and this was a big win.'

Helped by three touchdown passes by Dolezel, Las Vegas jumped to 31-0 lead before the Rampage finally scored its first touchdown on a 1-yard run by Anthony Buich with 11:52 left in the third quarter.

But Las Vegas scored the next three touchdowns on Dolezel's 45-yard touchdown pass to Dennison Robinson, a 1-yard pass to Marcus Nash, and a 2-yard run by Rod Robinson for a 51-7 lead with 3:29 left in the game.

Dolezel's first-half scoring passes were 3 yards to Furnell Hankton, 20 yards to Dennison Robinson and 24 yards to Cornelius Bonner.

The loss dropped the Rampage to 0-3 and extended the team's losing streak to nine games over two seasons. The last time Grand Rapids won a game was April 13 when Dolezel threw five touchdowns against the Gladiators in a 69-21 win.

Although Dolezel, who owns virtually every Rampage passing record, was looking forward to his return to Grand Rapids, Shaw, the 2001 Arena Bowl MVP with the Rampage, admitted he was nervous. Shaw wound up with a team-high seven catches for 79 yards.

"This is my fifth season and the only game I was more nervous for was the championship game," he said. "I didn't know if the crowd was going to boo or cheer. And because of that, I had butterflies the size of dragons in my stomach."

Gladiators coach Frank Haege said he didn't expect any problems for Dolezel in his return -- even if it was a must-win game for Las Vegas.

"People tried to make a big deal out of it, but Clint is a pro," Haege said. "He got ready for it like it was any other game. He took care of business just like he should."

Two of the Gladiators' next three games are at home, and beginning with the Rampage Sunday, Las Vegas plays only two of the next six games against teams with winning records.

"To be 0-3 would've been tough," Haege said. "It was definitely must-win to get back on track."