Two plays can sum up the job the zebras did last Saturday. On one play the Gladiators had an ultra-obvious pass interference as Jay McDonagh passed to Mike Horacek in the end zone. It was so bad that the defender should have been arrested and hauled off to Rahway State Prison. And the officials called the foul. However the Cobras cried that the ball was touched and talked the officials into a non-call even though no official signaled that the ball was deflected until the Cobra defense got in their face. The zebras might have well handed over the hankies to Carolina because they got every call.

Another official blunder that affected the outcome of the game occurred when the Glads were up 14-10 in the second quarter. New Jersey had stopped Carolina and forced a long field goal for Cobra kicker Brian Schmitz. Schmitz’s attempt wasn’t even close as it was far to the left off of the irons. By rule, the kicking team has to give the receiving team within the five-yard line to field the ball. Carolina didn’t do that, as Andre Purvis was so close to the end zone that he recovered the ball for a touchdown. That should have been waived off and the Gladiators should have had the defensive stop, a 14-10 lead and the ball. The refs blew it.

But it wasn’t all on the refs, New Jersey only found the end zone four times and seemed sluggish on offense. The defense however, was as fired up as I have ever seen in my six years as a NJ arena football fan. The defense is a force and when you hold the opponent to four TDs, you should win. Unfortunately, the NJ offense only managed four TDs so the team lost 40-28. It was a nice return for Connell Maynor as the Carolina QB. Maynor had been jettisoned from New Jersey after his 2-12 record last season. He was announced as the game MVP. But for the record, Maynor wasn’t that good. He had 12 completions and only three TD passes. That’s not even an MVP for an NFL game. Jay McDonagh had 27 completions and over 60 more yards than Maynor. He also had three TD passes. No sir, Scoop’s game MVP is rising star, Denny “Big Play” Robinson. “Big Play” had a beautiful 5-yard TD run, caught eight passes for 87 yards, and two big tackles on defense. Honorable mention goes to the defensive front three each of whom had a sack in the game (Dwayne Sabb, Karl Bates & Jamarr Ward).

The loss drops New Jersey out of first place and into third place in the Eastern Division. But the story here wasn’t necessarily the game. It was the crowd. The team had its biggest draw by far as the New Jersey Gladiators to date. There were easily about 4,000 real people at the game (never trust announced attendance figures). Very impressive considering the team drew about 1,000 on opening day and averaged about less than 1,500 last season (note: these numbers are based on our hand counts in the stands during the game). There were tons of kids and they cheered loudly. It’s a shame the team couldn’t deliver a win in front of such a large audience. A few missed extra points were not going to do it for New Jersey this week. They have to go out there and play smart ball.