Jr. Gladiators weather the storm in Clarington

The Sudbury Junior Varsity Gladiators weathered the storm Saturday in Clarington - quite literally.

In a contest that was delayed a handful of times due to lightning strikes, before being eventually called for good with eight left minutes to play, the visitors from the north used a dominating ground game to defeat the Clarington Knights 29-6.

Djuwa N'Galamulume reached the end zone twice on runs of 21 and six yards, quarterback Jeff Suitor called his own number on a two-yard sneak, and Isaac Walt rambled in from 17 yards out, as the Jr Gladiators moved back to the .500 mark at 1-1.

N'Galamulume also chipped in with four converts and a rouge, as Sudbury built up the 29-6 advantage by half time.

"Because of the bad weather, we really couldn't throw that much, and with Jeff (Suitor) being a first year quarterback, we wanted to keep the pressure off him," noted head coach Shane Hutchinson.

"We really leaned on our running game. The offensive line really got the message at practice last week that they are very important to our success this season.

“They really worked on their stances, their drive blocks, getting up to the second level. Djuwa was our main back, but Carter Struk also got some key carries, some valuable yards for us. He was basically our change of pace back."

The dominance is even more impressive when one considers that Kyler Showell is the only returning offensive lineman, with Riley Noland and Derek Mullin moving from back up to number one roles on the line this year.

In his first year as head coach of the team, Hutchinson also shared the credit with offensive co-ordinator Matt Mott, ex of the Confederation Chargers, as well as defensive coach Brent Edwardson, a graduate of the St. Benedict Bears program.

The Jr. Gladiators will join the varsity team in making the trip to Oakville this week, battling the Titans.