The Gladiators have so far been one of two teams able to keep up with Belgrade. There’s no doubt that one of the more interesting games to see would be one between the Gladiators and the Vukovi or Dukes, but that won’t be anytime soon, and for this week, the Austrian team will be host to Zagreb.

They likely won’t be the most hospitable hosts, as their opponent has very little chance to do anything in the game, the first one played on Sunday this season. Despite some struggles in Slovenia, their 3-0 record, to go along with finally beating the Budapest Wolves, places the Gladiators in pole position of the race for the top of the conference and very high on the list of contenders for the league trophy.

The way they’ve been able to do it is quite different from the way they had played last year. Quarterback Bernhard Kamber set all sorts of passing records last year that would undoubtedly be hard to break this year, if not for the three game increase in the schedule, and even now most teams will finish below the mark.

However, this year, their key offensive player has been running back Martin Bauer — in 2007 he carried the ball 52 times for 267 yards, but after three games of the 2008 season he has already far surpassed it with 375, including 159 and a touchdown against their main rival, the Wolves.

Their intent to run the ball came despite having last year’s second best receiver in the league, Manuel Houtz, and keeping their biggest addition for the fall part of the 2007 season, also receiver Joe Widner.

Part of the reason for the change in the way they’ve been playing lies is Kamber’s injury that he played through last week. Though he says he expects to be healthy for the remainder of the season, there probably won’t be much change against Zagreb, as Kamber will miss the game for personal reasons, being replaced by Widner. Receiver and cornerback, Widner will play quarterback for the first time in the Gladiators’ uniform, finally getting the ball more than he did in the first three games.

As for Zagreb, their good opportunity to get a win passed two weeks ago when they lost 21-13 to the Cowboys in Budapest. Even if they have intentions to surprise the Gladiators and get their first league win, doing so would be down right shocking, so anything other than a win for the Gladiators on Sunday in Loipersdorf will be a huge surprise.