But until Kansas City fumbled a snap with 47 seconds left on the clock — this one recovered by Manupuna — the Blaze didn't exactly feel safe even with a 16-point lead.

"It wasn't easy," Germaine said, "until we got that ball."

Finally a winner, Utah actually has designs on turning their season around and qualifying for the AFL playoffs. With six of eight American Conference teams advancing to the postseason, Utah is only a game or two out of the playoff picture with six games remaining on the schedule.

"We gotta build on this," Whittaker said. "The best teams that usually win championships play good at the end of the season. That's what we plan on doing."

NOTES: The announced attendance of 12,208 is the lowest crowd in franchise history ... The Blaze host the Colorado Crush next Saturday with a kickoff of 7 p.m.... Utah's special teams struggled, missing two PATs and fumbling the snap on another to allow Kansas City to stay within two scores for much of the game.

---

E-mail: jeborn@desnews.com