Colchester Gladiators American Football Club

How’s it been a week?

Once again our man was with us for the final, it’s been an absolute pleasure to work with him all year!

Stay tuned for news on our off-season plans as we’ll be touring Essex again with rookie days after our awards night on October 19th!

We got it done on the ground 😤😤

You don’t post stats like that in a national final without acknowledging the dominance your O-Line produced. Ryan Vaughan, Ashley Fluety, Tom Burridge, Chad Benedict and Ethan Hackett bullied the opposing D line all game!

Leading rushers from Saturday:

Kieran Polley: 17 carries, 118 yards, 6.94 YPC
Ricks Alves: 12 carries, 79 yards, 6.58 YPC
Luigi Phillips: 5 carries, 59 yards, 11.80 YPC
Zion Adebita: 3 carries, 22 yards, 7.33 YPC

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Colchester Gladiators AFC and our members were deeply saddened to hear yesterday of the passing of long-time supporter and friend of the Club Alan Wareham.

Al was as proud of his community as it was fond of him. He took an active role in leading local groups, contributing to local events and supporting Colchester sports clubs. Al followed the fortunes of our club for the 4 decades of our history and watched us play in person many times at several of our home grounds over that span.

Al was present for some of the greatest moments of Gladiators history attending the club’s first National Championship victory in 1988, winning the Budweiser Premier League. Al made the Pilgrimages to the D2 national final in 2009, and again to Leeds to see the Gladiators Win the National League and promotion to the BAFA premiership in 2013.

Fiercely loyal to the clubs dear to his heart Al was a fan of Colchester United and away from the town found his sporting love with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

A keen traveller, and always found where good live music could be found at venues great and small Al was a wonderful personality that will be sorely missed in Colchester, not least of all by us and our members. It comes as some small comfort to us that Al watched the livestream of our game this past weekend and was thrilled with our taking the National Division 2 crown.

Our thoughts and well wishes go out to Al’s family and those who were lucky enough to call him a friend. He will be missed.

This year we had the pleasure of working alongside who travelled the road with us from Swindon to Coventry capturing fantastic moments all year long.

It’s a credit to Drew that one of these moments against Swindon at home has been nominated for a British Photography award in the category of sport!

You can help Drew gain more exposure for his work and help recognise a fantastic club photographer by voting for it on the link below!

https://www.britishphotographyawards.org/2024-shortlist/shortlist/sports/the-block/789c5188-9c3f-4bc6-b261-a6be948229a8

It takes a phenomenal amount of effort to be the head coach of any sports team. To balance family life, work and coaching takes commitment and effort levels to the absolute max.

And we at the Colchester Gladiators are blessed to be led by a man who puts 110% into each section of his life.

He’s put in untold hours into this club as both a player, defensive coordinator and now head coach. He’s our leader, the man we all rally behind and the man we all believe in.

He’s proud to lead us and we’re proud to follow him.

He is Scotty Taylor, and he has led us back to where we belong!

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DRINK IT IN, READ ALL ABOUT IT, THE GLADIATORS ARE DIVISION TWO NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!

Half time from Coventry as the Glads have a slim lead thanks to a Curtis Bourke rushing touchdown!

Todays the day and you can watch todays final live on Youtube on the link below!

https://www.youtube.com/live/-ID1P3ggeQI?si=v1HlOGe7z08EikZO

One more sleep till the Colchester Gladiators travel to Coventry for the Division Two National Final against the Sandwell Steelers!

Reminder to get your tickets from the Coventry Rugby website under other events!

We’re ready, and we hope to see you there to cheer us on!

This is football, not strongman, and rookie defensive tackle and national strongman competitor Pete Ellis has certainly strengthened our D line with some brutal run-stuffing tackles and even a couple of sacks!

Developing through the year Pete’s continued to rack up stats in pressures, forced fumbles and a blocked punt!

Plan ahead for Saturday with some key information provided by Bafa. If there are any other bits of information you require then please contact as via direct message and we’ll try and answer all your queries!

Britbowl Weekend Previews: Division Two Championship - Sportank Sportank

Tunnel run review Southern Final edition 😍

A combination of serious and happy faces as the team locked in before a hard-fought battle, Crispy Duck with the happiest face of all, Josh Mews locking in for an MVP performance, questionable eye black on Lewis Mews, another example of cracking hair on the O line from Ryan Vaughan, safety Calum Roberts with the blue steel and social admin Irons with a face that’s far to strained for a ten-yard run!

We can’t wait to see what pictures we get from Saturday as the squad will take the field as one to the noise of Rage Against the Machine!

A reminder of how the Colchester Gladiators qualified for the 2024 Division Two National final!

Remember this Saturday's final is a ticketed event run by Bafa, you can purchase tickets here for £10 while those under 12 enter free at https://www.coventryrugby.co.uk/other-events/?ftredirect=1

Hopefully, we see as many fans as possible there!

MVPS from Sunday's dramatic win!

First up is offensive MVP Kieran Polley! While the yards per carry don’t pop off the screen, Polley saddled the offence on his back churning out the hard yards and constantly moving the chains en route to over 100 yards and was extremely unlucky not to have a touchdown to his name!

Defensive MVP was awarded to Josh Mews! The defensive captain put on a show in the biggest game of his career so far, notching two drive-killing interceptions while stuffing everything up the middle! A true captain's performance.

Brad Ling reminded everybody that he’s the best punter in the country on his way to special teams MVP. With high winds swirling above, Brad nailed every single punt, pinning the Trident’s back in the battle for field position. A shoutout must be given to his phenomenal punt to the half-yard line with less than a minute left, giving the defence a chance to win the game with a safety in the dying moments of regular time!

This is it! The National Final!

The Southern Champion Colchester Gladiators will be travelling to Coventry to face the Northern Champion Sandwell Steelers in the Division Two National Final!

Can the Glads’ bring home their 3rd national title, emulating the heroes of 1988 and 2013?

This is a ticketed event, with tickets costing £10 per person with under 12s entering for free, please purchase your tickets at the link below

https://www.coventryrugby.co.uk/other-events/?ftredirect=1 for all spectators!

Please contact the club for any information on travel arrangements.

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Britball Media:
gridiron

once again provided the goods as the Colchester Gladiators booked their place in the Division Two national final with a 14-7 overtime victory over the Essex Tridents!

In a wind-affected game, the Glads’ were able to grind out the win, behind a brilliant display from the defence and a charged-up home crowd!

Nat Bonds connected with Harry Dawson midway through the second quarter before the Glads’ took advantage of Brad Ling's pinpoint punting, playing field position in the high winds causing the Tridents to regularly attempt 85+ yard drives.

After finally being able to grab a late score, the Tridents forced overtime. With overtime rules following the NCAA format, the Glads’ took the field first and drove the 25 yards to the endzone with Curtis Bourke bullying his way across the line!

Knowing they now had to score, the Tridents aired it out on the first play looking for a big play only to find the hands of defensive back Calum Roberts who sealed the game and sent the Glads’ to Coventry!

That final will be on September 7th at Butts Park Arena, Coventry, CV1 3GE with kick-off at noon. Please see Bafas website for ticket details!

WE’RE GOING TO THE NATIONAL FINAL AS DIVISION TWO SOUTHERN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS!!

A massive second half to come as a Harry Dawson Touchdown gives the Glads’ a one score lead!

This bank holiday weekend sees the return of the filthy keg beer festival hosted by our friends at the Victoria Inn Colchester and Two Brews

Make sure to head down to support what is easily one of the best beer celebrations in the region!

Tunnel run, but playoff edition!

Josh Mews gets his long-awaited return to the tunnel run post, Chad's hair still looks phenomenal, Ash Kapow makes his debut, but most obvious of all is the sheer amount of sweat on display!

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Pub quiz time at the Vic! Get in touch for a chance to join!

MVPs from last Sunday’s win!

While the whole team were outstanding, three guys set the tone from the outset!

Offensive MVP was awarded to receiver Bill Baisden, who showcased exceptional ability on the ground and through the air. His performance was capped off by a brilliant catch and run touchdown, evading 3 defenders on his way to the endzone.

Defensive MVP was awarded to safety Jay Robinson. Setting the edge early, Jay made all 10 of his registered tackles within 5 yards of the line of scrimmage.

Special teams team MVP was awarded to Zion Adebita. You can’t get much better than taking the opening kickoff 90 yards to the house!

A reminder that this Sunday sees us host the Essex Tridents in the Southern Conference final! 2 pm kickoff at the Budd.

QB1 🥶

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The countdown is now on to next Sunday's massive Semi-Final game against the Essex Tridents!

The Glads’ welcome their county rivals to the Budd with a chance to qualify for a first national final since 2013!

And after two extremely close and hard-fought affairs earlier in the year, this game promises to be feisty!

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