The Sudbury Gladiators got the start to the season they needed.
The local Ontario Football Conference entry headed to Chatham on Saturday and left with a convincing 26-7 victory over the Chatham-Kent Cougars.
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Starting with a win is crucial for Sudbury as the Gladiators start the season with four straight games on the road, a tough route to travel for any team.
“We needed to take a win right off the bat on the road with our first four on road and 26 new guys on roster,” Gladiators head coach Brent Richer said. “They have to know we can win on the road and we had to set the tone for next week against Twin Cities.”
Though there was some first-game jitters and missteps, Richer was happy with what his charges showed against the Cougars.
“We were very pleased,” he said. “We had some great plays and great efforts from everyone on the team.
“As with any first game of the year, we have some things need to address in practice,” he added. “We had some unforced turnovers on the offensive side when we were in scoring position in some cases and we need to button up. We had two touchdowns called back, one on an inadvertent whistle and one on a roughing call, but those are the things you see in Week 1.”
The Gladiators’ offence was led by its dynamic running back, Joey Martelacci.
“We had great efforts from everybody, but Joey Martelacci had two touchdowns, including a 70-yard run, and Josh Haslam had some very big catches for us, though his TD got called back,” Richer said.
Sudbury’s other touchdown was scored by running back Jesse Bertin-Haggart.
While the score may look like a blowout, the game was anything but. The Gladiators led 3-0 after the first quarter and 13-7 at halftime and the end of the third quarter.
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