Germaine's internal fire has Blaze smoking

Joe Germaine threw for 10 touchdowns without an interception while completing 82 percent of his passes on Friday night for the Utah Blaze in their victory over the Los Angeles Avengers.

But perhaps the play that best showed Germaine's determination to win came on one of Utah's rare runs. The Blaze had the ball one yard from the end zone and tried to rush for a touchdown. But fullback Frank Carter fumbled. Los Angeles linebacker Brando Perkins scooped the ball up with an open field ahead of him and appeared headed 50 yards toward the other end zone.

Instead, Perkins was caught from behind by Germaine, who made a diving, touchdown-saving tackle at the Utah one-yard line.

"That guy was just out of gas," said Germaine, who is not known for either his speed or his tackling ability.

Maybe so. Still, Germaine's effort on that play and throughout the game earned him yet another "Player of the Game" honor. While the Arena Football League season is not quite halfway through, Germaine is on pace to break league records for total yardage and touchdowns.

Blaze coach Danny White, a record-breaking quarterback himself during his playing days at both Arizona State and with the Dallas Cowboys, is amazed by Germaine's ability to stay poised in tough situations.

"Joe is not a guy that I am ever going to have to worry about when there is a little bit of adversity. He's just not," said White. "He's too solid. He has an unbelievable calm about him and it drives me nuts sometimes. I'm screaming and yelling (on the sideline) and he's walking around out there like it's no problem."

Germaine has led the Blaze to a 5-2 record. They will complete the first half of the season on Friday night at EnergySolutions Arena when they host the 1-6 Arizona Rattlers. "He's going to be a great one," said White of Germaine. "I don't know how long he will be able to play, but I think we got him at the right point of his career and he's getting better each week."

BIG EXTRA POINTS: Steve Videtich has scored more points than any other kicker in AFL history. He's considered a weapon for the Blaze due to his outstanding onside kicks and other kickoffs.

Still, he's missed a few extra points in recent weeks — which has White concerned. Videtich missed two extra points three games ago against Las Vegas, but it didn't end up being too big of a deal in Utah's win. Videtich's lone miss at Austin two weeks ago was huge, however, since it was the difference in a 65-64 loss.