cleveland gladiators logo

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Shane Austin threw seven touchdown passes and the visiting Cleveland Gladiators remained unbeaten at 8-0 after defeating the Iowa Barnstormers at Wells Fargo Arena on Saturday, 63-46.

Iowa scored four times to take a 26-7 lead early in the second quarter before the Gladiators started their rally, sparked by special teams and the defense.

Dominic Jones started the rally with a 58-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. With just over five minutes remaining in the half, Gladiators defender Joe Phinisee intercepted a pass and returned it 9 yards for another TD.

Then Austin heated up. He hit Thyron Lewis with a 7-yard TD pass with 3:30 left in the half, and after an Iowa touchdown, he found Dominic Goodman for a 5-yard TD pass for a 34-33 lead that they never relinquished.

Austin and Lewis connected on TD passes of 20, 42 and 17 yards in the second half and the defense added a safety. Austin finished 19 of 34 for 247 yards, while Lewis had six catches for 102 yards and Goodman had eight catches for 84 yards.

The Gladiators return to Quicken Loans Arena to face the Philadelphia Soul on Friday at 7 p.m.

Notes: The Gladiators are 2-0 against the Barnstormers this season; they previously topped Iowa 54-47 on April 4th at Quicken Loans Arena... The Gladiators are 5-0 on the road this season, with their five road wins being the most in the Arena Football League to date... Goodman finished the game with eight catches for 84 yards and two touchdowns... Goodman has 42 catches over his last five games, and now has 498 catches in his AFL career... LaRoche Jackson led the Gladiators with 9.5 tackles in the game, while Brandon Stephens recorded six tackles in his first action for the Gladiators this season... Austin improved to 5-0 as the Gladiators starting quarterback.