Win slips through Gladiators’ fingers

Darryl Mellema

Monday, May 2, 2005 | 9:30 a.m.

ROSEMONT, Ill. -- Spartacus would have been proud.

In true gladiatorial fashion, Las Vegas' Arena Football team chose the all-or-nothing option with 17 seconds to go in Sunday's game at Chicago.

The Gladiators closed to 63-62 when Clint Dolezel hit Joe Douglass for a 14-yard touchdown pass in front of 12,494 at Allstate Arena.

The decision Las Vegas coach Ron James had to make was whether or not to go for the 2-point conversion.

The Gladiators went for the win.

"We were on the road and we didn't want to push overtime," Gladiators coach Ron James said. "The way the overtime rules work in Arena Football, we felt it was better to go for two right there."

Dolezel sent his pass through the end zone to Coco Blalock. After slipping through Blalock's fingers, the ball hit the boards at the back of the end zone and rebounded to the receiver, who caught it.

But the ball is dead when it hits the end board, as opposed to the field's side boards, which are in play. Chicago (8-5) recovered the onside kickoff, ran out the clock and won.

The decision to attempt the two-point conversion raised no eyebrows on either bench.

"They were on the road," Chicago coach Mike Hohensee said. "Dolezel is one of the most efficient quarterbacks down around the goal line and he very nearly did it."

Arena Football overtime rules allow each team one possession to score. If the score is still tied, overtime continues in sudden-death fashion. With that in mind, the Gladiators went for the win.

"You can't ask for a better situation than we were in there," Dolezel said. "We had a chance to win and that was the right choice. Away, you go for the two and try to go for it."

With three weeks left in the Arena League season, Las Vegas (7-6) remains in contention for both a playoff spot and the Western Division title.

"It's definitely in our hands to win three in a row and we've got to do that," Dolezel said. "It's a tough situation for us."

Los Angeles and San Jose are both 8-5 with the Gladiators one game back.

The Gladiators finish with home games against Dallas and Arizona, plus a trip to Los Angeles.

"We're not out of it by any means, yet it was a game that we pointed to and said it could be a springboard for us to the playoffs," James said. "Now we're facing a good Dallas team at home (7 p.m. Saturday) in a must-win situation."

Las Vegas surrendered an early advantage when it failed to score on its second possession. With the score 7-7, the Gladiators started from their own 2-yard line and advanced nine yards before turning over the ball on downs.

Chicago scored on the next play when Raymond Philyaw passed to Jeremy McDaniel for a touchdown.

"We were fortunate that didn't come back to haunt us," James said. "We still had a chance to win the game at the end."

Trailing the entire second half, the Gladiators forged a 49-49 tie when Dolezel produced one of the game's spectacular plays.

On third-and-goal from the 6, Dolezel was forced toward the right sideline. With the sideline, and two Rush defenders approaching, Dolezel spun and threw across the field, completing a touchown pass to Blalock just inside the front left pylon of the end zone.

Dolezel was hit as he delivered the pass and landed in the first row of the stands.

"I had processed what down it was halfway to the wall," Dolezel said. "It was third down and an incompletion wasn't going to hurt us. If it wasn't there, I was going to throw it into the stands."