The CNC Gladiators shutout the Budapest Wolves in a one sided contest held in Loipersdorf this weekend. The win is significant, because the Wolves won the previous four meetings between the two clubs posting 20+ victories in each contest and because the Gladiators are now firmly in first place of the North conference.

This time it was a totally different story than all the previous games, as the Wolves offense could not get going at all, while the Gladiators were on top of their running game. The Austrians advanced steadily behind the runs of Martin Bauer and reverses ran by Manuel Houtz, while the Wolves’ offensive line struggled all game, overwhelmed by the Gladiators’ quick defensive line and pass rush.

The Gladiators started the scoring with a run by QB Bernhard Kamber in the first quarter. The Austrian running game seemed to be working to such an extent all afternoon, that the usually dominant passing game in the Gladiators’ arsenal was almost abandoned in the second half, partly because of injury that Kamber suffered in last week’s Austrian league game.

The second quarter brought the best scoring chance for the Wolves, who failed to get the first down on a 4-and-2 in the red zone and turned the ball over. In the third quarter Kamber passed for a touchdown to Houtz widening the gap to 14. The Austrians managed the game clock exceptionally well in the second half, only letting the Wolves touch the ball three times in two quarters in an unusually speedy contest that lasted less then two hours. Martin Bauer’s TD run in the fourth sealed the victory for the Gladiators.

The Gladiators defense not only managed to shut down the Hungarian running game, but also hurried and sacked Wolves QB’s Attila Lendvai and Márk Bencsics several times. The Wolves also did a lot to hurt themselves, cutting their drives off on little mistakes resulting in loss of yard penalties, while the Gladiators were doing the opposite — Several times they got first downs on penalties called on the Wolves defense. Krisztián Piros, the Wolves’s leading scorer this season, getting ejected at the end of the first half didn’t help the Hungarians’ chances either.

“I thought our offensive and defensive lines played really well and controlled the line of scrimmage. Also, our receivers did a great job of blocking the secondary during run plays. And overall our defense played great” said Gladiators GM Mike Dougherty. On beating the Wolves for the first time he added “Our team is more experienced and prepared than in the past. We knew what to expect from the Wolves and were prepared to adjust to what we thought might happen. Also, we are getting contributions from a lot of younger players that are starting to understand the game better and are playing really well.”

On shutting out a team that has scored 185 points in three previous contests this season he noted that “The biggest thing for our defense is to be consistent and that everyone on the field knows their role. Also, our new defensive coordinator Marko Rist has done a great job of getting everyone ready to play and making changes when necessary.”