Cambridge Cats 7 Colchester Gladiators 14

Colchester Gladiators made it two straight wins with a hard-fought victory against the Cambridge Cats, a team that had beaten the Essex outfit twice already this season.

Despite being short handed, with a number of key players unavailable and injured the depth of the squad was severely tested with running back Eddie Collison, safety Frazer Lamb and James Birch stepping up.

The Gladiators are a different team to what they were in the first half of the season, with things gelling on both sides of the ball, fewer mistakes, and more confidence.

The rookies and new players to the team are getting to grips with the offensive and defensive systems and the results are starting to show. The Gladiators were able to turn around the defeats with a combination of hard-fought defence, a dynamic passing attack featuring the Wickham brothers, and turnover free football.

QB Rob Wickham finished the day with 247 passing yards, eight of which were caught by playmaker Jake Wickham for 150 yards and a touchdown, the 150 yard day being the fourth highest in team’s 33 year history.

Coach, Luke Box was understandably delighted with his team in trying circumstances, with player shortage, some players playing both ways, and the heat.

He said: “Our defence had another big game while the offence continued to improve. This was a big win for us.”

The Gladiators get straight back to work as they travel to Orpington to take on the Kent Exiles who will be after revenge for the narrow 12-0 defeat at the hands of the Gladiators two weeks ago.

Further information can be found on the Gladiators’ website at www.colchestergladiators.com