The Millionaires played a hard fought game this past Saturday night as they fell short to the undefeated Bradenton Gladiators 27-16. The first quarter of the game was shaping up to be another Millionaires / Gladiators classic as the quarter ended in a 0-0 tie. The defense for both teams was bringing the heat and feeling each other out. The second quarter got off to a spark when Gladiators Darian Platt ran back a 69 yard punt return for a touchdown followed by kicker Philip Chaltis extra point making the score 7-0. The Gladiators kept the heat coming when Millionaires punter Derrick Scott bobbled the snap inside their own 20 yard line and was tackled by Gladiator DB Lenorris Brown. The possession was topped off with a 1 yard touchdown run by FB Torrye Shatteen making the score 14-0. The Millionaires would not go away without a fight. When Millionaires QB Mario Davis hit Ben Seymour for 78 yard touchdown pass followed with a 2 point conversion run by Patrick "Choo-Choo" Brown making the score 14-8 at halftime. The third quarter was much of the same as both defenses who both want the title of the "Black Out" defense continued to stall each others offense. Until the Gladiators were able to put together a 68 yard drive capped off by a 7yard touchdown run from RB Chauncey Jones followed by an extra point from Chaltis making the score 21-8 with 4:51 remaining in the third quarter. The Millionaires went into the fourth quarter with their loyal fans that made the trip from Sarasota to rally behind their team and continued to make it a game when Mario Davis connected with WR Ben Seymour again for 32yard touchdown catch followed by another 2 point conversion run by Patrick "Choo Choo" Brown making the score 21-16 with a lot of time remaining in the contest. The Millionaires "Black Out" defense got the ball back for the offense after Gladiators punter TJ Grzesikowski shanked the punt putting the Millionaires in excellence field position. The Gladiators "Black Out" defense stepped to the challenge forcing Millionaires head coach Ernest Givins to make a decision on fourth down on the Gladiators 30 yard line... he decide to go for it instead of the field goal. The Gladiators made a key stop getting the ball back to their offense and RB Craig Carnes busted free for a 70 yard touchdown run ending the game 27-16. "This was our best played game so far this season. I understand we lost the game but I know we left a lot of points out on the field. We need to put more work in on special teams. That is what ultimately caused us this game. We all will look in the mirror because we all could have done something better. We all made some minor mistakes including myself." said head coach Ernest Givins
Midway through the season the Millionaires are 3-2 second place in the divison, and still looking good to make a nice playoff push. The Millionaires will have a much needed BYE week, and will regroup to play the Dade County Cheifs at our "black & gold game".
