Gladiators lose at home; laundry night at the Events Center

The Duke City Gladiators lost to the Vegas Knight Hawks at home June 15 and fell to 1-10 on the season. The final: Duke City 39, Vegas 53.

After two games on the road, the Duke City Gladiators returned to the Rio Rancho Events Center and received no homecoming from the referees. In fact, yellow flags were thrown all night.

The flags were such a common sight that Gladiators fans began rocking the arena with chants of, “Refs you suck.”

Late in the fourth quarter, the Gladiators were able to recover an onside kick. However, after a false start penalty, the Knight Hawks were able to record a safety and end any hopes of a comeback.

The referees also wiped away a passing touchdown late in the second quarter from Gladiator quarterback Javin Kilgo. At the time, the passing touchdown looked to energize a struggling Gladiators offense that needed a kickstart.

However, it was not ruled a touchdown, and the very next play Kilgo threw an interception on an attempted screen. Kilgo threw two interceptions on five throws.

The Knight Hawks defense was able to finish the game with two turnovers and three sacks while the Gladiators produced zeros in both stat lines.

The Gladiators came alive in the second half, scoring 33 of their 39 points in that time. Helping lead the charge was Gladiator quarterback Hasan Rodgers, who threw for two passing touchdowns and ran for 151 yards.

One of the more memorable plays of the night was when Rodgers threw a moon ball and connected with Gladiator receiver Tamorrion Terry for a 45-yard touchdown. Terry had two catches on the night, and both resulted in touchdowns (one of 45; one of 30).

Terry is a former Florida State player who also had a stint with the Seattle Seahawks and was traded to the Gladiators on May 21.

Another player providing juice was the recently signed running back Jordan Byrd. Byrd was able to be a goal line finisher and had two rushing touchdowns in his debut.

“When I have the ball in my hands, I’m trying to score the ball 90% of the time. I’m a game changer, that’s the one thing I try to do. Momentum with the fans and on the field. I try to get that momentum in the games,” Byrd said. “We started at the half a bit stronger than we did in the first half. That’s one thing we got to look at in the film.”

Byrd was a standout at Manzano High School and went on to play collegiate football at San Diego State. During his time as an Aztec, Byrd was a two-time first-team All-Mountain West, and was the New Mexico Bowl Offensive MVP in 2019. And in 2023, Byrd played with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The Gladiators will look to bounce back against the Bay Area Panthers, who come to the Rio Rancho Events Center for a 6:05 p.m. kickoff Saturday. Bay Area is 9-1 on the season.