No Magic For Gladiators On Saturday Night

The Bradenton Gladiators’ 2011 season ended with a 38-7 loss to the host Miami Magic City Bulls in Saturday night’s Florida Football Alliance AFC Championship Game.

The undefeated Bulls jumped out to a 17-0 lead and scored 21 unanswered points after Bradenton quarterback Nicholas Kirby threw a touchdown pass to Jeff Charlton in the second quarter.

Miami Magic City (12-0) will play the undefeated Orlando Rage, who recorded their sixth consecutive victory over the Treasure Coast Bobcats in the league’s NFC Championship Game, next Saturday in Daytona Beach for the 2011 Florida Football Alliance championship.

The Gladiators took a nine-game winning streak into their April 2 regular-season finale against the Bulls. Miami Magic City overcame a 21-3 halftime deficit and pulled out a 31-28 victory at the when Greg Cole blocked a short field goal attempt in the closing minute.

After stopping the Gladiators 2 yards from the end zone in the fourth quarter, Miami Magic City put together a 98-yard drive to cap the scoring. The Bulls accounted for 69 of the 133 points yielded by a Bradenton defense, which pitched four shutouts in the 10-game regular season.

The AFC West champion Gladiators advanced to the organization’s second conference championship game in three years with last week’s 34-20 victory over the visiting Miami Spartans. Bradenton finished the season with a record of 10-2.

The only Florida Football Alliance teams to compile better records than the Gladiators this season were the Rage and the Bulls.

Charlton, running backs Chauncey Jones and Craig Carnes, tight end Frankie Romo, offensive lineman Darrell Holloman, linebackers Darian Platt, Donte Brown and Chris Peterson, defensive end Mike Mills, defensive back Keon Hines and defensive linemen Brian Harvey represented Bradenton on the league’s all-star team.