Utah Outlasts Cleveland, 76-69

July 22, 2011 - Arena Football League (AFL)
Utah Blaze News Release


CLEVELAND - The Utah Blaze (9-9) overcame the Eastern Division leading Cleveland Gladiators (10-8), 76-69, in their final game of the season at Quicken Loans Arena in front of 6,019 fans. With the win, Utah finishes the season with a franchise-high nine wins.

"We were able to play a solid game on the road and pull off another last second victory," said Head Coach Ron James. "Finishing strong was one of our goals and this is definitely something we can build upon during the offseason."

Utah got off to a rough start with Cleveland's DB Levy Brown (5-11, 200, Florida A&M) picking off QB Todd Hammel's (6-1, 220, Stephen F. Austin) pass on the first drive of the quarter. On the following possession, Cleveland notched the first score of the night with a 15-yard pass to WR Thryon Lewis (6-4, 200, Howard). Hammel connected with WR Alvance Robinson (5-9, 175, Alabama State) on a six-yard strike, tallying their only touchdown of the quarter. After another Cleveland touchdown, Utah's special teams prevailed by returning a blocked kick by DL Caesar Rayford (6-7, 275, Washington), notching a defensive PAT. Nonetheless, Cleveland still held the lead entering the second quarter, 13-9.

The Blaze began the second quarter with a six-yard touchdown pass from Hammel to WR Justin Ore (6-2, 196, Western Oregon) that was followed up by a successful two-point conversion by K Kyle Brotzman (5-10, 190, Boise State). Each of the teams went on to tally three touchdowns in the second quarter. Yet with only seconds on the clock, Utah tied it up with a successful 34-yard field goal attempt by Brotzman. The teams' entered the locker room locked up, 34-34, at half.

The teams each exchanged a pair of touchdowns in the third quarter as the Blaze finished on a high-note with WR Chris Bocage returning the kickoff 56-yards for a touchdown before entering the final quarter of play.

The Blaze's momentum continued in the fourth with FB Ben Stallings (5-11, 263, Delta State) racking up two rushing touchdowns. The Gladiators tied it up with 21 seconds remaining on 35-yard pass to WR Dominick Goodman (6-1, 210, Cincinnati). However, it wasn't enough to hold the Blaze in their final outing of the season, with Hammel finding Ore in the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown pass, guiding them to a 76-69 victory over the Gladiators. With the win, Utah finishes the season with a .500 record, matching the franchise's best record (8-8) from 2007.

Hammel finished the night completing 31-of-44 passes for 355 yards and seven touchdowns. Robinson led the receiving corp with nine receptions for 117 yards and four touchdowns. DL Jeramie Richardson (6-1, 265, Angelo State) led the defense in his Blaze debut with 5.5 total tackles and two pass breakups.



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