CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Summer of Cleveland continues.

Now comes ArenaBowl XXVII to the burgeoning docket of news and events on the North Coast after the Cleveland Gladiators on Sunday clinched a berth in the Arena Football League championship game Aug. 23 at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Gladiators defeated Orlando, 56-46, and a crowd of 14,543 festive fans at The Q witnessed Cleveland's first American Conference championship.

The celebration began in earnest after a key defensive play -- yes, they play defense in this league -- in the final 80 seconds. Luke Black and Willie McGinnis sacked Orlando quarterback Bernard Morris, who fumbled. Cleveland defensive lineman Randy Colling recovered at the Orlando 4-yard line.

That set up the Gladiator's clinching touchdown, a 3-yard shovel pass from quarterback Shane Austin to Thyron Lewis for a 56-40 lead with 46 seconds to play.

The arena reverberated with the chants of "Yes! Yes! Yes!'' led by Cleveland offensive linemen, who are fans of WWE star Daniel Bryan, inventor of the chant. And Cleveland coach Steve Thonn received the traditional Gatorade bath, one year after suffering through a four-win season.

Cleveland (19-1) plays host to its first ArenaBowl against two-time defending ArenaBowl champ Arizona (17-3), which beat San Jose in the National Conference final, 72-56.

Aug. 23 will be an interesting day in Cleveland, as the Browns and Indians also play home games, but it's been a fascinating summer already.

The ArenaBowl will come on the heels of Gay Games 9, in a summer that already witnessed the return of LeBron James to the Cavaliers and Cleveland learning it will host the 2016 Republican National Convention, to say nothing of the Johnny Manziel hysteria that grips the other professional football team in town.

"I keep saying LeBron James is the second biggest story in town -- after us,'' Thonn said. "It's been great having all the excitement.''

Quarterback Shane Austin, who played college ball at Hawaii, was a career backup until Week 4 and now has a chance to lead Cleveland to its first football championship in 50 years.

"It's huge. I know they haven't won one in a while here,'' Austin said. "Cleveland is beautiful, too. I've been a lot of different places. Right now, I wouldn't rather be any place else but here. The city has been great and it's been fun journey, but we have one more to go.''

Cleveland, which has the AFL record for most victories, won six games this season that it trailed until the final play of the fourth quarter. That drama was absent Sunday, but it didn't seem to dampen anyone's enthusiasm.

"You can't imagine a season like this, the season we had this year,'' Thonn said. "We knew we were going to have a good year and do some good things, but to go 19-1, you can't imagine that. It's pretty amazing.

Coming off a five-interception game last week, Austin threw seven TD passes. He got off to a hot start and finished 22 of 32 for 204 yards without a turnover. Dominick Goodman and Lewis each caught three TDs.

Austin completed 13 of his first 16 passes and Cleveland grabbed a 21-14 lead.

A defensive play in the first half awoke the crowd and gave the Gladiators the boost they needed. On third-and-goal, Morris fumbled the snap, Dominic Jones recovered and raced nearly the length of the field until being tackled at the 1. Fullback Jason Jones scored on the next play, giving Cleveland a 28-14 lead

The Gladiators nearly got another stop, but Morris found Larry Brackens in the corner of the end zone on a fourth-down play from the 16, cutting the margin to 28-21 with one minute left in the first half.

Orlando (12-8) attempted an onside kick, which Jones recovered at the 9, and Austin found Goodman on a crossing pattern at the goal line for a 35-21 lead with 47 seconds left.

Brackins scored on a 10-yard run for Orlando with 10 seconds to play, giving Cleveland just enough time to get into position for a field goal attempt. Former Ohio State kicker Aaron Pettrey's 40-yard kick hit the right upright, and the Gladiators went into halftime leading, 35-28.

Jones, who was shaken up on a collision in the second quarter, made another big play to help thwart Orlando's opening drive of the third quarter, tipping a pass in the end zone that was intercepted by Joe Phinisee.

Cleveland fumbled on the ensuing drive, rare for a team that had fewest fumbles during the regular season, but the defense held and Orlando's Larry Brackins dropped a tipped pass in the end zone on fourth down.

The Gladiators regained a two-touchdown lead on Tom Gilson's 9-yard TD catch. Gilson, in for Collin Taylor, made two big plays on the drive.

Morris, the league's top dual-threat quarterback, had been shy to run until scrambling for a 9-yard TD on fourth down. Kicker Mark Lewis missed the extra point.

LaRoche Jackson's kickoff return to the Orlando 20 set up Austin's second TD pass to Lewis on the next play and Pettrey's kick put Cleveland ahead, 49-34, with 10:16 to play.

Orlando answered and Carr scored on a 2-yard run, but Lewis again missed the extra point, putting the Predators two scores behind, 49-40, with 4:38 to play.

Cleveland's Goodman recovered an onside kick attempt, but was stopped on downs for the first time.

Orlando was making a bid for its eighth ArenaBowl, and first since 2006.

Morris, who lost in the conference final with Jacksonville in 2012 and 2013, was hobbled by a sprained ankle and completed 31 of 52 passes for 360 yards and four touchdowns. He was limited to three carries for 10 yards, and one touchdown. He had all three of Orlando's turnovers.

"This is my third year getting to this exact same game and it comes down to turnovers,'' said Morris. "Those previous two games it was turnovers, and tonight it was the same thing. It's something I have to work on personally, become a better passer from the pocket and protect the football.''