San Jose Climbs Into First Place Tie In Western Division
March 4, 2006 - Arena Football League (1987-2008) (AFL I)
San Jose SaberCats News Release
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - Mark Grieb threw eight touchdown passes and the San Jose SaberCats (2-3) climbed into a first place tie in the Arena Football League's Western Division with a 65-50 win over the Utah Blaze (2-3) on Saturday night before a sellout crowd at the Delta Center.
Grieb connected with James Roe on an 11-yard scoring on San Jose's first possession and the SaberCats never trailed in ending their 2-game losing streak and franchise record five-game road trip. Grieb finished the night 25-of-34 passing for 295 yards.
San Jose took advantage of five Blaze turnovers, including three straight at the start of the second half, to avenge a season opening loss to Utah.
Following a 17-yard Joe Germaine to Siaha Burley scoring pass early in the second quarter that moved Utah into a 21-21 tie, the SaberCats reeled off 27 unanswered points spanning the remainder of the first half into the second half to take a 48-21 lead after three quarters.
Germaine completed 28-of-43 attempts for 367 yards with five touchdowns, but he was intercepted twice, including a 23-yard return for a score by lineman Joe Jacobs in the first quarter that gave San Jose a 21-7 lead.
Utah made a fourth quarter comeback scoring 29 points and pulled within eight at 58-50 with less than a minute left in the game. But the SaberCats recovered Utah's onside kick and Grieb connected with Roe for the fourth time to supply the final margin.
Roe had a game-high 12 catches in the game and surpassed the 100 mark in receiving yards for the third straight game with 123.
Utah was able to climb back into the game by recovering a pair of onside kicks, but the Blaze were unable to overcome their five miscues and dropped to 0-3 in games played at the Delta Center.
Arena Football League (1987-2008) Stories from March 4, 2006
- Rattlers Beat Kats in Thriller, 51-49 - Arizona Rattlers
- Arizona defeats Kats - Nashville Kats
- San Jose Climbs Into First Place Tie In Western Division - San Jose SaberCats
- Wranglers prevail in comeback victory - Austin Wranglers
- Jones Activated for Sunday's Game - Tampa Bay Storm
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