Gladiators cruising in high gear

Adam Candee

Monday, May 3, 2004 | 9:46 a.m.

Gladiators quarterback Clint Dolezel and receiver Marcus Nash have played rounds of golf and battled on the PlayStation to help develop their chemistry and friendship off the field.

And when the duo takes to the turf, there is no doubting the connection that makes them the engine of the team's offense and the Gladiators' hope for the rest of the season.

Dolezel twice hit Nash with desperation fourth-down touchdown passes Sunday to help the Gladiators defeat Indiana, 60-38, at the Thomas & Mack Center. The win -- Las Vegas' second in a row -- allows the Gladiators (5-7) to continue their quest for the playoffs.

Nash hauled in three touchdown passes and Dolezel tossed five scores and ran for another as the Gladiators played well again after snapping a four-game losing streak last week. The defense provided a pair of takeaways as well, and the Gladiators feel like they have a good thing going for the first time in months.

"Momentum is so unbelievably crucial in this game," Dolezel said. "For us, the fans, for everybody. Even the referees seem to get on your side when you get momentum. It's crucial and we're glad to have it on our side again."

Las Vegas still needs to win its final four games to have a chance at making the playoffs. For now, though, Gladiators coach Frank Haege wants his team to forget about the big picture and focus on Saturday night's game at Philadelphia (5-7).

"We're not even talking about the playoffs," Haege said. "We're just going to try to go out and beat Philadelphia."

A win over the Soul would require another huge effort from Dolezel and Nash, who began working together only this season. Dolezel arrived from Grand Rapids along with his offensive specialist of choice, Terrill Shaw.

But when Shaw went down early in the year with a gluteal strain, Nash became the best option to become a go-to guy. With size and quickness that made him an NFL first-round draft pick of the Denver Broncos, Nash rapidly developed into Dolezel's favorite target.

"That just shows you how scary we could be if we had both those guys out on the field," Dolezel said.

Nash, who caught passes from Peyton Manning in college and from John Elway in Denver, gives Dolezel the kind of big, rangy target every quarterback wants.

"He's a comfort guy to have out there," Dolezel said of Nash. "There's no doubt about it. It's nice to have somebody like Nash. Being that tall, you can throw it up to him and he's going to make plays for you. I even made a bad read tonight and he went up and made a play for me."

Nash's first fourth-down catch gave Las Vegas a nine-point lead with 52 seconds remaining in the second quarter, but his second one truly hurt the Firebirds (6-7). On the Gladiators' first drive after halftime, Nash made an excellent catch in the back left corner of the end zone for a 10-yard score that extended the lead to 33-17. Indiana never pulled closer than nine points for the rest of the game.

Nash finished with nine catches for 112 yards on a day on which it seemed that anything Dolezel threw in the air would come down in his best receiver's hands.

"We've had a little rapport all season," Nash said. "He's got a pretty good idea where I'm going to be. I've got a pretty good idea of what he's thinking."

As long as they are thinking about each other, that's fine with Haege.

"They are times I tell Clint, 'Just go to Nash,' " Haege said. "When you need a play, just go to Nash. It's that simple."