June 19,2016
Portland - The Portland Steel lost a close game to the Cleveland Gladiators, 58-49, in front of 4,516 fans at Moda Center on Saturday night. The Steel pulled to within six points in the fourth quarter, but a late field goal thwarts a comeback.
Quarterback Shane Austin completed 23 of 37 passes for 291 yards, six touchdowns and three interceptions. With the three Steel (1-10) turnovers, Cleveland (6-6) never looked back as they score on all nine of their possessions on the night.
Down by seven points, Austin found Rashaad Carter on a 3-yard touchdown pass to open the scoring for Portland. Carter has missed the last five games with an ankle injury. At the end of the first quarter, the Gladiators led 14-7.
Leading 28-14 before the half, Cleveland was able to intercept Austin and convert via a Quentin Sims touchdown. Carter would score right at the buzzer as he would haul in a touchdown pass from 3 yards to end the half. Cleveland led 35-21 at the half.
In a breakout game, James Shaw would catch his second touchdown of the night to open the half and would cut the Gladiators lead to seven. The two teams would trade touchdowns to end the quarter and the Gladiators led 48-35 at the end of the third quarter.
The Gladiators would take a 20-point lead as Marvin Ross intercepted Austin and returned it 42 yards for the touchdown. Signs of Steel life arose as Shaw hauled in his third touchdown of the game. After recovering an onside kick, Austin would find Jared Perry for a 38-yard deep touchdown. The touchdown was Austin’s 250th career AFL touchdown pass.
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Gladiators kicker Adrian Trevino would tack on a 22-yard field goal and gave Cleveland the 58-49 lead. The Steel will return to Moda Center on Monday, June 18 to face the Philadelphia Soul. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. For all ticket information and for the most updated information on the Portland Steel, head to www.pdxsteel.com.
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