Blaze fade down stretch, lose

PHOENIX — For three quarters on Saturday it appeared like Danny White's Arena Football League playoff magic was intact.

Then the roof caved in for the Utah Blaze.

The Arizona Rattlers ended the Blaze's inaugural season by beating them 57-34 at US Airways Center in a game that was far closer then the final score indicated.

The loss dropped White's record to 11-2 in first playoff games and 20-11 in all playoff games. Meanwhile, it was the Rattlers' first-ever playoff victory without White as their coach — giving them an AFL-record 21 playoff wins as a franchise.

"Their pass rush finally got to us and that was the big difference in the game," said White.

Utah led 24-21 at the half and by as many as 10 points in the third quarter and were still up four points, 34-30, midway through the fourth. But Arizona outscored the Blaze 27-0 in the final nine minutes — scoring 21 of those points in the final 2:46 to pull away.

It was a play in the third quarter, however, that was the biggest momentum changer.

Utah led 31-21 and had the ball back on offense after Tom Pace had recovered a fumble. But Blaze quarterback Andy Kelly — after a miscommunication with receiver Siaha Burley forced him to hold the ball slightly longer than usual — was sacked in the end zone by Arizona's Wendall Gaines for a safety.

That gave the Rattlers two points and they got the ball right back since the Blaze had to kick off to them. Arizona quickly scored a touchdown — cutting the 10-point deficit to one in a hurry.

"The safety got us," said Blaze lineman Hans Olsen. "Anytime you get a safety in this league it's a nine-point swing. We would have been better off if we would have fumbled it and they would have recovered in the end zone. That's just how this game is."

"Safeties in this league are just killers," echoed White.

Utah's final score of the game came on their first possession of the fourth quarter, but the Blaze were forced to settle for a 22-yard Steve Videtich field goal, giving them a 34-30 lead with 10:52 to play.

The Blaze wouldn't score again, however, as Arizona rattled off 27 consecutive points.

Arizona veteran quarterback Sherdrick Bonner hooked up with veteran receiver Randy Gatewood on a 14-yard touchdown pass with 8:56 to play to give Arizona its first lead since it was 7-0 early in the opening quarter. The extra point was blocked by Utah's John Culp, however, and Arizona's advantage was just 36-34.