ArenaBowl XXVII

ArenaBowl XXVII was the 27th edition of the championship in the Arena Football League. The National Conference champion Arizona Rattlers defeated the American Conference champion Cleveland Gladiators, 72–32. The game was played on August 23, 2014 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, the home of the Gladiators.

ArenaBowl XXVII
Arizona Rattlers
(National)		 Cleveland Gladiators
(American)
72 32
1234 Total
ARI 14301414 72
CLE 67613 32
DateAugust 23, 2014
ArenaQuicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
MVPNick Davila, Arizona
Attendance18,410
Winning coachKevin Guy
Losing coachSteve Thonn
TV in the United States
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersAri Wolfe, Anthony Herron, Sherdrick Bonner, J. B. Long

This was the fourth consecutive ArenaBowl appearance for the Arizona Rattlers, and their third consecutive ArenaBowl championship. For the Cleveland Gladiators, this was the first ArenaBowl in the franchise's 18-year history.

Venue

ArenaBowl XXVII was played at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, after it was announced that the ArenaBowl would return to the practice of being hosted by the team with the better regular season record.[1] With the best record of any team in the AFL in 2014, Cleveland was assured of hosting ArenaBowl XXVII by winning the conference championship. The ArenaBowl was played on a busy sports day in Cleveland, as the Cleveland Browns of the National Football League played a home preseason game at FirstEnergy Stadium and the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball had a home game at adjacent Progressive Field all at the same time.[2][3]

Television

In December 2013, it was announced that ESPN had acquired the rights to broadcast arena football games, including ArenaBowl XXVI. This was the first ArenaBowl to be televised on ESPN since 2008, prior to the year-long hiatus taken by the AFL.[4]

Background

Arizona Rattlers
See also: 2014 Arizona Rattlers season

The Rattlers came into the game as two-time defending champions, appearing in their fourth consecutive ArenaBowl, and ninth overall, tying them with the Tampa Bay Storm for most ArenaBowl appearances. In trying to win their third consecutive ArenaBowl championship, the only team in ArenaBowl history that had done so was the Detroit Drive, having won the third in ArenaBowl IV. In 2014, the Rattlers began the regular season with a 14–0 record, the best start to a season by any team in AFL history.[5] Their first loss came in week 16 when they lost to the rival San Jose SaberCats. Despite losing last three of their last four games, the Rattlers finished the season 15–3, as they did the season prior. In the conference semifinals, they defeated the expansion Portland Thunder in a close 52–48 contest. They hosted the San Jose SaberCats in the conference championship, beating them more decisively, 72–56.

West Division
Team W L PCT PF PA DIV CON Home Away
z-Arizona Rattlers 15 3 .833 1151 905 4–0 11–2 9–0 6–3
San Antonio Talons 3 15 .167 743 1017 1–3 1–5 0–9 3–6
Los Angeles Kiss 3 15 .167 633 957 1–3 3–9 2–7 1–8

z - Clinched division and conference's best record

Week Date Opponent Result
1 March 15 Philadelphia W 62–55 (OT)
2 March 23 Spokane W 68–49
3 Bye
4 April 5 Jacksonville W 63–38
5 April 12 at San Jose W 57–51
6 April 19 Pittsburgh W 73–69
7 April 26 San Antonio W 69–59
8 May 3 at Jacksonville W 70–61
9 May 10 at Portland W 61–32
10 May 17 Spokane W 70–38
11 May 25 at Los Angeles W 70–25
12 May 31 San Jose W 51–42
13 June 6 at Portland W 70–59
14 June 14 at San Antonio W 70–34
15 June 21 Los Angeles W 83–47
16 June 27 at San Jose L 33–62
17 Bye
18 July 12 at Spokane L 66–73
19 July 20 Portland W 65–55
20 July 26 at Orlando L 50–56
– August 3 Portland W 52–48
– August 10 San Jose W 72–56

Cleveland Gladiators
See also: 2014 Cleveland Gladiators season

The Gladiators reached the ArenaBowl for the first time in franchise history. Before moving to Cleveland for the 2008 season, they had previously played in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and Las Vegas, Nevada. The closest the team had ever come to reaching the ArenaBowl since moving to Cleveland was in 2008 when they lost the conference championship. They began the 2014 season with a 9–0 record, one of the best starts to a season in league history.[6] In week 12, their hopes of an undefeated season were ended, but it proved to be the only blemish on their win-loss record, as they finished the season with a league-best 17–1 record. The 17 wins is a league record for a team in a single season. Not all of these wins came easy, however. Cleveland won five games in the regular season on the final play of the game. In the conference semifinals, they notched their sixth last-second win of the season. This one came against the Philadelphia Soul on a field goal as time expired to win by a 39–37 score. In the conference championship, they faced the Orlando Predators. Cleveland defeated Orlando 56–46 to reach the ArenaBowl for the first time in franchise history.

East Division
Team W L PCT PF PA DIV CON Home Away
z-Cleveland Gladiators 17 1 .944 991 782 7–1 12–1 9–0 8–1
x-Pittsburgh Power 15 3 .833 1015 778 6–2 11–2 8–1 7–2
x-Philadelphia Soul 9 9 .500 1021 949 2–5 7–7 7–2 2–7
Iowa Barnstormers 6 12 .333 848 1046 0–7 2–10 3–6 3–6

x - Clinched playoff berth
z - Clinched division and conference's best record

Week Date Opponent Result
1 March 15 at Pittsburgh W 63–53
2 Bye
3 March 29 at New Orleans W 37–26
4 April 4 Iowa W 54–47
5 April 12 at Los Angeles W 40–30
6 April 19 at Spokane W 52–50
7 April 26 Pittsburgh W 55–28
8 Bye
9 May 10 Los Angeles W 45–42
10 May 17 at Iowa W 63–46
11 May 23 Philadelphia W 54–52
12 May 31 at Pittsburgh L 34–48
13 June 7 Iowa W 86–49
14 June 14 New Orleans W 62–46
15 June 21 at Philadelphia W 69–68
16 June 27 Tampa Bay W 48–41
17 July 5 Portland W 61–40
18 July 12 at San Antonio W 50–47 (OT)
19 July 19 Jacksonville W 62–20
20 July 26 at Tampa Bay W 56–49
– August 2 Philadelphia W 39–37
– August 10 Orlando W 56–46

Box score
1 2 34Total
Rattlers (NC) 14 30 141472
Gladiators (AC) 6 7 61332

at Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio

  • Date: August 23, 2014
  • Game time: 8:00 p.m. EDT
  • Game attendance: 18,410
  • Referee: Reggie Smith
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP ARI CLE
1 13:31 2 45 1:29 ARI Windsor 41-yard touchdown reception from Davila, Ratanamorn kick good 7 0
1 7:35 — — — ARI Interception returned 46 yards for touchdown by Reed, Ratanamorn kick good 14 0
1 2:28 6 40 4:17 CLE Taylor 9-yard touchdown reception from Austin, Pettrey kick no good 14 6
2 14:19 4 45 2:21 ARI Jackson 11-yard touchdown reception from Davila, Ratanamorn kick good 21 6
2 12:47 1 –9 0:48 ARI Austin tackled in end zone for a safety by Dukes 23 6
2 10:51 4 30 2:01 ARI Poots 12-yard touchdown reception from Davila, Ratanamorn kick good 30 6
2 5:05 6 25 3:27 ARI Reed 5-yard touchdown reception from Davila, Ratanamorn kick good 37 6
2 0:38 5 35 1:35 CLE Lewis 15-yard touchdown reception from Austin, Pettrey kick good 37 13
2 0:32 1 10 0:04 ARI Windsor 10-yard touchdown reception from Davila, Ratanamorn kick good 44 13
3 11:02 3 5 1:37 ARI Reed 3-yard touchdown reception from Davila, Ratanamorn kick good 51 13
3 6:49 1 30 0:13 ARI Windsor 30-yard touchdown reception from Davila, Ratanamorn kick good 58 13
3 1:50 6 36 3:52 CLE Goodman 30-yard touchdown reception from Austin, 2-point pass intercepted 58 19
4 13:17 4 45 2:01 ARI Poots 15-yard touchdown reception from Davila, Ratanamorn kick good 65 19
4 8:44 5 45 3:38 CLE Goodman 5-yard touchdown reception from Dieker, Pettrey kick no good 65 25
4 5:54 4 45 2:05 ARI Jackson 12-yard touchdown reception from Davila, Ratanamorn kick good 72 25
4 1:45 5 30 3:15 CLE Goodman 6-yard touchdown reception from Dieker, Pettrey kick good 72 32
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 72 32
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References
  1. "ArenaBowl to Return to Home Field Advantage in 2014". Arena Football League. Chicago, Illinois: Arenafan.com. March 4, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  2. Warsinskey, Tim (August 10, 2014). "Cleveland Gladiators advance to ArenaBowl XXVII, defeat Orlando Predators, 56-46". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  3. Boone, Faith (August 22, 2014). "MAP: Where to park for the Browns, Indians or Gladiators games this weekend". NewsNet5.com. Archived from the original on August 5, 2016. Retrieved June 23, 2016.
  4. "ESPN Acquires Rights to Arena Football Starting in 2014". Arena Football League. Chicago, Illinois: Arenafan.com. December 17, 2013. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  5. "LA KISS fall to unbeaten Rattlers, 83-47". Los Angeles Kiss. Arenafan.com. June 23, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
  6. "Gladiators top Soul 54-52 on final play, Improve to 9-0 on season". Cleveland Gladiators. Arenafan.com. May 23, 2014. Retrieved August 19, 2014.
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