Box Score
April 19th, 2003 Treasure Valley Panthers vs. Great Falls Gladiators

GREAT FALLS 2 TREASURE VALLEY 0 (FORFEIT)

Story by: Lee Vernoy, Great Falls Tribune

GREAT FALLS - Yes, the Great Falls Gladiators needed a win. But no, they didn’t need one THAT badly.

Saturday’s scheduled Rocky Mountain Football League match up between the Gladiators and the Treasure Valley Panthers was called off after the Panthers informed Gladiator management by email that only 10 players were available to make the 10-hour trip from Boise to Great Falls.

Officially, the game goes into the record books as a 2-0 forfeit victory for the Gladiators, their first in three RMFL games. But that’s not the way the local club wanted it.

“(The Panthers) will be automatically fined $100, and will be required to pay for the game officials,” RMFL Commissioner Jared Neumeier said from his office in Idaho Falls. “The league will also attempt to reschedule the game, although that looks unlikely at this point.”

A rescheduled game would be played May 24 in Great Falls.

The commissioner also noted that Gladiators’ management could petition the RMFL to seek other damages from the Panthers, up to and including field rental and pre-game advertising.

Panthers representative Justen Roberts emailed Gladiators manager Andrew Orens Saturday at 12:45 a.m., stating that the Boise-based club only had 10 men that were able to make the trip, after assuring Orens and co-manager Lindsay Baker as late as Friday afternoon that the Panthers would make the trip.

“Treasure Valley is a team run by the players,” Neumeier said. “Unfortunately, enough players decided at the last minute not to make the trip, and the notice Treasure Valley gave (the Gladiators) was very short.”

The Gladiators travel to Rexberg, Idaho next Saturday for a contest with division-leading Madison, winners of a 49-3 blowout over Helena Saturday. Great Falls’ next home game is a May 3 tilt against Snake River.

RMFL NOTE: The league is currently awaiting a submission by the Great Falls Gladiators regarding expenses accrued for the scheduled Saturday tilt. A $100 fine and officiating expenses are constitutionally required for the offending team to pay. Other expenses will be subject to league review. The game will be offered up for reschedule for Saturday, May 24th for both teams. In the event both teams agree to play the game on that date, a re-scheduled game will take place. The willingness to re-schedule the game will be a factor for all league determination of damages, for both teams. The RMFL Constitution requires an attempt to re-schedule all forfeited games. If the game is played, the forfeit will be removed from the books and the actual game result would count. Further, as a result of no statistics generated by a non-game, the league will change the team stats to an "average yards per game" mode. Individual statistics will not be affected. A final decision regarding fines and levies against the Panthers will be made by Wednesday, April 23rd. The Panthers will be required to pay applicable expenses to the RMFL prior to the May 3rd game with the Boise Roughriders. Failure to do so will result in further sanctions, fees and/or forfeitures. Further, a new rule put in place in the off-season, if the forfeit stands, the Panthers cannot win any tie-breaking scenario whereby "Points Allowed" are taken into account.