Sarasota Millionaires Lose to Gladiators 42-0

BRADENTON - Jeff Charlton already had a 62-yard touchdown reception and a 79-yard punt return for touchdown negated by a roughing the kicker penalty when he donned his play-calling cap.

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound former Manatee High caught a 3-yard pass from quarterback Nicholas Kirby before tossing the ball to Craig Carnes, who completed a 53-yard touchdown reception with 13:27 left what was a Bradenton Gladiators’ rout of the Sarasota Millionaires. However, Charlton wasn’t done as he capped the scoring in a 42-0 victory with an 88-yard punt return midway through the fourth quarter of Saturday night’s Florida Football Alliance game at the Manatee PAL Complex.

Having jumped out to a 7-0 start this season, Charlton and his teammates are still looking for more highlights as they began to prepare for the league’s postseason. The Gladiators make their intentions clear by carrying a WWE replica championship belt to their games.

“We feel like the champs even though we haven’t won the championship, but we’re working on getting there,” Charlton said.

Charlton started the scoring by taking a Kirby pass 62 yards to the end zone with 4:35 left in the first quarter. A pair of scoring runs by running back and former Booker High standout Chauncey Jones staked Bradenton to a 21-0 halftime lead.

Charlton’s punt return in the second quarter was one of two apparent Bradenton touchdowns negated by penalties. A 37-yard punt return for a score, which was sandwiched around a 36-yard touchdown pass from Kirby to Manatee grad Bonshavior Bean and Carnes’ touchdown reception, was waved off by an offsides penalty.

“What we have to focus on is getting into playoff mode right now,” said Gladiators head coach Wendell Faison, who was critical of his team’s 21-0 win at Sarasota earlier this season. “When I say the word ‘garbage,’ I’m not talking about any particular players. I’m talking about execution. … They may not have a team as talented as us, but we are going to need that extra push when we play a team that has just as much talent or more.”

Kirby finished the game with 247 yards, three touchdowns and one interception on 9-of-17 passing. The Gladiators’ defense pitched the unit’s fourth shutout of the season by limiting the Millionaires to 123 yards and forcing three turnovers.

The Gladiators will hit the road the next two Saturdays to face the Muck City Starrs and the Lakeland-based Florida Warriors, respectively. They will conclude the regular season at home against the Magic City Bulls of Miami on April 2.

“We really have to execute the next few weeks because we have a big rivalry coming up with Miami,” Faison said. “That’s a big rivalry and that’s going to determine where we fall as far as playoffs. We have to get in the mindset that we’re getting ready for this big showdown at the end of the year. We got to get in the mindset. We have to.”

It was the third shutout loss of the season for the Millionaires, who have scored a combined 39 points in seven games. Team co-owner Calvin Williams finished with a team-best 36 yards on a game-high 15 carries, while quarterback Demarius Davis only had one completion on nine attempts after connecting on his first three attempts.

“Calvin used to play for the Gladiators,” Faison said. “He started his own organization. I tip my hat to Calvin for what he is doing for Sarasota. I know that he’s going through some transitions, but I still think he has a first-class organization.”