Utah Blaze - The Salt Lake Tribune

Arena football: Utah Blaze squeak past Iowa

Sun, 19 May 2013 00:07:37 MDT

Arena football: Utah Blaze squeak past Iowa

by Tony Jones The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 19, 2013 12:07AM MDT

The win wasn’t pretty. The offense sputtered at times. Ball control needs to improve if the Utah Blaze want to have any chance to defeat San Jose next week. But a Saturday night home game before an animated crowd at EnergySolutions Arena produced a 43-34 victory over the Iowa Barnstormers. And that’s just what the Blaze needed. A win in what was pretty much a must-win scenario. “This was vital,” Utah coach Ron James said. “We can’t be dropping games at home to teams in our conference. We just co...

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Friendship born: Utah Blaze receiver saves BYU skater in wreck

Fri, 17 May 2013 19:16:32 MDT

Friendship born: Utah Blaze receiver saves BYU skater in wreck

by Martin Renzhofer The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 17, 2013 07:16PM MDT

Utah Blaze receiver Aaron Lesue has good hands. Figure skater Brianna Hatch has been known to spin, but never like what happened to her the afternoon of April 24 on I-15 near Thanksgiving Point. Lesue helped Hatch escape from a smoldering wreck after her SUV spun 2½ times, somehow avoiding other vehicles. Out of that near tragedy has sprung a friendship. “It only hurts when I breathe,” said Hatch, a visual arts major who was en route to BYU to complete her last final exam. “I didn’t get out of t...

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Arena football: Blaze searching for launching point

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:41:02 MDT

Arena football: Blaze searching for launching point

by Christopher Kamrani The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 17, 2013 10:41AM MDT

The devil is in the details, and now seven weeks into the 2013 season, the Utah Blaze are learning that the hard way. Despite winning two games in a row after a 1-3 start, the Blaze squandered a great start in Arizona last weekend, losing to their rivals and dropping to 3-4. “The pattern is systematic of not taking care of the details, and we’ve been harping on accountability and critiquing what we need to do,” said Utah coach Ron James. After a banner year in 2012 in which they were one minute ...

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Arena football: Utah Blaze start fast but can’t win at Arizona Rattlers

Sat, 11 May 2013 22:58:02 MDT

Arena football: Utah Blaze start fast but can’t win at Arizona Rattlers

from News Services

Published May 11, 2013 10:58PM MDT

The Utah Blaze took an early 14-0 lead, but couldn’t sustain their momentum as the Arizona Rattlers rallied to win at home, 65-48, in Arena Football League action Saturday night. Blaze quarterback Tommy Grady was 25 for 50 for 302 yards and six touchdowns, but he also threw two interceptions. Mario Urrutia caught nine passes for 174 yards and three touchdowns. Arizona’s Nick Davila was 19 of 31 for 208 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions. The Rattlers (7-1), who lead the National Confere...

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Blaze: Showdown with Arizona will provide a test

Fri, 10 May 2013 13:18:10 MDT

Blaze: Showdown with Arizona will provide a test

by Christopher Kamrani The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 10, 2013 01:18PM MDT

Throughout the first five weeks of the season, Ron James waited for that moment his players would stare down adversity and overcome it as one. The Utah Blaze did that last Saturday at home, overcoming late-game turnovers to defeat division rival Spokane 52-48. Now comes the hard part. Now the Blaze must gather all the lessons learned in their 3-3 start to the year, take the good and leave behind the bad. And it starts with the defending Arena Football League champion Arizona Rattlers (6-1) Satur...

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Arena football: At long last, Utah Blaze win crucial home game

Sat, 04 May 2013 23:21:14 MDT

Arena football: At long last, Utah Blaze win crucial home game

by Christopher Kamrani The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 4, 2013 11:21PM MDT

It took a little longer than they would have liked, but it seems the Utah Blaze may have figured this thing out. They’re now overcoming mistakes and shortcomings to win, and much of the thanks goes to safety David Hyland. After starting the season 1-3 — and losing three consecutive home games — the Blaze (3-3) defeated the Spokane Shock (5-2), the top team in the West, Saturday night at EnergySolutions Arena 52-48 after Hyland knocked down a pass in the end zone with 14 seconds remaining. Bigge...

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Utah Blaze: Spokane stands in the way of first win at home

Fri, 03 May 2013 16:46:46 MDT

Utah Blaze: Spokane stands in the way of first win at home

by Christopher Kamrani The Salt Lake Tribune

Published May 3, 2013 04:46PM MDT

Keep things rolling. That’s what the Utah Blaze are hoping to do this weekend after finally putting together a complete performance in last week’s 57-40 road victory over Cleveland. But the Blaze, at 2-3, have their work cut out for them Saturday night at EnergySolutions Arena. They face the West-leading Spokane Shock (5-1), who aim to keep Utah winless at home. “For me, every game is the same,” said defensive back Maurice Leggett. “It’s always high intensity. I take every game personal. I take...

Arena football: Utah Blaze top Cleveland, snap skid

Sat, 27 Apr 2013 19:50:03 MDT

Arena football: Utah Blaze top Cleveland, snap skid

from News Services

Published Apr 27, 2013 07:50PM MDT

Blaze quarterback Tommy Grady threw for seven touchdowns and rushed for another en route to Utah’s 57-40 victory over the host Cleveland Gladiators on Saturday in arena football action. The win came after three straight losses for the Blaze, who are now 2-3. Both of their wins have come on the road. The Blaze held Cleveland (1-4) scoreless while they racked up 22 points in the third quarter, building on their 27-21 halftime lead. Maurice Leggett led Utah’s defense with an interception, seven...

Arena football: After 1-3 start, Utah Blaze say they’re beating themselves

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 13:56:03 MDT

Arena football: After 1-3 start, Utah Blaze say they’re beating themselves

by Christopher Kamrani The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Apr 26, 2013 01:56PM MDT

It’s cliche, and some could look at it as an excuse, but ask the Utah Blaze why they’re 1-3 and they’ll straight up tell you: They’re beating themselves. “That’s what it’s been,” said Blaze coach Ron James. After beginning the year with an impressive 64-33 road win at Pittsburgh on March 23, the Blaze have dropped three straight — all within the friendly confines of EnergySolutions Arena — and the team that was one minute away from the Arena Bowl championship game a year ago suddenly has found i...

Arena football: Chicago Rush beat Utah Blaze on last-second field goal

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 23:29:03 MDT

Arena football: Chicago Rush beat Utah Blaze on last-second field goal

by Steve Luhm The Salt Lake Tribune

Published Apr 20, 2013 11:29PM MDT

Utah coach Ron James saw improvement in his team Saturday night, but the result was the same. Chicago’s Jose Martinez kicked a 23-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Rush a 59-56 Arena Football League victory at EnergySolutions Arena. It was the Blaze’s third straight defeat, dropping them to 1-3 this season. Quarterback Tommy Grady threw seven touchdown passes against Chicago, but he was intercepted four times by the Rush’s opportunistic defense. “I thought we played with good energy at...