Good luck, Gladiators!!!!!! BEAT STAMFORD!!!!!!!!!

Last night, the Gladiators were honored during an evening pep rally and celebrated their berth into the state semi-final round with the Gladiator Regiment Band, the Italy High School cheerleaders and the rest of Gladiator Nation. The team entered the old George E. Scott Coliseum gymnasium thru the smoke filled air tunnel setup by Gary Wood, Michael Martinez and Jasenio Anderson.

Fans roared as the players took their seats and the cheerleaders began to cheer. Senior Gladiator football players were given an opportunity to bust open a football piñata. Hayden Woods, John Hughes, Marvin Cox and Zackery Boykin proved to be enough Gladiator muscle as the candy went flying and the kids went scrambling for goodies along the gym floor.

Assistant coach Brian Coffman gave a rousing speech and assistant coach Wayne Rowe read a Gladiator Christmas poem entitled: ’Twas the night before semis…

’Twas the night before Semis, and all thru our town,
Gladiator fans were smiling, none with a frown;
Uniforms were hung in their lockers with care,
In hopes that the kickoff soon would be there.

The Bulldogs will be restless tonight in their beds,
With visions of Gladiators hitting their heads,
With Cox in the huddle and an “I” on my cap,
Ty will send in plays and our fans will sure clap.

Out on the turf will arise such a clatter,
I’ll spring from the sideline to cheer the hard-hatter.
Walker will run strong and fly like a flash,
Tearing thru Stamford, their defense he’ll gash.

With the “S” on their helmets all fallen below,
Walker crosses the goal line with their tacklers in tow.
When what to my smoldering eyes will appear,
But a 6’8" Gladiator and the rest of Stamfords’ fear.

With our scoring drive so lively and quick,
I’ll know it’s soon time for Roldan’s point-after kick.
More rapid than Bulldogs all the Gladiators they’ll come,
I’ll whistle, I’ll shout, I’ll call the seniors by name:

Now Ham-bone! Now, Shorty! Now, ’Heem and Caden!
On, Hopkins! On, Cox! On, Reid and Hayden,
On, Joffre! On, Boykin! On, Bobo and Squirt!
From beneath the pile to the top of the wall!
Scoop and score! Scoop and score! Dash away with the ball!

A wink of my eye and a twist of my head
With Walker I’ll give Stamford something to dread.
We’ll speak not a word, instead go straight to our work,
And we’ll defy the “experts” who doubted like jerks,

And with our helmets held high in the air
Atop the playoff brackets as a team we rose
When time comes, I’ll jump for joy, and to my team give a whistle,
We will fly to this next round on a yellow painted missile.

They’ll hear us exclaim as we arrive into sight
Gladiators Fight! Gladiators Fight! Gladiators Fight! Fight! Fight!

The team then gathered around the projector to watch a slideshow, courtesy of Italy Neotribune, displaying images from the playoff run this season.

The band played throughout as the cheerleaders cheered and rallied the fans in the stands to began clapping and shouting to the team’s abbreviated motto, “TPW!, TPW! TPW! TPW! TPW!,” which means, “Tough People Win!”

The Gladiators then rallied at center court to converge on senior tuba player, Timothy Fleming, as he played his now infamous “Tim Song” that always infuses the team with energy as the pep rally came to a close. Good luck to our Gladiators who will take on the Stamford Bulldogs tonight in Mineral Wells at Ram Stadium starting at 7:30 p.m.

KBEC BROADCAST:

You can listen to the KBEC (AM 1390) pre-game show starting at 7:00 p.m. at www.KBEC.com by clicking on the LISTEN LIVE microphone icon in the top right hand corner of the site. Apple and Android apps are available on the KBEC site as well. Be sure to stay tuned during halftime to catch a KBEC interview with Gladiator HFC/AD Hank Hollywood. Their will also a post-game show as well as KBEC’s “The Ellis County Sports Recap Show” on Saturday morning from 7:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

TPW!