Avengers Burned by the Blaze
by Tim Peterson
February 26, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
Los Angeles Avengers
(Los Angeles) Joe Germaine fired a 12 yard touchdown pass to Orshawante Bryant with no time remaining on the clock to give the Utah Blaze a dramatic 68-66 win over the Los Angeles Avengers Saturday night before 12, 314 at Staples Center.
The play began with one second left and the clock hit zeros while it was still in progress. Germaine took the snap, dropped back, scrambled out of the pocket to avoid the pressure and then hit a wide open Bryant in the middle of the end zone.
"We didn't miss any assignments. It was a good job by them (Utah)," said Avenger Coach Ed Hodgkiss. "That last play was kind of a back yard play. We got some pressure on him and we made him scramble out of the pocket. It was a just good play by the quarterback."
The game winning score capped a wild five minutes in which the Avengers saw a ten point lead disappear. When Remy Hamilton booted a 28 yard field goal, LA had a 59-49 lead with 5:16 left.
The Blaze then used just three plays to drive 45 yards. Germaine hit Siaha Burley on an 11 yard strike to cut the deficit to 59-55 after a missed extra point.
Utah, who was the victim on an onside kick recovery earlier in the contest by the Avengers, this time recovered their own. They immediately took advantage when Germaine hooked up with Burley again on a seven yard touchdown pass four plays later for a 62-59 lead with 54 seconds left.
Things were just heating up. On the next series, Sonny Cumbie in his first start for the Avengers threw a 17 yard dart to Greg Hopkins to put the Avengers up 66-62 with 15 seconds left.
The Blaze then drove 35 yards to win it. Burley got out of bounds with one second left after a 12 yard pass from Germaine to set up the game winner.
"I'd like to have had about 18 seconds on that last drive so we could throw a dart into the end zone instead of a Hail Mary kind of a pass," said Utah Coach Danny White. "Joe (Germaine) just made the play. He scrambled around and Orshawante got open. They're quality veteran guys and it paid off tonight."
It was the first meeting ever between the Avengers and the expansion Blaze but it was the 14th time White has coached against LA. White, who spent the last 13 years coaching the Arizona Rattlers, is now 10-3 overall and an incredible 10-0 at Staples Center.
"It's kind of a magical place and I think we won four of them on the last play of the game," White said. "We'd like to come back next week if we could. I'd just as soon play San Jose here."
The loss spoiled a remarkable performance by Cumbie. The rookie out of Texas Tech completed 29 of 43 for 288 yards and seven touchdowns.
"I thought he really played well. Our goal was to rattle him and we just couldn't," said White, who knows a little bit about quarterbacks after lining up behind center for the Dallas Cowboys for 13 years. "He was still making plays at the end of the game and they deserved to win the game."
"He was a big positive for us," Hodgkiss said of Cumbie. The modest Cumbie was a little less impressed.
"I thought I had a good game but ultimately it doesn't matter because we lost the game," Cumbie said. "We didn't win so we didn't do enough offensively. I felt comfortable as the game went along but that has a lot to do with the guys around me. K.I. (Kevin Ingram), Hops, (Greg Hopkins), Tony Locke and the guys blocking for me, all those guys made my job a lot easier because they are so experienced."
The Avenger defense created the first score when Greg Hopkins gathered up a fumble and stormed four yards into the end zone for a 7-0 lead. But Germaine threw a touchdown pass and scored also on a one yard run to give Utah a 21-14 advantage after one.
Utah maintained the lead though the second. Germaine connected with Burley on a two yard strike. Cumbie, now feeling his groove, threw two touchdown passes to Hopkins, including a 31 yarder that Hopkins hauled in as he crashed into the back of the end zone.
"Hops is great. He's been around since Arena Football has been around," Cumbie said. "He's been a great help to me."
The Avengers managed to get even at 42 in the third quarter on touchdown passes of nine and 12 yards from Cumbie to Kevin Ingram.
LA Jumped ahead by two scores early in the fourth on back to back strikes from Cumbie to Tony Locke. The second one covered 19 yards and gave the Avengers a 56-42 lead with 10:30 left. The Blaze eventually overcame it.
"I thought we played well. I'm more inspired on how we played than the result. Tonight we came out and did what we had to do. So I can see a light at the end of the tunnel," Hodgkiss said.
The Avengers dropped to 1-4 with the defeat and are off to their worst start since 2001. Their next two games are on the road.
"They're really big," Hodgkiss said of the two road games. "Our goal is still the same until someone tells us we're eliminated form the playoffs," he added.
Josh Jeffries left the game in the second quarter with what was later determined to be a broken left fibula. He will be out indefinitely.
UT 21 14 7 26 68
LA 14 14 14 24 66
Passing: UT- Germaine 31-40-387-8-1. LA- Cumbie 29-43-286-7-0.
Total Yards: UT- 389. LA-282.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from February 26, 2006
- Rush comeback foils SabreCats' bid for victory - San Jose SaberCats
- Soul drop first home game of season to defending ArenaBowl champs - Philadelphia Soul
- Dragons Impressive In Win - New York Dragons
- Rush prevails over SaberCats, 54-48, in OT - Chicago Rush
- Garcia Injured In Victory - New York Dragons
- Avengers Burned by the Blaze - OSC Original by Tim Peterson
- Gladiators Comeback Falls Short in Dallas, 55-48 - Las Vegas Gladiators
- Blaze burn Avengers on late touchdown, 68-66 - Utah Blaze
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