Huge First Half Propels Blaze to Big Division Win
Josh Fisher
Saturday April 14, 2007
The Utah Blaze came into Friday night’s game against the Los Angeles Avengers with a lot on the line. Utah held a one-half game lead in the division race and was a perfect 2-0 against Los Angeles all-time. The Blaze also entered the game with a 2-0 home record in 2007 and on a four-game home win streak dating back to 2006.
All of those components must have fired the team up as they completely dominated the first 30 minutes. After scoring on the game’s first possession, Utah recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff. That led to another Blaze score, putting them up 13-0 less than four minutes into the contest.
Los Angeles didn’t back down. The Avengers scored the next 14 points and led 14-13 with 14:56 left in the half. Utah controlled the game from there.
The Blaze scored 21 unanswered points en route to a 35 point second quarter. The 35 points are a season high in a quarter by the Blaze.
During that stretch Utah recovered two more Avenger fumbles. The first was on another kick return. Then on the next offensive play for Los Angeles the Blaze recovered a fumbled snap.
“L.A. is a team that is getting better,” Blaze coach Danny White said. “They are young. It’s good to get a win.”
Quarterback Joe Germaine threw for 10 touchdowns for the second time this season. He finished with 371 yards passing.
“We were able to put a lot of points on the board,” Germaine stated. “It really wasn’t easy. They didn’t give us any freebies.”
Two Blaze receivers grabbed at least 10 Germaine throws. Siaha Burley hauled in 14 receptions for 175 yards and Tom Pace snared another 11 balls for 125 yards. Burley scored five times and Pace scored three times.
When asked about the play of Germaine, Burley noted, “Joe is just continuing to be a top-rated quarterback. Making plays in pressure situations, taking the hits. He carried us tonight.”
Although Utah led by as many as 20, 48-28, the game never felt comfortable. Los Angeles got as close at six twice in the second half. Quarterback Sonny Cumbie was rolling. After three quarters he was 13-of-15 for 195 yards and four touchdowns. At that same time his team only trailed by six 55-49.
The fourth quarter was a different story. Utah continued to score putting pressure on the Avengers to do the same. In the quarter Los Angeles managed only 14 points, including a garbage score with 29 seconds left. Cumbie was just 4-for-14 in the quarter.
A lot of Cumbie’s fourth quarter struggles were due to the Blaze pressure. Garrett Smith sacked the Avenger quarterback on one possession, but the pressure provided throughout the quarter was definitely better than the rest of the night.
“It’s frustrating to keep letting teams get back in when we have them down. But overall, it was a good win,” White commented on his team’s win over the Avengers.
