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The Utah Blaze is an Arena Football League team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. They began play as a 2006 expansion team.
[edit] History
The Utah Blaze began play on January 28, 2006, playing the San Jose SaberCats on the road. The team is coached by longtime Arizona Rattlers coach Danny White and plays its home games at the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City, home of the National Basketball Association's Utah Jazz. The team is owned by automobile businessmen John Garff, Robert Garff, and Brett Hopkins.
On Saturday, February 11, 2006, the Blaze lost to the New York Dragons 84-81 in the second highest scoring game in the history of the Arena Football League. The Blaze's performance was also the second highest score for a losing team in the AFL's 20-year history.
In their first season, the Blaze had the highest average attendance in the Arena Football League, with 15,498 fans per game. They narrowly edged out Philadelphia's 15,463. Prior to the 2006 season, the Blaze had said EnergySolutions Arena held 13,000 fans due to poor sight lines in most of the building. After 16,705 people attended the home opener, that figure was changed to near 15,000. The Blaze topped that figure 5 of the 8 games their first season.
Despite a losing record of 7-9, the Blaze got into the playoffs as an AC Wildcard (the conference's #6 seed). Unfortunately, the newly formed Blaze were given the boot as they lost to the Arizona Rattlers with a final score of 57-34.
The team's mascot is a dalmatian named "Chief." The Blaze were winners of the league "Commissioners Award" in 2006 and won the prestigious "Support Staff of the Year Award" in back-to-back seasons (2006-2007), an award that goes to the league's best training and equipment staff (led by Head Trainer Kevin Semans and Head Equipment Manager Darin Featherstone). [1]
[edit] Season-by-season
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties
| Season |
W |
L |
T |
Finish |
Playoff results |
| 2006 |
7 |
9 |
0 |
3rd AC Western |
Lost Wild Card (Arizona) |
| 2007 |
8 |
8 |
0 |
3rd AC Western |
Lost Wild Card (Los Angeles) |
| *2008 |
5 |
10 |
0 |
3rd AC Western |
-- |
| Totals |
20 |
29 |
0 |
(including playoffs) |
* = Current Standing
[edit] Not To Be Forgotten
[edit] Retired Numbers
3 Justin Skaggs - WR/LB - March 29, 2008
[edit] AFL Hall of Famers
[edit] Roster by number
(Current as of 2008-05-30)
| Number |
Name |
Position |
Height |
Weight |
Notes |
| ? |
Kyle Gunther |
OL |
6 ft 4 in |
310 lb |
Practice Squad |
| 1 |
Aaron Boone |
WR |
6 ft 2 in |
210 lb |
| 2 |
Damon Mason |
DB |
5 ft 9 in |
195 lb |
| 4 |
Orshawante Bryant |
WR |
6 ft 0 in |
191 lb |
Injured |
| 5 |
J.J. McKelvey |
WR |
6 ft 4 in |
225 lb |
| 8 |
Carlton Brown |
DB |
5 ft 11 in |
190 lb |
| 9 |
Eddie Canonico |
DB |
6 ft 4 in |
195 lb |
|
| 10 |
Joe Germaine |
QB |
6 ft 2 in |
220 lb |
| 11 |
Kelvin Morris |
LB |
6 ft 4 in |
245 lb |
| 12 |
Caleb Eastman |
QB |
6 ft 4 in |
225 lb |
Practice Squad |
| 13 |
Steve Videtich |
K |
6 ft 2 in |
185 lb |
|
| 15 |
Huey Whittaker |
WR |
6 ft 5 in |
220 lb |
| 17 |
Jason Gesser |
QB |
6 ft 1 in |
215 lb |
| 18 |
David Sutton |
WR |
6 ft 6 in |
225 lb |
Practice Squad |
| 19 |
Corey Dodds |
LB |
6 ft 2 in |
245 lb |
Practice Squad |
| 23 |
Tom Pace |
WR |
5 ft 10 in |
205 lb |
Injured |
| 24 |
Reggie Doster |
DB |
5 ft 10 in |
190 lb |
| 34 |
Rodney Filer |
FB |
6 ft 3 in |
260 lb |
| 42 |
J'Sharlon Jones |
DB |
5 ft 8 in |
186 lb |
| 43 |
Kautai Olevao |
FB |
6 ft 1 in |
279 lb |
| 44 |
Maurice Fountain |
DL |
6 ft 4 in |
270 lb |
|
| 52 |
Chris Janek |
DL |
6 ft 3 in |
315 lb |
| 55 |
Vaka Manupuna |
DL |
6 ft 1 in |
305 lb |
| 56 |
Tupe Peko |
OL |
6 ft 4 in |
310 lb |
Injured |
| 59 |
Eddie Keele |
OL |
6 ft 4 in |
305 lb |
Injured |
| 72 |
Devin Wyman |
OL |
6 ft 8 in |
350 lb |
| 77 |
Jake Kuresa |
OL |
6 ft 4 in |
315 lb |
| 95 |
John Culp |
DL |
6 ft 4 in |
282 lb |
|
| 96 |
E.J. Burt |
DL |
6 ft 2 in |
265 lb |
| 98 |
Rob Gatrell |
OL |
6 ft 4 in |
295 lb |
|
| 99 |
Dwayne Missouri |
DL |
6 ft 5 in |
280 lb |
[edit] Coaches
(Current as of 2008-05-30)
[edit] Arena Football Hall of Famers associated with the Utah Blaze
[edit] See also
Arena Football League
American Football
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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Current arenas in the Arena Football League |
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| American Conference |
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| National Conference |
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1The Philadelphia Soul play Sunday home games at the Wachovia Center.
2The Philadelphia Soul play Saturday home games at the Wachovia Spectrum. |
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