Utah Blaze bid for a win becomes a clanker

Steve Videtich, the man tied for the all-time Arena Football League lead in field goals, felt good about his kick with eight seconds remaining on Saturday night at EnergySolutions Arena. A true kick would have given his Utah Blaze a season-opening victory.

But the 36-yard attempt clanked off the right upright.

Final score: Arizona Rattlers 63, Utah Blaze 62.

"I looked up and it was going right down the middle," said Videtich about his potential game-winner. "Then at the last second it just sliced out to the right. The wind took it I guess."

He was kidding about the wind part, but he, his teammates and coaches were hardly in a joking mood after losing to the rival Rattlers for the fifth time in six tries since entering the league in 2006.

It didn't look like a last-second field goal would be necessary a few seconds earlier. Blaze quarterback Joe Germaine hit J'Sharlon Jones on what would have been the go-ahead 25-yard touchdown pass with 20 seconds left. But a penalty on the Blaze nullified the score.

"Our veteran offensive lineman who has been in this league forever, Devin Wyman, doesn't declare as a tight end," said Blaze coach Danny White of the penalty. "How do you explain that? We get a touchdown, but they bring it back on that."

The late penalty wasn't Utah's only big second-half mistake. Videtich, after being true on each of his first eight extra points, missed on his ninth with 5:45 to play in the game, leaving the Blaze up just six points instead of seven.

"We can't miss extra points and we can't miss field goals," lamented White.

Utah got off to an outstanding start, scoring each time it had the ball and even twice on defense — once on a Vaka Manupuna fumble recovery and once on an interception return — to take a 42-28 lead with two minutes to play in the first half.

If the Blaze could have taken that two-score lead into the intermission, they would have had the opportunity to go up by three scores early in the third because they were getting the opening kickoff to start the second half.

But after Arizona scored to cut the gap to 42-35 late in the second quarter, Utah's drive stalled on the 3-yard line with seconds to play. Videtich lined up for a chip-shot field goal, on the last play of the half, but the snap was high and holder Jason Gesser was forced to throw a desperation pass that was intercepted in the end zone.