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TAMPA, Fla. -- Shane Austin threw seven touchdown passes as the Cleveland Gladiators opened their Arena Football League season with a 60-44 victory over the Tampa Bay Storm on Friday in Amalie Arena.

Austin, in his second season with the Gladiators, completed 19 of 31 passes for 221 yards.

Amarri Jackson, Dominick Goodman and Collin Taylor each caught a pair of scoring passes from Austin.

Goodman, who led the league with 156 receptions for 1,671 yards and 34 touchdowns last season, finished with nine catches Friday for 94 yards.

Austin threw four touchdowns passes in the first half. The Gladiators opened the scoring when Austin found Goodman from 15 yards for a 7-0 lead.

After Tampa Bay tied it, Austin hooked up with Taylor on a 29-yard score, then with Andrae Thurman from 24 yards.

After the Storm cut the lead to 26-21, Cleveland got two more scores, including an Austin to Goodman strike from 10 yards as time expired, giving Cleveland a 39-21 lead at the break.

Jackson, making his Gladiators debut after playing for Tampa Bay last year, caught a 20-yard TD pass in the third quarter and another for 23 in the fourth quarter. Taylor caught a 4-yard pass to close out the scoring.

Tampa Bay QB Jason Boltus completed 30 of 55 passes for 383 yards and six touchdowns. T.T. Toliver had 12 catches for 161 yards and three touchdowns, while Jarvi Williams caught 11 for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Both quarterbacks were intercepted once and the Storm lost three of five fumbles.

The Gladiators and Storm will meet on April 24 and June 19 in Cleveland.

The Gladiators will play at the New Orleans Voodoo on April 4 at 8 p.m. and then play their home opener on April 11 at 7 p.m. against the reigning AFL champion Arizona Rattlers.

Notes: The Gladiators have now won three in a row over the Tampa Bay Storm... Mac Linebacker Tim Cheatwood's sack tonight was his first as a Gladiator since 2012. He spent the 2014 season as an Assistant Coach for the team... JLB Joe Phinisee led the team with five fumble recoveries in 2014 and had two Friday... Wide Receiver Andrae Thurman caught his first touchdown as a Gladiator, a 24-yarder from Austin in the second quarter.