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The Cleveland Gladiators see their record fall to 5-5 after losing to Orlando on Friday at Quicken Loans Arena.

CLEVELAND, Ohio --The Cleveland Gladiators fell behind by two touchdowns in the first quarter and couldn't mount a sustained charge the rest of the way, losing to the Orlando Predators, 63-42, in an Arena Football League game on Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

Cleveland committed three turnovers, while Orlando was turnover free. The Gladiators couldn't solve an efficient Predators offense that featured quarterback Bernard Morris -- who completed 16 of 23 passes for 191 yards and four touchdowns -- and the powerful running of 6-4, 305-pound Michael Simons, who rambled 12 yards for a touchdown and had three other scores from a yard each.

"I just told the guys it was a little bit of everything," Gladiators coach Steve Thonn said after the team's record dropped to 5-5. "Their offense got the best of our defense. Their defense got the best of our offense. They won the special teams battle.

"We've lost some games, but this is the first game in which I felt we really got outplayed."

The Gladiators have lost five of their last eight. They trail the first-place Philadelphia Soul (8-1) in the American Conference East Division. Cleveland, with eight games remaining, is in solid position, however, to contend for one of the conference's two wild card playoff spots.

Cleveland won at Orlando, 56-55 in overtime, on May 2. The Predators are 6-4.

Gladiators quarterback Shane Austin completed 35 of 52 passes for 362 yards and four touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions.

Orlando led, 35-14, at halftime. The Gladiators scored four touchdowns after intermission, but each left them still trailing by 14 points. The second-half scores came on 6-4, 340-pound Phillip-Keith Manley's 1-yard run around right end and Austin touchdown passes of 9, 11 and 22 yards, respectively, to Collin Taylor, Andy Cruse and Dominick Goodman.

Taylor caught 14 passes for 103 yards. Goodman finished with 11 receptions for 145 yards.

A series of mishaps left the Gladiators with their 21-point halftime deficit.

Trailing, 7-0, Cleveland drove to the Orlando 8 on its first drive but lost the football on Taylor's fumble. The Predators promptly drove for a score and a 14-0 lead.

Austin hit Goodman in the right side of the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown, and after another Orlando score, Austin plunged a yard for a touchdown to cut the Predators lead to 21-14 with 57 seconds left in the first half.

The Gladiators then failed to cover an onside kick, leaving the Predators just eight yards to go for the touchdown and a 28-14 lead.

"It was almost like a double whammy," Thonn said. "We didn't score (off the attempted onside kick) and they did score."

Orlando then tried to return the favor with its own onside kick, covered by the Gladiators at the Predators 22. Three plays later, though, Orlando's Fred Shaw intercepted an Austin pass in the end zone, with 18 seconds still to go. On the next play, Morris hit Kendal Thompkins in stride at the Cleveland 10 on the way to a 44-yard touchdown pass and Orlando's 35-14 halftime bulge.

-- Mike Peticca, special to The Plain Dealer